Death of Queen Fabiola: December 5, 2014


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
You are free in your opinions about politicians and royals (P.Laurent, Q.Fabiola's brother), but is this the right thread to express these opinions?
Imo it should be dedicated to Q.Fabiola and the events of the next days

Well it was a reply in a question in this very thread which involved the relationship (or the lack of) between the late Queen Fabiola and Prince Laurent...
 
And on that note: let's move on and focus on the topic of this thread....
 
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I read an article once where a Belgian minister actually spoke discreetly to King Baudouin, suggesting respectfully to him that it was unseemly for a middle-aged couple to be as openly physically demonstrative as he and the queen always were with one another. I guess once you pass the age of 30, all public displays of affection should cease!:lol::cool:

When former first lady Barbara Bush wrote her memoirs, she mentioned a visit to Belgium and of meeting then Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin. She was deeply moved by Fabiola's profound spirituality and concern for finding ways for mentally and physically handicapped Belgians to live with as much dignity and independence as possible. She also wrote of the remarkable bond of intimacy and closeness shared by the Belgian Royal couple.
 
Precisely. If her late Majesty's funeral is going to be a semi-state funeral, QEII will send the most senior representative available. In ordinary circumstances that would be the duke of Edinburgh, but of course with his advanced age that is out of the question. QEII had the utmost respect and affection for Baudouin and Fabiola. The Belgian Royal couple were once photographed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the BRF.

The Royal families of Lichtenstein and Luxembourg are family to the late queen and will send the largest delegations, along with Fabiola's native Spain. It will be interesting to see who Albert II of Monaco will send. His own mother Princess Grace enjoyed a warm friendship with Fabiola, but with Princess Charlene's confinement imminent I am not sure Albert will leave her side. Maybe Princess Caroline will go instead?

Charles has 2 engagements on 12 Dec, so I wonder if he will cancel them to attend. He and Anne are the only members of the British RF to have engagements listed on the BRF website for the 12th.

Queen Maxima has an engagement on the 12 according to the DRF website, so does the King of Spain.

The King, Queen and Crown Princess of Sweden as well as Prince Daniel have a meeting with a Government minister listed but I guess this could easily be moved to a later time/date.

The Danish Royals have no public engagements listed neither do the Norwegian Royals. The Grand Ducal website has nothing listed for Henri or his family but this might not be up to date.

I guess Albert could fly over to Belgium for the service at least and then fly straight back, I know in the past he has flown with the Belgian Royals to/from Royal events so they must be quite close, it depends how Charlene is feeling at the time I imagine.

With all those mentioned they may very well psotpone/cancel their planned engagements. I've always had the feeling Fabiola (and Baudouin) were well respected and well thought of by other Royals so I imagine many of them will try to attend.
 
No matter what the Lux Royals have planned for Dec 12th they will cancel. Fabiola was Henri's aunt. As for Spain it's possible that Queen Letizia could attend without King Felipe...it is not strictly necessary for them both to be there. Or maybe King Felipe will simply send his mother Queen Sofia. She was close to Queen Fabiola.


As for the Prince of Wales, it is not unreasonable that the Duchess of Cornwall could attend without Charles.

Both King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway will likely attend because Harald was Baudouin's first cousin through Baudouin's Swedish mother Princess Astrid.
 
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The usually very well informed journalist Martine Dubuisson (Le Soir) writes that Fabiola changed her last will after she was criticized so fiercely for her foundation. Her private fortune will be given to the Queen's charity fund, which was founded on the occasion of Fabiola and Baudouin and is now chaired by Mathilde. Dubuisson had this information confirmed by the Palace. But no further details were given.
La reine Fabiola lègue son héritage aux «Œuvres de la reine» | Belgique - lesoir.be


Fabiola's fortune will now be used to help Belgians in need, which is a great gesture on her part.

More about the fund:
The Belgian Monarchy: Home - The Monarchy today - Royal Initiatives - The Queen's Charities
 
:previous: I dont think so. Charles could cancel his engagements, afterall he postponed his wedding by a day for a funeral.
 
Charles has 2 engagements on 12 Dec, so I wonder if he will cancel them to attend. He and Anne are the only members of the British RF to have engagements listed on the BRF website for the 12th.

