True Love Marriages

[Pranter]

Originally Posted by Osipi

I get the complete opposite feeling that Kate married William in spite of him being the second in line to the throne. The life of a senior royal always in the public glare and having to be "on game" when in public isn't a big attraction to marry someone. To most people, the life of royalty seems to be the epitome of what a grand life is but the people that actually live in the fishbowl can find it very limiting and restricting.

Right now their focus is on home and family and being duller than dishwater suits them just fine. They do shine immensely when they do activities in the public eye but they're careful enough to not want to make a big splash or draw too much attention to themselves personally as they're quite careful that their private lives remain just that. Private.

They know their time in the direct limelight is yet to come and it isn't a matter of if it will happen but that it will definitely happen and until then, they're perfectly happy with the way things are now.

Yep I totally agree.....AND after 8 years of dealing with all the things that came with William, she was not some starry eyed girl swept up into a fairy tale. She knew it was going to be an uphill challenge the rest of her life. There is no retirement.

I find it charming when they show those little demonstrations of love, often very subtle. I don't understand why people find them boring? Do they expect them to be jet setters or she out walking runways? Globe trotting?

They seem like a very stable solid couple who are basically happy and care a great deal for one another and their family unit.

If that is boring...bring it on, the world needs a lot more of it.


LaRae

[Pranter]

I think Stephanie and Guillaume are charming...they are a sweet couple. I quite like them... I find them stable and content as opposed to boring.


LaRae

[loveroyals]

Originally Posted by Osipi

Another couple that has come to mind when thinking about how much they meant to each other and interacted with each other is King Baudoin and Queen Fabiola.

I totally agree with you! they seemed very in love

[Moonmaiden23]

Originally Posted by Osipi

Another couple that has come to mind when thinking about how much they meant to each other and interacted with each other is King Baudoin and Queen Fabiola.

They are from my parents' era but when I discovered their story around the time of Baudouin's death in 1993 I wept, literally.

It's one of those beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime love stories that restores ones' faith in the idea of soulmates and true love sent from God.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by TLLK

IMHO Sarah and Andrew were a true love match when they married. I do believe they still love each other but she is not suited for royal life.

I think yes they were in love in a bit of an immature puppy dog way. But Sarah and he were both immature, and she simply was too selfsih to adjust to royal life. I think there is still an affection...but he's not such a fool as to go back to her..

[Moonmaiden23]

Denville and TLLK, I agree with you both about Andrew and Sarah.

Their wedding is probably my all time favorite British Royal wedding and I never would have believed that it would all end the way it did.

I happen to believe that they genuinely loved one another but both lacked the maturity to sustain the relationship.

Until very recently I felt they still had a chance.

But sadly I think they are both selfish (not to mention greedy) people.

And Sarah is completely unsuited to Royal life.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by Curryong

I too have a real soft spot for Philippe and Mathilde. They have charm and an air of calm about them. I also think they are very professional and complete each other. Philippe was lucky to find Mathilde IMO and they always seem to be very happy together.

Did he find her, or was she found for him?

I know it was many years ago, but I recall a lot of controversy as to whether Philippe was fit to be king or should be passed over in the succession. I think there were some books alleging a forced marriage.

I am not saying this is all true, but I remember the furor at the time.
It died down a long time ago and the couple seems content but still, it does cast a shadow.

[Curryong]

Yes I remember the rumours. I think they supposedly met at a tennis match, didn't they? Who knows whether someone gave Mathilde a shove or two in his direction. Perhaps they did. Philippe was hardly love's young dream and I think people were extremely surprised at the engagement because he'd reached an age when he wasn't really expected to marry. Nevertheless, I think they have plenty in common and always seem happy in each other's company and with their family, and I suppose you can't ask for more than that!

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

Denville and TLLK, I agree with you both about Andrew and Sarah.


And Sarah is completely unsuited to Royal life.

I don't think they had much of a chance. I think the RF (and people generally) felt that Sar had some rough edges but that she'd settle and fit in, but she didn't. Andy is also rather dumb and vulgar, but he has been reared in the RF and so he played the game... (of course it was easeir for him because he is male and he had his career), but looking back at Sarah, at the wedding, and generally I think it is obvious she really was too sily and vulgar and unfortunatley, instead of settling in, and learning how to do things, she got worse. I think that the money, the attention, the doing public engagements where she could "show off" to the public, etc.. it all went to her head. ANd gradually, she did less work, she wanted more money, she got fed up because she felt Andy was never home and wasn't supporting her when she got into trouble with the RF or the press.. and within a few years she wanted out. I think she believed, she could still have the good bits of royal life, her daughters were still part of the family, and she would still be seen by many as a royal duchess, but she woud be able to do what she liked and find a new richer husband..
But the husband didn't turn up, the RF gave her the cold shoulder and the public ignored her, so now, she would love to get back with Andrew, but it wont happen.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Curryong

Yes I remember the rumours. I think they supposedly met at a tennis match, didn't they? Who knows whether someone gave Mathilde a shove or two in his direction. Perhaps they did. Philippe was hardly love's young dream and I thinkask for more than that!

What is wrong with Philippe? He is a kings son, so I can't imagine he could not find a wife.. and surely he wasn't too old to marry?

[Curryong]

Philippe was 39 when he married. He was heir to the Belgian throne, and that's quite old for a Crown Prince to marry, but unlike his father King Albert, no sexual scandals in his past. There's nothing wrong with Philippe as far as I can see. Perhaps a bit staid and dull but that's it. At least this King and Queen have a stable and loving marriage. Due to various things, Philippe's parents did not for many years.
Belgium has various problems, not least of which is a divided language/culture. There have also been political crises. I think some thought that Philippe wasn't the sort of person who could unify and inspire, but I think he's done OK.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Pranter

Yep I They seem like a very stable solid couple who are basically happy and care a great deal for one another and their family unit.

