The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Wednesday 15 September 2004

First Among Equals - Part Two

Click here for Part One

The Dutch have long been renowned for their tenacity and strength.  They have a history of battling not only aggressive neighbours, but also fending off the North Sea.  Unlike other monarchies in Europe, they have a strong history of the influence of female monarchs.   Whether or not the country's liberal ways are a legacy of this historical anomaly, is hard to say.  What is remarkable, however, is that in this country, one of the most densely populated in Europe, the monarchy flourishes in an intensely egalitarian society with a prominent social consciousness. 

Indefatigable Queen's,  Wilhelmina, (whose mother Emma reigned as regent until her daughter's coming of age), Juliana and the current Queen, Beatrix, have dominated the country for well over a hundred years.  In times when Europe was firmly held in masculine hands, these women were anything but token wallflowers.  They respectively shaped the Dutch nation and during wars and natural disasters became rallying points for a beleaguered people. 

Unlike their Scandinavian peers, the Dutch royal family is immensely wealthy. Yet, despite this wealth and station, they are still very much a family for the people.  Queen Beatrix often travels on a Royal Bus, rather than Rolls Royce and all her sons have had professional careers. 

The Dutch royal women have a habit of marrying German men, which following two world wars, did not go down well in Holland.  Despite these unions, which the public found controversial, and despite the predictions of the demise of the Dutch monarchy, the monarchy recovered from each situation. 

Today, Queen Beatrix, the most animated monarch of Europe, heads the House of Orange.  She married a German diplomat, Claus von Amsberg in 1966.  The move was not particularly welcomed in Holland but the young princess was emphatic and the marriage went ahead despite protest.   On marrying the young Beatrix, Claus became a Prince of the Netherlands and endeared himself to the nation by fathering a son, Willem Alexander, The Prince of Orange.   The couple went on to have two more sons, Constantijn and Johan Friso.  Both married Dutch women.  Johan Friso was forced to renounce his rights after it emerged that he and Princess Mabel had lied to the Dutch Parliament about her involvement with a mobster.  

The Prince of Orange also chose a controversial bride, the Argentine M�xima Zorreguieta.  Her father had been a minister in the Argentine government, which did not fare well with either the Dutch Parliament or people.  The marriage was finally approved, but the bride was married with neither of her parents at her side.   In the end, M�xima won over the Dutch with her quick mastering of the tricky Dutch language and culture. 

Earlier this year, the couple had a daughter, Catharina-Amalia who will one day be Queen of the Netherlands.  So, after a reign of King Willem-Alexander, the Netherlands will again have a female monarch.

http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl

The Belgian monarchy traces its beginnings back to Queen Victoria’s uncle, Leopold, when in 1831, he was asked to be King of the newly independent Belgian State.  This was not a particularly easy task as the country is made up of two predominant peoples, the Flemish (who speak a form of Dutch) and the Walloons (French speakers). 

There has long been animosity and rivalry between the two major groups in Belgium and it has been said that it is, in fact, the monarch and royal family that keep the country bound together.  In a nation where it is not unheard of to have the residents of one side of the street speaking Flemish and the other side speaking Dutch, it is the monarch’s job to quell unrest and represent both cultures. 

The current King of the Belgians, Albert and his wife, the Italian born Queen Paola, came to the throne after the death of the King’s brother, the popular King Baudouin (Boudewijn in Flemish).   Baudouin died from a heart attack while on holiday in Spain in 1993.   He and his Spanish born wife, Queen Fabiola, were immensely beloved by the Belgians and unhappily, had been unable to have children.   Consequently, the three children of Albert and Paola, Philippe, Astrid and Laurent were always looked on as the country’s heirs. 

Baudouin reigned for 42 years, abdicating briefly for a few minutes in order that a Law on abortion, something both he and Fabiola vehemently did not believe in, could be passed. 