Queen Maxima has an engagement on the 12 according to the DRF website, so does the King of Spain.

The King, Queen and Crown Princess of Sweden as well as Prince Daniel have a meeting with a Government minister listed but I guess this could easily be moved to a later time/date.

The Danish Royals have no public engagements listed neither do the Norwegian Royals. The Grand Ducal website has nothing listed for Henri or his family but this might not be up to date.

I guess Albert could fly over to Belgium for the service at least and then fly straight back, I know in the past he has flown with the Belgian Royals to/from Royal events so they must be quite close, it depends how Charlene is feeling at the time I imagine.

With all those mentioned they may very well psotpone/cancel their planned engagements. I've always had the feeling Fabiola (and Baudouin) were well respected and well thought of by other Royals so I imagine many of them will try to attend.

The Prince of Wales attended the funeral service for Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the service for Prince Bernhard. A funeral of a monarch or, in this case, a dowager queen requires that all royal houses send representatives and that those representatives be senior royals. I doubt the Queen would send the Duchess of Cornwall alone to such an event.
 
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Charles has 2 engagements on 12 Dec, so I wonder if he will cancel them to attend. He and Anne are the only members of the British RF to have engagements listed on the BRF website for the 12th.
I think Princess Alexandra is the most suitable choice
 
Charles has 2 engagements on 12 Dec, so I wonder if he will cancel them to attend. He and Anne are the only members of the British RF to have engagements listed on the BRF website for the 12th.



Queen Maxima has an engagement on the 12 according to the DRF website, so does the King of Spain.



The King, Queen and Crown Princess of Sweden as well as Prince Daniel have a meeting with a Government minister listed but I guess this could easily be moved to a later time/date.



The Danish Royals have no public engagements listed neither do the Norwegian Royals. The Grand Ducal website has nothing listed for Henri or his family but this might not be up to date.



I guess Albert could fly over to Belgium for the service at least and then fly straight back, I know in the past he has flown with the Belgian Royals to/from Royal events so they must be quite close, it depends how Charlene is feeling at the time I imagine.



With all those mentioned they may very well psotpone/cancel their planned engagements. I've always had the feeling Fabiola (and Baudouin) were well respected and well thought of by other Royals so I imagine many of them will try to attend.


Maybe The Duke of York will be sent to Brussels ? He represented his Mother at tge funeral of Rainier III of Monaco.

The swedish royals meeting with director-general Torbjörn Sohlström about the swedish candidacy to the UN security council in 2017 has been rescheduled to December 10 so i expect Carl Gustaf and Silvia to attend. They were close friends of Baudouin and Fabiola.
 
Did the Duchess of Cornwall personally know Queen Fabiola?

No, but for a State funeral I don't think it's necessary for a Royal representative to know the deceased personally.For example Andrew Duke of York represented QEII at the funeral for Rainier III in April 2005 since Charles and Camilla were on honeymoon. I doubt he and Rainier were buddies, if they even met at all.

I love, love, love the news that the late queen left her entire fortune to the needy people of Belgium. She will get the last word over everyone who made her final years so painful with their criticism of her Foundation.

A Queen to the end, in every sense of the word;).
 
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I have only recently become aware of the remarkable relationship that existed between Fabiola and her husband, Baudoin. It was the kind of relationship that fairy tales were made of, that the O. Henry story of Gift of Magi was based on and one with tremendous strength of not only personal character but of a deep spiritual bond that got them through any difficult times they had to face together.

I do believe that although those of us that remain and that loved her will miss her dearly and remember her always. I do believe also that the cartoon that has been posted reflects the happiness and joy these two soul mates feel on being reunited once again.

~~It is never goodbye. It is only until we meet again~~
 
Marengo,
I may understand your moderation.

To day in Belgium we had 2 tragic celebrations.
In Ghent the funerals of Singer Luc De Vos (Mia) found dead ,15.000 persons were there.
In Arlon the funerals of Beatrice Berlaimont (14 years old ) found killed ,1300 persons.