If that is boring...bring it on, the world needs a lot more of it.


LaRae

They are boring as people because they have no passion for anything. they both seem to just live in a little world, not doing much, (he's beter than she is) and while I'm glad they are happily married, I would like to feel that they have some interest in Something outside "our liltle life". Maybe they wll be great as King and Queen but I don't think so, someone mentioned George VI and his queen, as a couple who didn't shine, at first. But I think that no one could accuse the queen mother of not having charm and "interestingness", She and G VI weren't intellectual but they had reasonable common sense and they were boht dedicated to duty and showed it in the War.. I don't see Will and Kate shining like that....

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Curryong

. Due to various things, Philippe's parents did not for many years.
Belgium has various problems, not least of which is a divided language/culture. There have also been political crises. I think some thought that Philippe wasn't the sort of person who could unify and inspire, but I think he's done OK.

That's true about Belgium, but the Monarchy IS a unifying force.. as far as I understand. And It seems like Albert and his wife were Ok as King and Queen for the most part, in spite of thteir marital problems. I thought it was Laurent who was a bit of a problem and might not be suited ot Royal life... and I don't think HE would be a very good monarch or a unifying focal point.
I agree 39 is old for a prince to marry, but I assume that he wasn't like Charles POW in that he didn't (at that time - not like the 1970s or early 80s) have to marry a virgin, and that he and Mathilde are reasonably close in age and I assume have something in common so it seems like an OK stable marriage.
I just checked and yes there is a fair age gap! and he does look a bit like an earnest professor!! But Mathilde was 26 when they married, not 19 or 20...

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by Curryong

Philippe was 39 when he married. He was heir to the Belgian throne, and that's quite old for a Crown Prince to marry, but unlike his father King Albert, no sexual scandals in his past. There's nothing wrong with Philippe as far as I can see. Perhaps a bit staid and dull but that's it. At least this King and Queen have a stable and loving marriage. Due to various things, Philippe's parents did not for many years.
Belgium has various problems, not least of which is a divided language/culture. There have also been political crises. I think some thought that Philippe wasn't the sort of person who could unify and inspire, but I think he's done OK.

What I'm wondering about and as I'm not that well informed about Belgian royals, somewhere I've read that Phillipe was quite close with his aunt and uncle King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. Perhaps their example of what a marriage should be influenced Phillipe on how he perceived his marriage should be?

[Countessmeout]

Yes, Philippe and his siblings were very close to the couple. It seems their own parents by account were distant at best. Baudouin groomed his nephew as heir. Philippe likely very much looked at the couple, very devout catholics who seemed deeply in love and committed, even with struggles of reigning and miscarriages. Laurent on the other hand, it is said Baudouin encouraged change in succession to push Laurent further from the throne by putting Astrid and her 2 kids at the time ahead. He didn't approve of Laurent's lifestyle.

[Osipi]

Thanks Countessmeout! I had a vague recollection of their closeness to their aunt and uncle. I think when it comes to love and marriage, children very much look to their parents and close relatives as examples of how they'd want their marriages to be. With some, they want a marriage just like dear old dads and with others, they want the total opposite of what their parents had (or didn't have).

Phillipe and Mathilde perhaps built their marriage on a foundation such as Baudouin and Fabiola's whereas a couple like William and Kate based what they wanted on her parents rather than his. Philip and Elizabeth follow closely in the mold of being devoted to duty as her parents were.

[Denville]

I'd have said if Baudon was grooming Philippe to be his heir, he shoud have gotten him married sooner. It seems quite late in the day htat he married..hte main thing for a royal marriage is to be reasonably stable and affectionate, and fertile...

[Osipi]

There is more to Baudouin's story than just grooming Phillipe to be a King. Baudouin, himself, had quite a firm belief in what he wanted as a spouse and it didn't factor in any of the reasons such as reasonably stable and affectionate or fertile. He was a very devout Catholic and to him, a marriage was a sacred thing and wanted a spouse that not only believed the same as he did, but also practiced in life, the strong devotion that he had. He found that in Fabiola. Their story which is told in various threads here is touching and inspiring.

Fertility was the last thing ever on his mind as a prerequisite to be a Queen as Fabiola, throughout her lifetime, had many miscarriages and never was able to have a child. She, I believe, at one time offered to dissolve the marriage so that Baudouin could remarry and have heirs but he was having nothing of that. He loved her deeply and she was his wife and that was that.

Marriage was a very sacred and personal thing to Baudouin and this is what Phillipe saw in his aunt and uncle.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by Denville

I'd have said if Baudon was grooming Philippe to be his heir, he shoud have gotten him married sooner. It seems quite late in the day htat he married..hte main thing for a royal marriage is to be reasonably stable and affectionate, and fertile...

About that last thing...
For what it's worth, there have been allegations (I think a couple of books came out) that claimed Philippe's children were the result of artificial insemination.


(I don't state this as a fact, just what some publications asserted. If true, that could be a eason for the delay in marrying.)

[Curryong]

Didn't those allegations turn up in a book 'Question Royale' written by a journalist who was unable to publicly name one source? They were all anonymous.

Quite frankly, when some men live quietly and remain single beyond a certain age rumours about their being gay begin. Remember the stories about Prince Edward?
Poor old Philippe apparently is not only gay but unable to reproduce! Why? Plenty of gay men have fathered children. I can name half a dozen historical figures that did so without even thinking too hard.

If this male journalist was so sure that what he wrote was true then he should have shown some proof, IMO. Otherwise, it gets to be rather like the rubbishy speculation in another forum that the Cambridges haven't reproduced either.