The Snow Princess: Queen Astrid of Belgium, Part 2

[Curryong]

Queen Astrid, the Snow Princess, was very attractive. She also did her very best to be a great consort and Queen and she was so beloved. The whole thing was such a tragedy.

You do wonder of course, how it would have gone for the family after the war and the RF imprisonment with Astrid present. King Leopold might well have still been blamed for his conduct during the war, but it’s possible that if Astrid had still been around she may have alleviated some of the bitterness. And of course there would then have been no Lilian.

 

[JR76]

Queen Astrid, the Snow Princess, was very attractive. She also did her very best to be a great consort and Queen and she was so beloved. The whole thing was such a tragedy.

You do wonder of course, how it would have gone for the family after the war and the RF imprisonment with Astrid present. King Leopold might well have still been blamed for his conduct during the war, but it’s possible that if Astrid had still been around she may have alleviated some of the bitterness. And of course there would then have been no Lilian.

It's my belief that Astrid not dying would have meant some more common sense at Laeken during the war (it's always been my opinion that Leopold, who was a nice man but not very bright, heavily relied on the women in his life for support and decisions), no circus Lilian, no question royale and a much happier life for both her children and grandchildren.

Oh, and more heirloom jewellery for Queen Mathilde.

 

[Prinsara]

Leopold himself would say — after everything including remarriage, more kids, Nazis, terror, and abdication — “Oh, if only Astrid were still alive.. It would have all been so different...”

Astrid was loved by everybody and I can’t see the Belgians forcing her off the throne — and I doubt Leopold would have been so willing to go, if she were alive and well.

He loved her. He lost her. There was no one who could be what she was and do what she did. It is very sad.

 

[maria-olivia]

If Leopold III did not drive HIMSELF a car he did not know and was not one for the Mountains.
If his private driver used the car , Queen Astrid was still alive.
The contacts between Leopold III and the Swedish Royal family were difficult and he is not seen on family pictures (between 1935 - 1940) . His Children went to Sweden to their beloved Princess Ingeborg and Prince Carl.

 

[Prinsara]

Was Leopold responsible for the pear tree, too? Some things are just freak tragic accidents.

Her parents very publicly did not blame him and said gracious things instead when they didn’t in the least have to. And there is a picture in Norway seemingly from the time period with Leopold and all the in-laws. If Leopold never went to Sweden it’s possibly because it was just too painful, not because he wasn’t welcome.

If Astrid were alive, I also wonder if the Nazis would have hesitated at deporting a member of the Swedish royal family, so perhaps that might not have happened as well.

I don’t think Leopold ever stopped blaming himself for her death, and that didn’t necessarily produce any beneficial results. It doesn’t mean the rest of us have to.

 

[maria-olivia]

I am member of l'Asociation Royale Dynastie et Patrimoine Culturel. The Archivist of the Royal Palace received in 2023 the files of Baron Capelle, given by his descendants. Baron Capelle was the Secretary of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant and later for Leopold He was asked to write notes and did it.
He wrote an article about the real Astrid and not the icoon.
First he publised a picture of Queen Astrid wearing the Nine Province tiara in 1934. When the Queen passed away , with the ancestral Photoshop Photograph Marchand changed this picture (she had some brown spots) to the world known one which is a perfection, but was not her.
Princess Astrid was a simple , sincere and authentic Princess, which was difficult for her at the belgian Court. She could do in Sweden what she wanted but not in Belgium as Crown Peincess. All the newspapers published the picture of Astrid and Josephine Charlotte on the Street among people waiting Prince Leopold on his horse. King Albert I did not agree that his pregnant daughter in law was there only with her lady in Waiting without bodygards and police..
The Head of their House was from King Albert generation and Protocol was its highlight. His ancestors were from the Middle Ages and Astrid and her family from Napoleon. .Astrid had two not easy Ladies in Waiting. After a few years Head of their House and ladies in Waiting changed .
King Albert I said that Leopold did not enough for Belgiim and Queen Elisabeth said that Astrid did nothing for Culture and that their Children had a to modern Education.
In 1930 Princess Astrid became Catholic . Their Wedding at St Michel et Gudule was not eucharistic but a Blessing..as Princess Astrid was still Protestant. They lived first in BelVue were Josephine Cha
They travelled a lot , and in Europa with Leopold's Bugatti, he drove himseif. They travelled in Congo. Leopold wanted to be Gouverneur General what this was refused because he was the Crown Prince.
During their holidays in Switzerland they learnd that King Albert I passed away. Queen Astrid and her two Children attend the King's Oath on 23th February. A new Royal House, different than the former . Great newe the birth on June 6th of Albert- Felix- Umberto- Theodoor-Christian-Eugene-Marie who is still alive. His Godfather was Prince Felix of Luxembourg and his Godmother Princess Ingeborg.
One year mourning, they started their Joyeuse Entrées in Antwerp and the orther cities after the holidays. Their first State Visit was for Sweden and tha the Wedding of Princess Ingrid with Crown Prince Frederik.
On July 23th Capelle had lunch with the King and the Queen before they left for their holidays in Sweden and after in their villa Hasliborn near Luzern. It was the last time he saw the Queen.
On 29 August the King driving his Packard and their destiny stopped at KusSnacht.
I will end here as mu thread was about Queen Astrid alive. The notes of Baron Robert Capelle are giving a real look about Princess /Queen Astrid , a human wowen without "chichi"

