30th Anniversary of King Baudouin's death


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That was lovely to see king Felipe there ,I wonder if the Belgian RF will mark the anniversary?
 
Baudouin was 62 years old when he suddenly died, about 5 weeks short of his 63rd birthday.

He would be 92 years old now, which is of course quite an advanced age but still not an uncommon one to achieve these days.

How sad it is to actually see the chair he was sitting in.:sad:
 
I imagine a memorial service will be organised as well, but since nothing has been announced yet it will likely be after the summer holidays, in September. Ten years ago, the memorial service to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Baudouin's death (which was held on the 31st July) was the very last public appearance of Queen Fabiola
 
Motril remembers King Baudouin this weekend for the 30th anniversary of his death

A mass, a concert of sacred music and the inauguration of a museum-memorial in honor of Baudouin will be some of the activities that Motrileños and visitors can enjoy on this anniversary. With the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the death of King Baudouin, the INEIS Foundation will inaugurate on July 31, a museum 'King Baudouin Memorial'

https://www.ideal.es/granada/costa/...0727154751-nt.html?ref=https://www.google.es/
 
Linda_26 said:
I imagine a memorial service will be organised as well, but since nothing has been announced yet it will likely be after the summer holidays, in September. Ten years ago, the memorial service to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Baudouin's death (which was held on the 31st July) was the very last public appearance of Queen Fabiola
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Yes I was wondering if there would be a Memorial Mass to mark the anniversary of the late king.
As its the summer holidays there may not be one.
 
An Ard Ri said:
Yes I was wondering if there would be a Memorial Mass to mark the anniversary of the late king.
As its the summer holidays there may not be one.
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For the 25th anniversary it was in September, so it will probably be the same thing this year
 
Linda_26 said:
For the 25th anniversary it was in September, so it will probably be the same thing this year
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Hopefully we'll see a Memorial Mass in the autumn to mark the 30th Anniversary.
 
The municipality of Uccle, in the Brussels region, is organising a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of King Baudouin 's death on 31st July. There will be an exposition of pictures from Baudouin's life and a reception afterwards. The event will apparently be attended by Princess Delphine.
I personally find it very odd to invite, out of all of Baudouin's nephews and nieces, (both through his sister and his brother) the only one who never knew him. Certainly having as "guest of honour" somebody who was actually close to the late King during his lifetime would have been much more meaningful.
Hommage de la commune d’Uccle au roi Baudouin – Noblesse & Royautés
https://twitter.com/x/status/1684580269511303174
 
:previous: I completely agree regarding the inclusion of Delphine Boel in this event.:sad:
 
Delighted to see that Queen Sofia will attend the late Kings memorial.
I believe Queen Sofia was close with the late Belgian King and Queen and had holidayed with both Baudouin and Fabiola over the years.
 
An Ard Ri said:
Delighted to see that Queen Sofia will attend the late Kings memorial.
I believe Queen Sofia was close with the late Belgian King and Queen and had holidayed with both Baudouin and Fabiola over the years.
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Yes, the images of Doña Sofía and Don Juan Carlos accompanying Fabiola to the plane behind King Boudewijn's coffin are heartbreaking. They were close enough for them to be amongst the very selective club who could refer to JC as "Juanito".


I'm King Filip's #1 defender, but he's really losing it when it comes to the forcedly recognised half-sister of his. And it seems he has forgotten what kind of man his uncle was.

Why include Delphine Boël, a child born out of wedlock, in an event related to the memory of the ultra catholic Boudewijn... he and Fabiola are surely turning in their graves! She didn't know him, she meant nothing to him. What the hell is this.
 
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Linda_26 said:
The municipality of Uccle, in the Brussels region, is organising a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of King Baudouin 's death on 31st July. There will be an exposition of pictures from Baudouin's life and a reception afterwards. The event will apparently be attended by Princess Delphine.
I personally find it very odd to invite, out of all of Baudouin's nephews and nieces, (both through his sister and his brother) the only one who never knew him. Certainly having as "guest of honour" somebody who was actually close to the late King during his lifetime would have been much more meaningful.
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I don't know what Philippe and Astrid are doing, but it would surely be a lot odder and not meaningful in a good way if Laurent went... And Delphine is actually Belgian and Baudouin was her king, unlike the Luxembourg relatives.

Isn't Uccle where she used to live?
 
Adda said:
I'm King Filip's #1 defender, but he's really losing it when it comes to the forcedly recognised half-sister of his. And it seems he has forgotten what kind of man his uncle was.

