Queen Fabiola of the Belgians - obituary

The Telegraph ^ | 5 Dec 2014 | Telegraph

[Cronos]

Queen Fabiola of the Belgians, who has died aged 86, had one of the most unlikely royal courtships of modern times when an Irish nun was sent on a secret mission in the 1950s to find a suitable bride for King Baudouin I.

The only unmarried child of a wealthy Spanish aristocrat, Fabiola was working as a nurse in Madrid and living in her own apartment when Sister Veronica O’Brien arrived in Spain at the behest of the future Cardinal Suenens, then auxiliary bishop of Malenes. Suenens was concerned that the King, who had been on the throne for nine years and was deeply religious, was lonely and needed a wife; and when Baudouin met Sister Veronica he confided to her that he wished to marry a devout Catholic — preferably Spanish and aristocratic.

After consulting Fabiola’s headmistress in Madrid, who thought that her former pupil might help to find a candidate among the unmarried daughters of her friends, Sister Veronica was duly introduced. She decided that she need look no further, reporting to Suenens that Avila (their code name for Fabiola) “came in like a breath of fresh air, tall, thin, well-built, good-looking and striking, bubbling with life, intelligence and energy”.

The couple became close when they sheltered from the rain and said the rosary together in his car during a visit to Lourdes. Fabiola duly accepted his proposal, hours before the King was called back to Belgium by the crisis in the Congo.

[Cronos]

The King and Queen made pilgrimages to Assisi and Lourdes, praying for a child, but Fabiola miscarried again in 1963. In 1966, and again in 1968, a baby died in her womb. After that they became resigned to having no children, but were sustained by their faith. Having no children brought them sympathy in their country, where the Belgian people considered them as symbols of parenthood to the nation. In 1979 King Baudouin told some Belgian youngsters: “You know that we are childless. For many years we struggled to fathom the meaning of this sorrow. But gradually we came to understand that, having no children ourselves, we have more room in our hearts to love all, truly all, children.”

When the Belgian government wanted to pass a law liberalising abortion in Belgium in 1990, the King felt so strongly against this that he asked the government to declare him temporarily unfit to reign so that he did not have to give the bill the Royal Assent. This was agreed, and afterwards he resumed the throne

[DaxtonBrown]

“In Belgium, the young King Baudouin also had a complicated family background. His grandfather, King Albert, had died in a climbing accident when he was three, and his mother, Queen Astrid, was killed in a car accident when he was four. “

Can someone translate this into Engrish?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

"Ich bin ein Berliner."

[Albion Wilde]

When the Belgian government wanted to pass a law liberalising abortion in Belgium in 1990, the King felt so strongly against this that he asked the government to declare him temporarily unfit to reign so that he did not have to give the bill the Royal Assent. This was agreed, and afterwards he resumed the throne

How I wish Queen Elizabeth II had done this a couple of years ago when Cameron rammed through his gay marriage legalization in UK.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/jfk_berliner.htm

[Romulus]

Seems perfectly clear to me.

“Engrish”?

She sounds like a lovely lady. RIP.

[ELS]

His [King Baudouin's]grandfather, King Albert, had died in a climbing accident when he [King Baudouin] was three, and his [King Baudouin's] mother, Queen Astrid, was killed in a car accident when he [King Baudouin] was four.

Does that clarify it?

[manc]

it would have been great if she had done this, but I think she is being told by her advisors to move forward in these times and stop being “old fashioned”

[Cronos]

I don’t think she is as religious as Bauduin

[DaxtonBrown]

Clearly King Albert died in a climbing accident at age three. And Queen Astrid was a transvestite who tied in a car accident when he was four.

It’s the only thing that makes sense.

[GreenLanternCorps]

When acting in her official capacity, the Queen of the United Kingdom is required to act on the advice of her ministers, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter.

[Albion Wilde]

When acting in her official capacity, the Queen of the United Kingdom is required to act on the advice of her ministers, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter.

I am aware; and most probably, so was King Baudoiun; which is why he did the extraordinary thing that he did. I wish QEII had taken his example, since they are close friends and relatives.