King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola of Belgium were very popular monarchs who were blessed with a strong, happy marriage. The young king had been known for his seriousness, but when he became engaged to the beautiful Spanish aristocrat Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon he found happiness. The couple was devoted to each other and to Belgium. The late King Baudouin I is remembered fondly for his service to his country, and his widow Queen Fabiola is still loved and respected in her adoptive homeland.
The Early Life of King Baudouin I of Belgium
King Baudouin I of Belgium (1930–1993) had a difficult childhood. His mother, Queen Astrid of Belgium, died tragically in a car crash before he turned five. He was brought up with his two siblings around children of other backgrounds and received a broad education. He was taught a love of nature and given a strong religious foundation that gave him strength throughout his life. During World War II he was moved around to keep him safe, but after his father King Leopold III remarried the family was able to return to Laeken Palace and live together. Baudouin studied political economy and law in preparation for becoming king, and he was crowned at the young age of twenty-one after his father was forced to abdicate.
King Baudouin I of Belgium and Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon
King Baudouin I of Belgium was a very serious king, very devoted to serving his country. He was so serious and unscandalous, and so little was known of his private life, that some speculated that he would abdicate in favor of his younger brother and join a monastery. However, in 1958 he met the woman he would marry, but was prudently keeping his personal happiness quiet because of political problems in the Belgian Congo.
King Baudouin I met his perfect match in Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon (b.1928). A Spanish aristocrat, Fabiola was the daughter of the Marquess de Casa Riera and the Countess of Mora, and had close ties to the Spanish monarchy. She and the young king had met at a “youth meeting” at the home of her godmother, the former Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain. A former nurse, this graceful beauty and devout Catholic was finally able to make the “sad king” smile. Their engagement was announced on September 16, 1960.
The Marriage of King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola of Belgium
King Baudouin I of Belgium married his queen on December 15, 1960, at the Cathedral de Saints-Michel-et-Gudule in Brussels. They settled in to live at the family home of Laeken Palace. Throughout their marriage, the couple enjoyed a simple home life together.
Belgium had been without a queen for the first ten years of King Baudouin’s reign, and Queen Fabiola immediately made herself useful and very popular with the Belgians. She threw herself into charity work and made numerous public appearances, both on her own and in support of her husband. Queen Fabiola soon became known as Belgium’s “number one social worker.”
King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola had a very strong, happy marriage. Their one sadness was that they were never able to have children. After suffering a few miscarriages, they came to peace with never having any children of their own, and instead publicly devoted themselves to all of the children of Belgium. This tragedy and their strong religious faith helped to bond the couple and strengthen their marriage.
In 1993, the couple was on vacation in Spain when King Baudouin I died suddenly of a heart attack. His early death surprised Belgium, and he was mourned by his people and others who had grown to admire him. Even Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, who never before attended a foreign funeral, came to pay her respects.
King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola of Belgium had a happy marriage, strengthened by their strong Catholic faith and devotion to the Belgian people. In choosing to marry the Spanish aristocrat Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon, King Baudouin I of Belgium gave his country a hard-working queen and himself a perfectly suited wife. Sadly, the couple never had any children, so King Baudouin was succeeded by his younger brother, King Albert II of Belgium. The former Queen Fabiola is still a beloved and active member of the Belgian royal family.
Source:
Aronson, Theo. Coburgs of Belgium, The. London: Cassell & Company Ltd, 1968.
Emily Chauviere - Emily Chauviere earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and theology and a concentration in International Studies from the University ...
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