Why include Delphine Boël, a child born out of wedlock, in an event related to the memory of the ultra catholic Boudewijn... he and Fabiola are surely turning in their graves! She didn't know him, she meant nothing to him. What the hell is this.
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King Philippe was most likely not involved in this decision, as he's not the organizer of the event and won't attend. It's probably the municipality of Uccle that, for some reason that I personally find very difficult to understand, decided to invite Delphine, and she accepted (I would have declined). It's really strange that they selected as "guest of honour" somebody who didn't know Baudouin at all. I realize it probably won't be the most significant of the memorials for the 30th anniversary, but it's still a pity, as the presence of someone who knew him well would have added a more personal touch to the ceremony
 
Prinsara said:
I don't know what Philippe and Astrid are doing, but it would surely be a lot odder and not meaningful in a good way if Laurent went... And Delphine is actually Belgian and Baudouin was her king, unlike the Luxembourg relatives.

Isn't Uccle where she used to live?
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Inviting Laurent wouldn't have been a good idea, I agree, that's why I said I would have preferred to see "somebody who was actually close to him". Not somebody he had a strained relationship with (Laurent) or somebody he had never met at all (Delphine). I don't know if Philippe and Astrid are already on holiday, and I don't know if they were asked to participate. The nephews and nieces from Luxembourg would have been a more appropriate choice than Delphine to me. It's true that Delphine is Belgian and so he was "her" king, but during Baudouin's reign she was either too young to remember or living abroad, so I don't think she has many memories of him as head of state.
Delphine probably still lives in Uccle, I'm not sure, but to me it's not enough to justify this invitation, which I continue to find strange
 
When Queen Fabiola was alive there was a celebration Mass at our Cathedral. She was the only member of the Royal Family to attend ; The others were on holiday and the Queen went to Spain afterwards.
At our TV we will see a program about the late King that is all.
 
Linda_26 said:
Inviting Laurent wouldn't have been a good idea, I agree, that's why I said I would have preferred to see "somebody who was actually close to him". Not somebody he had a strained relationship with (Laurent) or somebody he had never met at all (Delphine). I don't know if Philippe and Astrid are already on holiday, and I don't know if they were asked to participate. The nephews and nieces from Luxembourg would have been a more appropriate choice than Delphine to me. It's true that Delphine is Belgian and so he was "her" king, but during Baudouin's reign she was either too young to remember or living abroad, so I don't think she has many memories of him as head of state.
Delphine probably still lives in Uccle, I'm not sure, but to me it's not enough to justify this invitation, which I continue to find strange
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Well,
- by any standard whatsoever, she is a better representative and more suitable to be there than Laurent
- we have no idea what Philippe and Astrid are doing, but she has a very good relationship with the latter and at least a cordial one with the former. Is it possible one of them could have suggested she go?
- everything else aside, Delphine may have just been the closest geographically-available relative for the local ceremony. Which isn't so strange.

You don't have to have known someone to want to pay your respects to them, or to try and strengthen your familial ties when that's only recently become possible. I like to believe King Baudouin would have extended some of his famed kindness to his niece.
 
Prinsara said:
Well,
- by any standard whatsoever, she is a better representative and more suitable to be there than Laurent
- we have no idea what Philippe and Astrid are doing, but she has a very good relationship with the latter and at least a cordial one with the former. Is it possible one of them could have suggested she go?
- everything else aside, Delphine may have just been the closest geographically-available relative for the local ceremony. Which isn't so strange.

You don't have to have known someone to want to pay your respects to them, or to try and strengthen your familial ties when that's only recently become possible. I like to believe King Baudouin would have extended some of his famed kindness to his niece.
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- for the reason I stated above, I don't think she is a better representative than Laurent would have been, but just an equally unsuitable one;
-I don't think either Philippe or Astrid suggested her presence at the event. In the interviews she's given since she became a Princess she said that Astrid was "kind" to her (which I don't doubt) but I don't think they have a close relationship or see each other often, same thing for Philippe. It's more likely it is a private initiative from Delphine and they were not informed (which seems the norm, also reading her interviews): it's fine, she's free to do what she wants as she doesn't receive a dotation, I just think it's not particularly appropriate;
-If she was the closest-available relative I personally would have asked somebody else, without being related to him, but who actually knew and had a relationship with Baudouin. It is not necessary to have had contact to a person to pay homage to him/her, of course, but in a situation like this, where there are still many people living who knew him, it's better. My personal opinion, of course .
As for Baudouin's kindness: he certainly was a very good-natured and kind man, but also extremely conservative. He was fully aware of his niece's existence and wasn't very pleased about it. He was extremely happy when his brother and sister-in-law got back together for real (this picture from Astrid and Lorenz's engagement says a lot, I think https://www.pinterest.it/pin/739505...49e9709d72129&sender=654922108219969875&sfo=1).
Not to mention that one of his most trusted advisors was Cardinal Suenens, who, according to one of the versions of the story given by Delphine's mother, was the one who told Albert to cut off contacts with Delphine.
So, I still don't think it's the most appropriate person they could have chosen for this homage, but as I said in an earlier post it probably won't be big deal as it won't be the most significant ceremony to commemorate Baudouin
 
I would not equate disapproval of an extramarital affair to begrudging a child conceived from that affair their existence. King Baudouin would certainly have preferred that Albert and Sybille remained faithful to their spouses, and it is true that in that event Delphine would never have existed, but that does not imply the late King would have treated Delphine unkindly as nothing more than a reminder of his brother's extramarital affair.

