King Baudouin (1930-1993) and Queen Fabiola (1928-2014) of the Belgians

[An Ard Ri]

Visit by queen Fabiola in 1983 to the Willy Vandersteen Studio in Kalmthout, Belgium

 

[CyrilVladisla]

An Ard Ri, A very nice video! Were those pussywillow cuttings that some of the children held?

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Wonderful video. What language was Queen Fabiola speaking? I didn't recognize it as French...was it Dutch?

 

[gerry]

Wonderful video. What language was Queen Fabiola speaking? I didn't recognize it as French...was it Dutch?

Flemish is one of the three official languages of Belgium and Queen Fabiola spoke it quite well, as the video demonstrates! Willy van der Steen was the artist behind the very popular graphic novel series "Suske en Wiske"; apparently it is translated in English as "Spike and Suzy". My children were addicted to these books when they were young!

 

[Marengo]

A minor thing: Flemish is a collection of dialects and not an official language.

I was addicted to them too & must had over two hundred of the cartoons. I didn't known they were translated into English.

 

[JR76]

We had them in Sweden too. Here they were called Finn & Fifi.

 

[eya]

The Wedding Dress of Queen Fabiola is part of the exhibition ‘Balenciaga y la pintura espanola’ (Balenciaga and Spanish Painting) in Madrid.
the excibition showcase the links between the creations of Cristobal Balenciaga,and Spanish painting tradition from the 16th to the 20th century.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...enciaga-y-la-picture-id1157017233?s=2048x2048
https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...enciaga-y-la-picture-id1157017236?s=2048x2048


A queen’s wedding dress ‘hidden’ in an art gallery – Royal Central

 

[theroyalfly]

Nice! i didn't know Queen Fabiola donated the dress to the Cristobal Balenciaga Foundation.

But yes, this dress is amazing. It surpasses the styles of time.

 

[maria-olivia]

Do you know that Balenciaga had to do the Evening Dresses for the State Visit of their
Majesties to France .

For the Gala of the first Evening the dress came too late and General de Gaulle had to wait more than 30 minutes and was not that happy!

The Queen alas did a miscariage.

 

[theroyalfly]

Do you know that Balenciaga had to do the Evening Dresses for the State Visit of their
Majesties to France .

For the Gala of the first Evening the dress came too late and General de Gaulle had to wait more than 30 minutes and was not that happy!

The Queen alas did a miscariage.

Was this the 1961 State Visit? Oh her first miscarriage.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Yes...Fabiola was carrying her first doomed pregnancy during this visit and became ill. De Gaulle actually sent his personal physician to attend her despite his earlier irritation with the delay caused by the mixup with the dresses.

Queen Fabiola returned to Belgium and suffered her first miscarriage there.(FABIOLA, LA REINE BLANCHE auth. Guy Michelland)

 

[theroyalfly]

Yes...Fabiola was carrying her first doomed pregnancy during this visit and became ill. De Gaulle actually sent his personal physician to attend her despite his earlier irritation with the delay caused by the mixup with the dresses.

Queen Fabiola returned to Belgium and suffered her first miscarriage there.(FABIOLA, LA REINE BLANCHE auth. Guy Michelland)

I think I must have read this from somewhere. Thank you for the additional information. Sadly, this state visit turned to be one sad moment for Queen Fabiola.

Would you know if Cristóbal Balenciaga did make other dresses for the Queen aside from her wedding gown and this state visit evening dress?

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Yes...the same book I quoted mentioned that Fabiola continued to wear Balenciaga evening gowns during the 60's and 70's.

 

[theroyalfly]

Wow what a nice relationship between the two. I also read from a source that both families knew each other so well. That Fabiola's grandmother the late Marchioness of Casa Torres employed Balenciaga's mother as her seamstress.

I love relationships of royals and designers. To mention, Letizia and Felipe Varela and Meghan and Clare Waight Keller.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Yes, Cristobal Balenciaga was a friend of the Mora y Aragon family.

 

[maria-olivia]

Moonmaiden , you are well informed .
The Pope announced the Queen was pregnant , but she had a miscarriage, I Think this was the first one ? I did not keep the book la reine Blanche , could you see ?

 

[An Ard Ri]

I've never seen these photos of King Baudouin,Queen Fabiola and Lilian, Princess of Réthy with her daughters.

I'm not sure who else is in the photo.

https://images.app.goo.gl/2FpeVyNiAx5zyidq7

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Moonmaiden , you are well informed .
The Pope announced the Queen was pregnant , but she had a miscarriage, I Think this was the first one ? I did not keep the book la reine Blanche , could you see ?

Hi maria-olivia...Yes this was HM's first pregnancy, announced by Pope John XXIII after Baudouin and Fabiola confided in him and asked for the pontiff's blessing during their audience with him in early June 1961.

However the news had not been made public in Belgium, and this caused some hard feelings.

Fabiola miscarried on June 23 1961 in Brussels.

