Queen Fabiola of Belgium

Fabiola
Queen consort of the Belgians
Tenure 15 December 1960—31 July 1993
Spouse Baudouin of Belgium
Full name
Fabiola Fernanda María de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida
House House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father Gonzalo de Mora Fernández Riera del Olmo
Mother Blanca de Aragon y Carrillo de Albornoz Barroeta-Aldamar y Elio
Born 11 June 1928 (1928-06-11) (age 83)
Madrid, Spain
Belgian Royal Family

HM The King
HM The Queen

HM Queen Fabiola

Extended royal family

Queen Fabiola of Belgium (née Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón; born Madrid, 11 June 1928) is the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium. She was Queen consort of the Belgians for 33 years. Since her husband's death in 1993, she has been styled HM Queen Fabiola of Belgium.

Contents

Biography

Life before marriage

Fabiola de Mora y Aragón (born in Madrid, Spain) was the fourth daughter of Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández, Riera y del Olmo, 4th Marquess of Casa Riera, 2nd Count of Mora (1887—1957) and his wife, Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo de Albornoz, Barroeta-Aldamar y Elio, 4th Marchioness of Casa Riera, 2nd Countess of Mora (1892—1981). She was a sister of Jaime de Mora y Aragón, a Spanish actor and jet set playboy. Her godmother was Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain.

Before her marriage she published an album of 12 fairy tales (Los doce Cuentos maravillosos), one of which ("The Indian Water Lilies") would get its own pavilion in the Efteling theme park in 1966.

Marriage to King Baudouin

On 15 December 1960, Fabiola married Baudouin, who had been king of the Belgians since his father's abdication in 1951. At the marriage ceremony in the church of Laeken she wore a 1926 Art Deco tiara that had been a gift of the Belgian state to her husband's mother, Princess Astrid of Sweden upon her marriage to Léopold III of the Belgians. Her dress of satin and mink was designed by the couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga. TIME magazine, in its 26 September 1960, issue, called Doña Fabiola, who was a hospital nurse at the time of her engagement, "Cinderella Girl" and described her as "an attractive young woman, though no raving beauty" and "the girl who could not catch a man." On the occasion of her marriage, Spanish bakers set out to honor Fabiola and created a type of bread, "the fabiola", which is still made and consumed on a daily basis in many Spanish cities.

The royal couple had no children, as the queen's five pregnancies ended in miscarriage. There are reports, however, that she had a stillborn child in the mid 1960s. Fabiola openly spoke about her miscarriages in 2008: 'You know, I myself lost 5 children. You learn something from that experience. I had problems with all my pregnancies, but you know, in the end I think life is beautiful'.[1]

Widowhood

Baudouin died in 1993 and was succeeded by his younger brother, the Prince of Liège who became Albert II of the Belgians. Queen Fabiola moved out of the Royal Palace of Laeken to the more modest Stuyvenbergh Castle and reduced her public appearances in order not to overshadow her sister-in-law, Queen Paola.

Admired for her devout Roman Catholicism and involvement in social causes particularly those related to mental health, children's issues and women's issues in the Third World, Queen Fabiola is a recipient of the 2001 Ceres Medal, in recognition of her work to promote rural women in developing countries. The medal was given by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). She's also honorary president of King Baudouin Foundation.

Guido Derom, an explorer, named a newly-discovered range of Antarctic mountains in her honour in 1961. She also has several varieties of ornamental plants named after her.

Queen Fabiola was hospitalized with pneumonia on 16 January 2009, and spent 15 days there, with her condition being described as "serious".[2] She subsequently made a good recovery and was attending public functions by the following May.

Death threats

In July 2009, anonymous death threats were published by newspapers. According to these Queen Fabiola was to be shot with a crossbow. She responded to the threats during the Belgian national holiday celebrations on 21 July by wittily waving an apple to the crowd - a reference to the William Tell folk tale.[3] Subsequent threats by an individual said to have a similar signature to the July 2009 threat-writer were received again in January 2010.[4] Her appearances have been less frequent in recent months, possibly due to these threats or residual health issues.

Linguistic skills

According to official sources, in addition to Spanish, Queen Fabiola is fluent in French, Dutch, English, German and Italian.[5]

Titles

Styles of
Queen Fabiola of Belgium
Reference style Her Majesty
Spoken style Your Majesty
Alternative style Ma'am

See also

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Koningin Fabiola had vijf miskramen
  2. ^ Belgium: Queen Fabiola in serious condition with pneumonia
  3. ^ Belgium's cool Queen Fabiola defies would-be assassins with jokey apple gesture
  4. ^ Queen Fabiola's death threats
  5. ^ Monarchie.be

External links

Belgian royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Astrid of Sweden		 Queen consort of the Belgians
1960-1993		 Succeeded by
Paola Ruffo di Calabria