Death of Queen Fabiola: December 5, 2014


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
I've been to many funerals in my time and the open caskets just scare me to death. I went to one funeral, when I was a kid, and the casket was rolled into each row of seats for all the mourners to view and I nearly lost my mind.

My family know not to have my casket open when the good Lord calls me home. Put a flag or standard over it and call it a day.
 
Open caskets are quite normal in Ireland at funeral and wakes,so I'm used to them and they don't bother me.(My late grandparents/grand aunts/uncles/father's funerals all had them).
 
It all seems very poignant now that people from all over the world have started to arrive in time for tomorrow's events. This time last week, who could have imagined it.
 
Osipi said:
I think what matters most is what was stated in Queen Fabiola's wishes. That the people who loved and cared about her most would be there. I think she would more appreciate someone like our Maria-Olivia being there than which representative of the British royal family attended.

People should be there and attend because they want to be and not because they're required to be.

Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

I agree with you..
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
The wishes of the late Queen Fabiola are not so important. She is no private individual but a former Queen of the Belgians, a very public figure in the heart of Belgian society. Earlier this week from her Confessor, the Abbot Benoît Lobet, Doyen of Enghien, a slip of the tongue was heard: he claims Queen Fabiola did not want to be laid in state: she would have ordered "the ugliest coffin possible" to prevent this. He claims that Queen Fabiola also did not want a Funeral Mass in the Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule but "just" a small gathering in the local Église Notre-Dame de Laeken. The old Queen considered herself a true parishioner of that church close to the royal domain of Laeken. It is very strange that a Confessor has been so slippery with his tongue, but we all can see that none of both wishes of the late Fabiola is followed. It is the King whom decides in this matter and his House organizes a royal funeral. So your assumption about Fabiola's wishes concerning her guests: her wishes are not relevant.
Click to expand...


Smiles. Oh I agree and I imagine Fabiola came to realize that what she would have liked just wouldn't be possible. I think along the same lines would be The Duke of Edinburgh preferring something simple and no muss nor fuss but being resigned to the fact that he will have a full state funeral as it is not only he that would be being honored, but his position and contributions to the UK as a whole.

The more I read, the more I come to realize what a fabulous person Queen Fabiola was.
 
Jacknch said:
It all seems very poignant now that people from all over the world have started to arrive in time for tomorrow's events. This time last week, who could have imagined it.
Click to expand...

Very touching indeed. :flowers:
 
It is nice to learn that Empress Michiko will be in attendance. The send-off ceremony is very formal though.
 
Nico said:
According to various sources the British Royals will not send any representative to the funerals :

Funérailles de Fabiola: beaucoup de musique à la cathédrale, le témoignage du personnel à Laeken | Belgique - lesoir.be

If i remember well there was an alleged rift between the two families because the Belgian Court "only" sent the then Prince Albert to the funerals of George VI. Then the presence of "only" Princess Margaret to the 1960 royal wedding was seen as more or less a cold response from the BRF. Finally the exceptionnal attendance of QEII to the funerals of King Baudoin supposedly ended any more trouble between the two families.
We can now only speculate about this (not so surprising ?) decision from the BRF...
Click to expand...



When Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died in 1999 not only did then King Albert attend, but his heir, the then Philippe Duc de Brabant attended as well. Queen Mathilde and King Philippe were warmly received by QEII in Britain only a couple of months ago. So if there is some sort of rift or disagreement between the two Houses it is a very, very recent one.

So I guess this means that when the current queen and the duke of Edinburgh pass on it will be acceptable for Philippe to simply dispatch his ambassador to the funeral?:cool:

Queen Fabiola's late husband King Baudouin was a member of the Order of The Garter.

The most charitable thing I can say about this decision by the Windsors is that it is baffling
 
Moonmaiden23 said:
Thanks saintgilles. I have not been able to really see HM's hair in the photos...is it styled at all?

It's lovely that you were able to go and pay your respects.:)
Click to expand...

There's part of me that thinks, of all things, the hair has to be right. :lol: For God's sake, at least get the hairdo she always wanted.

I'm mainly joking, but I adore Fabiola in all her quirkiness. :flowers:

Moonmaiden23 said:
Queen Fabiola's late husband King Baudouin was a member of the Order of The Garter.

The most charitable thing I can say about this decision by the Windsors is that it is baffling
Click to expand...

Seriously disappointing. This is a deep disappointment for me. :sad:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The King and Queen of Sweden will probably fly to Brussels in the early morning hours as they held a dinner for the Nobel laureates until a few hours ago. I'll be planespotting at Stockholm Bromma Airport in a few hours so i'll see if i can catch their departure in the camera lens.
 
Last edited:
I'd just like to thank all the contributors to this thread. It has really been a community effort to gather all the information together on the passing of Fabiola and what to expect at her funeral service. Thank you very much, everybody for the good work.

:flowers:
 
She lived a long life now that pain of losing her spouse is over they are reunited.
May HM Queen Fabiola R.I.P
 
The British royal family will according to the Belgian media not attend the funeral of Queen Fabiola, but be represented by the British ambassador to Belgium.
I adore The Queen, and I like Charles, Camilla, William and Catherine, but this surprises me.
The British royal family has been present at every major royal funeral in the past 30 years.

Emperor Hirohito's funeral in 1989. The Duke of Edinburgh.
King Olav's funeral in 1991. Charles.
King Baudouin's funeral in 1993. The Queen.
Queen Ingrid's funeral in 2000. Charles.
Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte's funeral in 2005. Andrew.
Prince Rainier's funeral in 2005. Andrew.
 