I ordered La Reine Blanche by Guy Michelland directly from the publisher in Paris. I was frustrated and disappointed not to find any English language biographies of Queen Fabiola online.

 

[maria-olivia]

Thanks Moonmaiden,
An Ard Ri, this picture is the Presentation of Dona Fabiola to the Press and the Belgians the day of their Engagement in laeken.

 

[JR76]

Thanks Moonmaiden,
An Ard Ri, this picture is the Presentation of Dona Fabiola to the Press and the Belgians the day of their Engagement in laeken.

Is that Dona Blanca between Baudouin and Fabiola?

 

[An Ard Ri]

Thanks Moonmaiden,
An Ard Ri, this picture is the Presentation of Dona Fabiola to the Press and the Belgians the day of their Engagement in laeken.

Its a wonderful photo of the Belgian golden couple.

 

[theroyalfly]

Thanks Moonmaiden,
An Ard Ri, this picture is the Presentation of Dona Fabiola to the Press and the Belgians the day of their Engagement in laeken.

Indeed, such a wonderful photo. The royal power couple of the 20th century!

Is that Dona Blanca between Baudouin and Fabiola?

I'm certain it is her.

 

[maria-olivia]

Yes , it was the first time we saw Dona Fabiola with her Mother for the Engagement in September 1960. We were a bit surprised the fiancee was so simply dressed.
We had no televison at home and went to neighbours ...

But for her Joyeuse Entrée in Brussels she wore a Vison hat that all the belgian Ladies wore afterwards.

In december 1960 , Her Wedding dress is a dream and seing for the first time the Nine Province tiara since 1935 , my Grand Mother cried.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Its a wonderful photo of the Belgian golden couple.

IAlbert and Paola, then Prince and Princess of Liege, were considered the Belgian Golden Couple at that time.They dominated the tabloids for most of the 60's because of their beauty and glamour.

Ironically by the time of Baudouin's engagement to Fabiola the "Golden Couple'" marriage was already beginning to show cracks...

 

[maria-olivia]

Paris Match tittled : Paola presque Reine and the same week the Prime Minister announced the engagement of King Baudouin....

 

[Moonmaiden23]

..Yes, I remember seeing that old Paris Match cover online a few years ago.

Baudouin fooled everyone.

 

[melina premiere]

Yes, I remembered the front page of this Paris Match

Nobody knew that the king Baudoin was engaged with a spanish countess even his father and his step mother the princess Lilian, they learnt the engagement at the same time of the people of Belgium, after the book, (la reine Blanche)

The man behind the king Leopold on the photo was the brother of the queen Fabiola, Gonzalo de Mora Y Riera

Queen Fabiola made five misccarriages

The medias sopke about the first in 1961, the second in september 1963, I remember the photo of the king Baudoin praying on his knees at Lourdes for Fabiola and the baby she was expecting but she made a misccariage and in july 1967, three days after the announce of king Baudoin announcing that they were waiting a child in their home, the queen Fbiola almost died, she did a misccariage

The book Fabiola , reine blanche said that the queen did a misccarriage in 1962 and in 1968

I remember, in 1963 the medias announced the pregnancy of queen Elizabeth who was expecting her fourth child and the misccariage of Fabiola

A very happy happy news and a very sad news in a same evening

 

[theroyalfly]

Yes, I remembered the front page of this Paris Match

Nobody knew that the king Baudoin was engaged with a spanish countess even his father and his step mother the princess Lilian, they learnt the engagement at the same time of the people of Belgium, after the book, (la reine Blanche)

The man behind the king Leopold on the photo was the brother of the queen Fabiola, Gonzalo de Mora Y Riera

Queen Fabiola made five misccarriages

The medias sopke about the first in 1961, the second in september 1963, I remember the photo of the king Baudoin praying on his knees at Lourdes for Fabiola and the baby she was expecting but she made a misccariage and in july 1967, three days after the announce of king Baudoin announcing that they were waiting a child in their home, the queen Fbiola almost died, she did a misccariage

The book Fabiola , reine blanche said that the queen did a misccarriage in 1962 and in 1968

I remember, in 1963 the medias announced the pregnancy of queen Elizabeth who was expecting her fourth child and the misccariage of Fabiola

A very happy happy news and a very sad news in a same evening

Omg! If I was born during that time I would have cried together with rest of the world.

Her 5 hapless miscarriages still pinch my heart up until now.

The Queen's faith is really astonishing!

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I think one of her pregnancies was so far advanced that it was considered a stillbirth rather than a miscarriage..a female, delivered at 5-6 months in July 1966.

Fabiola required emergency surgery and nearly lost her life.

 

[theroyalfly]

I think one of her pregnancies was so far advanced that it was considered a stillbirth rather than a miscarriage..a female, delivered at 5-6 months in July 1966.

Fabiola required emergency surgery and nearly lost her life.

It is Moonmaiden. 1 was stillbirth. I'm sorry I just said miscarriages in general.