It is somewhat surprising to me that Princess Delphine was chosen as representative by the municipality and accepted the role, as she has given the impression that she would have been at odds with King Baudouin on political and familial issues. But it is certainly positive that she has chosen to pay her respects to him instead of, say, denouncing his reputation or blaming him for the end of her mother's relationship with Albert.


Linda_26 said:
-I don't think either Philippe or Astrid suggested her presence at the event. In the interviews she's given since she became a Princess she said that Astrid was "kind" to her (which I don't doubt) but I don't think they have a close relationship or see each other often, same thing for Philippe. It's more likely it is a private initiative from Delphine and they were not informed (which seems the norm, also reading her interviews): it's fine, she's free to do what she wants as she doesn't receive a dotation, I just think it's not particularly appropriate;
-If she was the closest-available relative I personally would have asked somebody else, without being related to him, but who actually knew and had a relationship with Baudouin. It is not necessary to have had contact to a person to pay homage to him/her, of course, but in a situation like this, where there are still many people living who knew him, it's better. My personal opinion, of course .
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I entirely agree with you on both counts and wonder about the municipality's justification. As you said, there are still family members, and other persons, alive who knew King Baudouin or at least have some close personal connection to his legacy.

Prinsara said:
And Delphine is actually Belgian and Baudouin was her king, unlike the Luxembourg relatives.
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Perhaps not all of the Luxembourg relatives have Belgian nationality, but many of them retain strong connections to Belgium and their Belgian family. Princess Marie-Astrid's and Princess Margaretha's children were raised in Belgium for many years, as the former married a Belgian nobleman and the latter married an ambassador to Belgium.
 
Tatiana Maria said:
I would not equate disapproval of an extramarital affair to begrudging a child conceived from that affair their existence. King Baudouin would certainly have preferred that Albert and Sybille remained faithful to their spouses, and it is true that in that event Delphine would never have existed, but that does not imply the late King would have treated Delphine unkindly as nothing more than a reminder of his brother's extramarital affair.

It is somewhat surprising to me that Princess Delphine was chosen as representative by the municipality and accepted the role, as she has given the impression that she would have been at odds with King Baudouin on political and familial issues. But it is certainly positive that she has chosen to pay her respects to him instead of, say, denouncing his reputation or blaming him for the end of her mother's relationship with Albert.
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Yes, certainly, I should have worded it differently, and said that he wasn't pleased with the situation in general, not with the child's existence. I didn't want to sound harsh and I'm sorry if I did.
As for Delphine "not blaming him for the end of her mother's relationship with Albert", I think it is consistent with what she and her mother have been saying for years. It is known that Sybille gives a version of the reason why Albert and Paola didn't divorce (in the documentary about Delphine, and also in earlier interviews) which is completely irreconcilable with the one Albert and Paola themselves gave more than once (
in this interview of 2014 from around minute 12:50 onwards, and they repeat the same thing in the more recent documentary about Paola), but neither of these versions involves Baudouin directly. And as for what happened a few years later, (now around 40 years ago), when Albert broke all contacts with Sybille (but not with Delphine, that was much later) when he reconciled with Paola, I simply recall Sybille saying that she didn't know precisely what had happened, but she later found out that Albert and Paola had "remarried" (they also speak about that in the same interview I linked before). Again, Baudouin was not mentioned specifically.
As for the rest of your answer, I completely agree with you
 
Very interesting article of Melchior Wathelet the then Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Justice 30 years ago.
He came back from an event with an official car .Arriving at home his wife said he had to call urgently Mr Jacques van Ypersele , the King's Chef de Cabinet. He phoned and was told the King was in very bad condition and he could not reach the Prime Minister Jean Luc De Haene. MW said he must be at the Bruges football Club, there is a match (no GSM at that moment). In fact he was there and he said : "Melchoir , kern".
He took his private car, full with luggages because he had to go on holiday the next day, arrived to Brussels and met the Prime Minister, and other important politicians. Only they knew that the King passed away They were together from 10 .30 pm to 5 a.m.
Who will be the next King :Albert or Philippe ?. Albert was the first in the succession order.
The Prime Minister telephoned to Prince Albert who was on holiday in Grasse . In five minutes he said : Comme la constitution le prévoit , je succéderai à mon frère". A military airplane was send to France and Prince Albert went to Motril.
Melchior Watelet , Minister of Justice and Jean Luc Dehaene , Prime Minister went to Motril with a Governement airplane. They had legaly to affirm the King passed away . They were welcomed by Queen Fabiola who was so strong and full of dignity.
The Prime Minister returned quickly to Brussels to annonce publicly the King passed away and the next King will be the Prince of Liege, his brother.
MW took a Spanish airplane where the Coffin of King Baudouin was put in the front . In the
same airplane Queen Fabiola , Prince Albert and members of the King's House.
At their arrival late in the Evening at Melsbroek , the Grand Duchess of Luxemburg was there and all the members of the Governement
Since the phonecall of Mr van Ypersele and arrival of the plane at Melsbroek : 24 hours.
 
