Belgium has lost a fabulous queen

Former Queen Fabiola passed away last week at Saint Nicholas's Eve. She was widow of King Baudouin (Boudewijn in Dutch) and was the fifth queen in this monarchy. The image that many Belgians have of her is that of a small delicate lady with a large fancy hat and a sort of 60s extensive haircut. More than that, her name sounds a bit like "fabulous"... Fabiola!

Fabiola was Spanish and first worked as a nurse. She then married the youngest monarch in Belgian history... In Belgium, a king doesn't really have any decisive power, but an important representation role. Baudouin was only twenty-one when his father, King Leopold III, died and he was very shy. They made a nice couple because Fabiola was a sober and humble person. Unfortunately, they couldn't have children together, so when King Baudouin I passed on to the other side in 1993, which saddened many Belgians, his brother Albert II was called to reign with his wife Paola as a new queen.

Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin I

Queen Fabiola wasn't just the queen of Belgium, she had something special. She was kind and funny, and a true believer, very sensitive to children and world issues. One of her big passions was music and it will occupy a great part of the ceremony that started today at 10am. Will Tura, a Flemish sentimental song singer, will sing Hoop doet leven ("Hope (is what) makes (us) live") at her funerals, and he sang the same song when King Baudouin died.

Humility, a key word for Fabiola. In her last wills, she said she didn't want to make too much fuss about her death and very simple funerals. She didn't want to be "exposed" and she wanted an ugly coffin in a small chapel, but these wills weren't followed by people, who really appreciated her and wanted her funerals to be something important although the announcement of her death remained pretty sober.