Our difficult economic situation with strike Monday for Brussels and the 15 December General strike for the whole Country , makes that although the sorrow for Queen Fabiola who sadly passed away life must go on .
On french TV since yesterday , the same films, the same interviews , same old people rememberings and now Special Place Royale makes it is a little bit to much.

This Board is a Royal board and I appreciate how people from everywhere and from far away are sad about this Royal Death, but my thread is only a testify of a Belgian Citizen to day. Kind regards MO
 
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I didn't expect to read this, how sad, may she RIP. :sad: To echo the thoughts of others, now she is with her beloved King Baudoin. I found a charming photo of Queen Fabiola surrounded by her family on what looks like a birthday celebration:

Queen Fabiola and the Belgian Royal Family

My God, 2014 is the years of deaths..

I was just thinking the same thing. All the people who it seems would live forever, have gone... I never expected Robin Williams to pass away (I wasn't even aware that he had depression), and the Duchess of Devonshire ended an era for the British aristocracy. And now Queen Fabiola has ended an era for Belgium.

Do you remember that Queen Fabiola's brother was NOT invited at the Royal Wedding.
He was called Fabiolo...

That must have been rather confusing. Did Queen Fabiola and her brother Fabiolo see each other often once she became a member of the Belgian Royal Family?
 
I knew Queen Fabiola had a playboy actor brother and her father was Don Gonzalo de Mora, Marques de Casa Riera, Count de Mora and he died in 1957 and her mother Doña Blanca died in 1981.

As for the rest of the family I know very little and of the family relationships.
 
Very sad news. Unfortunately her passing has gone largely unreported in Britain as the British press seem to think that people here are only interested in the Windsors. How wrong they are!
 
According to the BBC her allowance was only 900,000 EUR, or about 1,100,000 USD, doesn't sound like a lot to run a royal household.
 
[That must have been rather confusing. Did Queen Fabiola and her brother Fabiolo see each other often once she became a member of the Belgian Royal Family? ]//quote

Hereditary Princess,

Fabiola did eventually reconcile with her brother Jaime. He was in attendance at King Baudouin's funeral. "Fabiolo" was not his real name, it was a cheeky nickname invented for him by the tabloids during his heyday.
 
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According to the BBC her allowance was only 900,000 EUR, or about 1,100,000 USD, doesn't sound like a lot to run a royal household.

She did not have a real royal Household, she lived at the Château du Stuyvenberg with a minimal number of staff: http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm208/pablomilstein/belgica/belgica609.jpg

The Château du Stuyvenberg is located on the Domain of the Château de Laeken, residence of King Philippe. So Queen Fabiola could make use of the services and facilities of her nephew's Household.

:flowers:
 
God Bless HM Queen Fabiola.
 
A message of condolence from the Grand Duke of Luxembourg:

"It is with great emotion that the Grand Duchess and I heard the news of the death of Queen Fabiola. With my father, our family and countrymen we express our deepest condolences. We will keep fond memories, and recognise a Queen who has put all her qualities of mind and heart to the service of the reign of her husband and the welfare of its citizens. Her love of life and her communicative enthusiasm have always been an example for us."

Message de condoléances adressé à Sa Majesté le Roi des Belges - Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg - Décembre 2014
 
I think Princess Alexandra is the most suitable choice




Princess Alexandra of Kent? Why would she be suitable? I think the two haven´t met a lot - during the last 25 years hardly, if any.
So why would a junior member of the brit. royal family "most suitable" to attend a funeral of a foreign former Queen?!:ermm:
As far as I can recall she never represented the family or the country at an important event abroad (unlike her brothers or her cousin Richard and spouses), well, at least not a royal funeral...
 
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I agree. Queen Fabiola was a Queen-Consort and making Princess Alexandra the representative for the funeral seems a bit "low", for sure when other Houses send high delegations.

[...] As far as I can recall she never represented the family or the country at an important event abroad [...]

Princess Alexandra of Kent was one of the bridesmaids for Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark.

She joined ranks with Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, with Princess Irene of the Netherlands, with the Infanta Doña Pilar, with Princess Benedikte of Denmark, with Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, with Princess Anne d'Orléans and with Princess Tatiana Radziwill....

:flowers:
 
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