It was assumed that on King Baudouin’s death that the throne would pass directly to Albert and Paola’s son, Prince Philippe.  The King’s premature death however, meant that Prince Philippe was still quite young and Parliament felt that he should be given time to mature and marry before being burdened with the complex role of King of the Belgians.  Given the many internal cultural issues within the nation, the throne was given to Albert. 

Not long after Albert’s accession it emerged that he had fathered a child to another woman while married to Paola. Delphine Boel (b 1968) lives in London and is a graduate with Merit of the Chelsea School of Art.   The King has said that his marriage barely survived when Queen Paola found out about Delphine but the couple appears to have worked through the revelation.  

The King’s eldest child, Princess Astrid, is enormously popular.  For a time, it was considered that she would make a better monarch of the country than her rather shy brother Philippe.  The diligent princess plays a prominent role in Belgian life and married Arch Duke Lorenz of Austria-Este in 1984.  Lorenz became a Prince of Belgium in 1995. The couple has five children. 

The King and Queen’s youngest son, Prince Laurent has been known as the rebel of the family.  He is a lover of powerful engines and the party set but for a time suffered from depression.  As is often the case, it took a woman to tame the man and in the Prince’s instance it was British born Claire Coombs.  The couple was married in 2003. They have a baby daughter, Princess Louise. 

The infant’s baptism has become something of an international sore point. The Iranian government has expressed its opposition to one of the Godparent’s, Reza Pahlavi, heir to the Peacock Throne.  The last Shah’s son is a close friend of Prince Laurent and Princess Claire. 

Perhaps the most profound catalyst for resurgence in the popularity of the Belgian royal family lies with Prince Philippe, the Duke of Brabant’s wife, Princess Mathilde.  Prince Philippe is naturally shy and sometimes appeared rather awkward in public but with Mathilde at his side, his personality has flourished.   The couple managed to keep their courtship secret, so that when the engagement was announced, it took the nation by surprise and ‘Mathilde Fever’ hit Belgium like a hurricane. 

Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz will one day be the first Belgian born Queen Consort.  The fact that she comes from a noble Flemish family helped significantly endear her to the public.  She and Philippe married in 1999 and have two children, Princess Elisabeth (b. 2001) and Prince Gabriel (b. 2003). 

As the laws of succession have changed in Belgium, Princess Elisabeth, now at pre-school, will one day inherit the throne and become Belgium’s first Queen Regent.  Her birth gave the rest of the world a rather profound glimpse of a rarely united country, when Belgian flags suddenly appeared all over the kingdom and citizens, regardless of culture, spontaneously celebrated the birth of their future Queen.  Prince Philippe, during a press conference to mark the birth spoke French and fluent Flemish.  When asked about his new daughter, he replied, “I hope that she will one day be a great Queen but, first of all, a great woman”.

http://www.monarchie.be/fr/ 

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is the only Grand Duchy left in Europe. Covering 999 mi2 it is, sadly, not on everyone’s list of destinations when travelling Europe. However, dotted with fortresses and castles, it is a truly picturesque country and reigned over by sovereigns of the House of Nassau. 

The current Grand Duke Henri has been on the throne since 2000, when his father, Grand Duke Jean abdicated after a thirty-six year reign.  Grand Duke Jean married Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, sister of Kings Baudouin and Albert.  They have five children including Henri and Princess Marie-Astrid, once ‘rumoured’ by the press to be a possible bride of the then unmarried Prince of Wales.  After the abdication, both Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte kept their Grand Ducal title, rather than reverting to Prince and Princess. 

Grand Duke Henri married pretty, Cuban born Maria Teresa Mestre in 1981.  Maria Teresa’s parents fled Cuba during the revolution and finally settled in Switzerland.  The couple met in Geneva where the then Prince Henri and Maria Teresa were studying.  They have five children, including the heir, handsome Prince Guillaume (b. 1981).

http://www.gouvernement.lu/dossiers/famille_grand_ducale/chregneuk/index.html  

Next time: Liechtenstein, Monaco & Spain.

- Gioffredo