 

[maria-olivia]

I tried to summary 24 pages with pictures I did not write names for the privacy.
I am so grateful to his writer.
Follows ...
They lived first in Belle Vue Castle where Princess Josephine Charlotte was born . Her Godmother was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Godfather Prince Carl of Sweden. They moved to Stuyvenberg Castle where Prince Baudouin was born . His Godfather was King Albert I and Godmother Princess René de Bourbon Parme born Prncess Margaretha of Denmark.
They often invite friends and family and Princess Astrid could cook ....she wanted to make all easy.

 

[maria-olivia]

But the High Nobility said : '"la Reine ne connait rien au protocole"...

 

[JR76]

I am member of l'Asociation Royale Dynastie et Patrimoine Culturel. The Archivist of the Royal Palace received in 2023 the files of Baron Capelle, given by his descendants. Baron Capelle was the Secretary of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant and later for Leopold He was asked to write notes and did it.
He wrote an article about the real Astrid and not the icoon.
First he publised a picture of Queen Astrid wearing the Nine Province tiara in 1934. When the Queen passed away , with the ancestral Photoshop Photograph Marchand changed this picture (she had some brown spots) to the world known one which is a perfection, but was not her.
Princess Astrid was a simple , sincere and authentic Princess, which was difficult for her at the belgian Court. She could do in Sweden what she wanted but not in Belgium as Crown Peincess. All the newspapers published the picture of Astrid and Josephine Charlotte on the Street among people waiting Prince Leopold on his horse. King Albert I did not agree that his pregnant daughter in law was there only with her lady in Waiting without bodygards and police..
The Head of their House was from King Albert generation and Protocol was its highlight. His ancestors were from the Middle Ages and Astrid and her family from Napoleon. .Astrid had two not easy Ladies in Waiting. After a few years Head of their House and ladies in Waiting changed .
King Albert I said that Leopold did not enough for Belgiim and Queen Elisabeth said that Astrid did nothing for Culture and that their Children had a to modern Education.
In 1930 Princess Astrid became Catholic . Their Wedding at St Michel et Gudule was not eucharistic but a Blessing..as Princess Astrid was still Protestant. They lived first in BelVue were Josephine Cha
They travelled a lot , and in Europa with Leopold's Bugatti, he drove himseif. They travelled in Congo. Leopold wanted to be Gouverneur General what this was refused because he was the Crown Prince.
During their holidays in Switzerland they learnd that King Albert I passed away. Queen Astrid and her two Children attend the King's Oath on 23th February. A new Royal House, different than the former . Great newe the birth on June 6th of Albert- Felix- Umberto- Theodoor-Christian-Eugene-Marie who is still alive. His Godfather was Prince Felix of Luxembourg and his Godmother Princess Ingeborg.
One year mourning, they started their Joyeuse Entrées in Antwerp and the orther cities after the holidays. Their first State Visit was for Sweden and tha the Wedding of Princess Ingrid with Crown Prince Frederik.
On July 23th Capelle had lunch with the King and the Queen before they left for their holidays in Sweden and after in their villa Hasliborn near Luzern. It was the last time he saw the Queen.
On 29 August the King driving his Packard and their destiny stopped at KusSnacht.
I will end here as mu thread was about Queen Astrid alive. The notes of Baron Robert Capelle are giving a real look about Princess /Queen Astrid , a human wowen without "chichi"

"A human woman without "chichi"" - Astrid was a modern royal before her time in the model of so many other royals in the decades to come.

 

[maria-olivia]

JR76 Thank you so much to print my whole message. After one hour it was bloqued...It was difficult to me translating and summerizing.

 

[JR76]

JR76 Thank you so much to print my whole message. After one hour it was bloqued...It was difficult to me translating and summerizing.

Thank you for going through all the trouble of writing that post. It was an interesting read with several facts I hadn't heard of before. It's quite fascinating that even after more than a century on the throne the Bernadotte ancestry was frowned upon by some of the great houses of Europe.