Emily said:
I am interested in this comment and wonder if Catherine or Hannelore can address it? I haven't had the sense that the Queen is isolated or in despair but I do sense something different about her than other queens. I have thought this for a while but haven't quite been able to put my finger on exactly what it is that makes her seem different to me -- perhaps she isn't as regal; she is more natural, taking life on her own terms and yet I very much admire the approach she takes. She seems very down to earth. Anyway, I'd love to hear what some of the Belgians think about her.
She is not at all isolated or desperate or whatever. I think she's quite happy. She's loved by her family and it warms my heart to see her and Albert together. Almost like a youn couple in love.
What my view on her is, is of course very personal.
As a young woman she was very glamourous, and apart from being a really devoted mother, she also enjoyed parties and fashion, but I think that intellectually it must have been a very empty life (but I also think she didn't mind).
After the wedding crisis, when they got back together (in the 80s) she seemed in a way more 'humble' IMO, thankful in a way too, not really towards anyone in particular, perhaps just to life (as strange as this may sound).
Since she's queen, my overall impression is also one of modesty. She knows she has defaults, and that she's far from perfect : her Dutch is awful (when she was younger she never bothered to learn it - which also says things about her attitude in the past). She's taken lots of lessons to improve her Dutch, but you notice how uncertain she feels about it when she talks and it makes her shy.
Paola does not have the determination and strength of caracter Fabiola has, she's not as smart and extravagant as queen Elisabeth or as spontaneous and open to the crowd as queen Astrid was, but she has her own qualities. What I like about her is that she doesn't pretend to know very much but rather asks for explanations, she's actually very kind but also has a shyness that people sometimes mistakingly take for arrogance. I also believe she enjoys being in normal situations with other people, without any fuss (I remember seeing her at the children's charity gala at Versailles, all the photographers started shouting her name and wanted to take pictures, in a bit of a shy way she waved her hand and turned away, sort of saying "I've already had all this in the past, this isn't for me anymore").
Her family seems to be the center of her life. I get the impression she's not as much involved in Belgium as other queens were before her (and undoubtedly Mathilde will be after her).