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Linda_26 said:
Inviting Laurent wouldn't have been a good idea, I agree, that's why I said I would have preferred to see "somebody who was actually close to him". Not somebody he had a strained relationship with (Laurent) or somebody he had never met at all (Delphine).
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Would you explain how Baudouin had a strained relationship with Laurent? What's the problem?
 
MagdalenaS said:
Would you explain how Baudouin had a strained relationship with Laurent? What's the problem?
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Many reasons, basically two opposite personalities who were destined to clash. The very pious and conservative King Baudouin was not fond of his nephew's lifestyle and of his rebellious character. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to pay little/no attention to religious matters, at least not during Baudouin's lifetime, as it would take many years and the uncoventional priest Guy Gilbert (who was presented to him by his mother) to bring him closer to religion. All these things didn't please Baudouin. Laurent also had a possibly worse relationship with Fabiola.
Another fact which is often mentioned about the relationship Baudouin-Laurent is the abolition of the Salic Law in 1991. Philippe was unmarried and Laurent followed him directly in the line of succession. Baudouin wanted to avoid a "King Laurent" scenario, so the abolition of the salic law was applied also to living people: Princess Astrid and her children (she already had 2 and was expecting the third) were placed ahead of Laurent in the line of succession. Of course, Baudouin wanted to make sure that, should Philippe never have issue, it would be his niece, with an impeccable reputation,well married, already with children, to become sovereign, and not Laurent. He was very much disappointed with his uncle's decision.
You can certainly find other things in the threads about Laurent

Tonight, the RTBF will air a documentary called "Baudouin, l'héritage d'un roi". As you can see from this clip, Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, Baduouin's niece, intervenes as well
https://fb.watch/m5XSd_GpvF
Margaretha here recalls how her mother told her that, despite her young age, she felt very responsible towards her two younger brothers after Queen Astrid's sudden death. There are some nice images of the sibilings as children, and it's a very good thing they remained close all their lives
 
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This is the thread of our late King Baudouin.
Nothing to do with Prince laurent and Delphine.
The fact is that Prince Philippe married late and had no Children.
King Baudouin passed away at 62 our King is 63 !.



Linda_26 said:
Many reasons, basically two opposite personalities who were destined to clash. The very pious and conservative King Baudouin was not fond of his nephew's lifestyle and of his rebellious character. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to pay little/no attention to religious matters, at least not during Baudouin's lifetime, as it would take many years and the uncoventional priest Guy Gilbert (who was presented to him by his mother) to bring him closer to religion. All these things didn't please Baudouin. Laurent also had a possibly worse relationship with Fabiola.
Another fact which is often mentioned about the relationship Baudouin-Laurent is the abolition of the Salic Law in 1991. Philippe was unmarried and Laurent followed him directly in the line of succession. Baudouin wanted to avoid a "King Laurent" scenario, so the abolition of the salic law was applied also to living people: Princess Astrid and her children (she already had 2 and was expecting the third) were placed ahead of Laurent in the line of succession. Of course, Baudouin wanted to make sure that, should Philippe never have issue, it would be his niece, with an impeccable reputation,well married, already with children, to become sovereign, and not Laurent. He was very much disappointed with his uncle's decision.
You can certainly find other things in the threads about Laurent
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King Baudoin was the Godfather of the first Child princess Margaretha lost.

Linda_26 said:
Tonight, the RTBF will air a documentary called "Baudouin, l'héritage d'un roi". As you can see from this clip, Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, Baduouin's niece, intervenes as well
https://fb.watch/m5XSd_GpvF
Margaretha here recalls how her mother told her that, despite her young age, she felt very responsible towards her two younger brothers after Queen Astrid's sudden death. There are some nice images of the sibilings as children, and it's a very good thing they remained close all their lives
Click to expand...
 
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maria-olivia said:
King Baudoin was the Godfather of the first Child princess Margaretha lost.
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I didn't know that he was his godfather, thanks. I think that he sadly survived only a few hours after his birth, right? I know he's buried in the Royal Crypt of Laeken
 
:previous: Yes. His name was Leopold and he lived for only a few hours.

He was born in Brussels and is buried in the Royal Crypt at Laeken.
 
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