Part I
Here you have something I wrote in 2001. Since then Olivier Defrance became a good friend of mine and a book was published in Belgium in 2005 by a psychiatrist who studied the Louise´s affair ("Charlotte et Léopold II de Belgique - Deux destins d'exception entre histoire et psychiatrie", par le Dr. Emile Meurice (Ed. du Cétal, 2005)).
I am thinking of writing and publishing an article for a royal magazine.
Sorry for my errors of English and the lack of pictures.....
(nice to see you are interested in Louise´s life too, Marengo)
"Louise of Saxe-Cobourg"
by Alberto
I read, a few weeks ago, the book "Louise de Saxe-Cobourg, Amours argent, procès" by Olivier Defrance, 2001, ISBN 2-87386-230-0.
Although I read it a while ago I think it's a very interesting book on a VERY interesting life.
Princess Louise of Belgium had a hard childhood like her younger sister Stéphanie, both were submitted to the cold treatment of their father, King Leopold II, and the somewhat distant and too conventional behaviour of their mother, Queen Marie-Henritte.
When Louise approached the age of getting married her first cousin once removed, Prince Philippe of Saxe-Cobourg, made a proposition. Her father didn't appreciate it as prince Philippe was not a brillant party politicaly speaking. As elder son Prince Philippe would inherit some day the huge fortune of the Saxe-Coburgs(Kohary) established in Hungary and in Austria but this branch of the Saxe-Coburgs could not offer any powerful political position. The Countess of Flandres proposed then her brother, prince Frederik of Hohenzollern and at the same time, Prince Napoleon, the son and Heir of ex-Emperor Napoleon III made his proposition. Both the 2 last princes could offer danger to Belgium as both would have antoganize (republican) France and in a hurry Leopold II accepted prince Philippe of S-C (to the great joy of Queen Marie-Henriette, who as a Hungarian was most in favour of prince Philippe, Q Marie-Henriette should know better, but it's an irony that mothers unhappy in marriages arrange unhappy marriages for their daughters).
Prince Philippe was almost double the age of princess Louise. Although he was not the monster presented by Louise in her memoirs ("Aux Tour des Trônes que j'ai Vu Tomber") he was different in every way from Louise. He enjoyed listenning to and playing music, he collected medals and he was a bibliophile having a library of tens of thousands of books. Also hunting and women were his passions...
But it was decided and King Leopold II took the precaution of including clauses in the contract of marriage in which Louise would not have right to anything of his properties, the Belgian Ministry protested and a small dowry was provided.
The wedding was very simple as Leopold II didn't want to spend money, to the great regret of the Belgian people, but anywway there were 2 bals with the presence of the prince of Wales, the Count of Paris and Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
The tragedy started the night of the wedding...
Defrance says one cannot use the verb "to rape" but according to all appearances Philippe did not act with too much patience to Louise that night. By morning, taking advantage Philippe was sleeping Louise ran away to the gardens of Laeken where her mother would find her crying and sobbing.
Certainly Philippe didn't have good maners that night, but by reading this biography one can conclude princess Louise exaggerated too much in her memoirs presenting Philippe as an insensitive man who taught her debauchery and drinking too much. He looked if not a model of perfect husband at least he was most civilized, patient and tolerant with Louise's excentric behaviour.
She would start spending too much money(fortunes) from the start. She changed her way of dressing and as a matter of fact she could not complain too much about Philippe as she would have many flirts(among them with her brother-in-law the future Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria) before the great scandal.
Louise had as female friends her sister-in-law Duchess Amélie in Bavaria(the only friend among her in-laws), her sister Stéphanie (a friend until a certain point..) and the Duchess Alexandrine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha(née Baden), who behaved more as a mother than the Queen of the Belgians.
Marie-Henriette had a blind faith in her son-in-law and anyway she didn't want to listen to Louise. (once when she was visitting Vienna she caught her daughter hidding a book in a hurry from her mother). In 1883 Louise started her (discreet) relationship with baron Daniel d'Ablaing de Glessenburg who served her husband. And at the same time Louise was received and received all Royalty in Europe. Besides the Habsburgs she visitted the English Royal Family, the Prussian, the Bavarians, etc, etc. Interesting to note it as when the great scandal would come only the (widow) Duchess of Saxe-Coburg would remain loyal to Louise. In 1888 baron Daniel d'Ablaing died and prince Philippe replaced him as his aide by baron Nicolas Dory de Jobahaza, immediately he became Louise's lover...to the great shock of Stéphanie who told everything to her mother Marie-Henriette. The Queen of the Belgians proposes to meet baron Dory who visitted then the Queen in Belgium, in Ostende, far from Brussels so that Leopold II could not know about it(but he would find out the same way). The baron promised the Queen he would not go on his affair with Louise, and Marie-Henriette was even moved by his gentlemanlike and polite behaviour...but he would re-start the affair with Louise and by the first time Marie-Henriette said Louise was mad and she should be put into a mad house...
In 1894 Louise and Philippe travelled together to Egypt in order to try and save the marriage. Louise took 32 luggages with her but not her children(the lives of Louise's 2 children deserve another thread, they are TOO impressive as well...)but on their return to Europe Louise re-started her affair with the baron till the end of 1894, then in May of 1895, in the Prater in Vienna, Louise would meet the man who would cause her downfall, disgrace and the awful scandal, a Croat militar man, Géza Mattachich.
Their love relationship has its place in the biggest love stories list of all the times...not so much by its beauty but by all the pain, suffering and tragedy involved. But on the other hand it's a beautiful story as well in its own way because of all the fidelity on both parties to each other for decades facing misery and illness.
To cut a long story short: they fell in love, they travelled together all around Europe with more than 30 servants in special trains and ALL Courts talked about them.
.unfortunately the couple had no children and adopted one great grand-niece and one great grand-niece of king christian ix of denmark