Last edited:
ROYAL NORWAY said:
The British royal family will according to the Belgian media not attend the funeral of Queen Fabiola, but be represented by the British ambassador to Belgium.
I adore The Queen, and I like Charles, Camilla, William and Catherine, but this surprises me.
The British royal family has been present at every major royal funeral in the past 30 years.

Emperor Hirohito's funeral in 1989. The Duke of Edinburgh.
King Olav's funeral in 1991. Charles.
King Baudouin's funeral in 1993. The Queen.
Queen Ingrid's funeral in 2000. Charles.
Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte's funeral in 2005. Andrew.
Prince Rainier's funeral in 2005. Andrew.
Click to expand...

This is really surprising to me. I really thought at least one member of the British royal family would be in attendance.
 
Don't know if it's been reported here already but I read that Will Tura will once again sing "Hoop doet leven," this time for Fabiola.
 
Next Star said:
She lived a long life now that pain of losing her spouse is over they are reunited.
May HM Queen Fabiola R.I.P
Click to expand...


The words she allegedly spoke to her confessor Father Benoit sent a chill up my spine..."This old lady's work is done. Now I will go to my beloved".
 
Will there be Live Coverage?
 
It seems that it has been made known that Fabiola didn't want the big funeral so maybe the BRF are actually respecting her wishes by not attending. Charles and Anne had other commitments. William and Kate have just been to the US so will need a month or more to recover. The Queen doesn't normally attend funerals overseas.
 
Well if that's true i hope they have a really good excuse for not being able to send even one member and send their ambassador alone. Scheduling conflicts can't be an issue when they have the biggest royal family and Kings, Queens,
Princes and Princess'es from much smaller royal families are able to reschedule their agendas to attend the funeral of a Dowager Queen Consort. But i'll wait for an actual confirmation.

Anyway i hope Her Majesty The Dowager Queen Consort of Belgium gets the send off she wanted. RIP Ma'am
 
This is frankly inexcusable from the British Royal Family, it's not as if they are short on people!!

I don't think the Duke of Kent or Princess Alexandra for example would have refused to attend
 
The important thing is that Q.Fabiola gets the funeral she wanted; the representative from Great-Brittain is just one guest, so will not be of influence on the tone or proceedings of the funeral
 
More about the funeral on this morning's news: the children of the royal family will read, bariton Jose Van Dam will sing (he sang at Filip and Mathilde's wedding), there will be Spanish music and there will be a 'surprise' at the end.

After the mass in the Cathedral of Brussels, she will be brought to the royal crypt in the church of Laken and be laid to rest next to her beloved husband.
 
Hans-Rickard said:
Well if that's true i hope they have a really good excuse for not being able to send even one member and send their ambassador alone. Scheduling conflicts can't be an issue when they have the biggest royal family and Kings, Queens,
Princes and Princess'es from much smaller royal families are able to reschedule their agendas to attend the funeral of a Dowager Queen Consort. But i'll wait for an actual confirmation.

Anyway i hope Her Majesty The Dowager Queen Consort of Belgium gets the send off she wanted. RIP Ma'am
Click to expand...

The "grand legumes" as the late Comtesse de Paris used to refer to them, are going to be out in force-Juan Carlos, Sofia and perhaps their daughter-in-law Queen Letizia, the former Empress of Iran, and none other than her Imperial Majesty Michiko of Japan just to name a few. The Windsors will be conspicuous by their absence. Which will of course be duly noted by all the Royal press and online blogs.

I hope QEII at least took a moment to send her condolences to King Philippe and his family?:cool:

They might have a perfectly good reason for this, but there is no way to avoid the fact that it just isn't a good look on the part of the House of Windsor.:ermm:
 
Last edited:
Iluvbertie said:
It seems that it has been made known that Fabiola didn't want the big funeral so maybe the BRF are actually respecting her wishes by not attending. Charles and Anne had other commitments. William and Kate have just been to the US so will need a month or more to recover. The Queen doesn't normally attend funerals overseas.
Click to expand...

How hilarious. FYI, William is unveiling a war memorial today.
 
cdm said:
More about the funeral on this morning's news: the children of the royal family will read, bariton Jose Van Dam will sing (he sang at Filip and Mathilde's wedding), there will be Spanish music and there will be a 'surprise' at the end.

After the mass in the Cathedral of Brussels, she will be brought to the royal crypt in the church of Laken and be laid to rest next to her beloved husband.
Click to expand...

Perhaps that will be Will Tura, as I've read, singing "Hoop doet leven"

Very loosely (as in on-line translators) :

Hope springs eternal
hope and believe that
the fire will never go out

Perhaps one of our bi-lingual friends here will translate all the lyrics. If so, I can paste them here.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

iceflower
Belgian State Visit to Germany: December 5 - 7, 2023
Replies
25
Views
2K
iceflower
iceflower
iceflower
Queen Mathilde's Eveningwear Part 5: January 2024 -
Replies
20
Views
2K
iceflower
iceflower
iceflower
Queen Margrethe's Fashion and Style Part 5: August 2023 -
2 3
Replies
81
Views
7K
iceflower
iceflower
Blog Real
Archives of the Royal Households
Replies
0
Views
982
Blog Real
Blog Real
D
Hello from Mexico!
Replies
5
Views
433
CyrilVladisla
CyrilVladisla

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom