In a rare interview on French television, King Albert II talked about the acquaintance between his grandmother, Queen Elisabeth, and his wife Paola. “My wife was approved within fifteen minutes,” he testifies.
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King Albert has allowed an interview about Queen Elisabeth which can be seen on France 3 on Monday. In it he tells how important she was in his life, even when he was already on his own two feet. In this way he brings back memories of the moment when he introduced Paola to his grandmother.
“I once told her that I was in love with a young girl and that she might have the opportunity to meet her,” Albert tells reporter Stéphane Bern. “She enjoyed attending our wedding in 1959. She absolutely wanted to meet my wife soon. She called her in alone and let her sit in a chair. That was so turned that it turned her (Paola, ed.) could observe without looking directly at her – in the mirror. I think she wanted to capture more subtle responses that way. After fifteen minutes it was over. She had her adopted.’
Elisabeth (1876-1965) was married to King Albert I. After his early death in 1934 – he was killed in a climbing accident in Marche-les-Dames near Namur – their eldest son Leopold ascended the throne.
Photo: Belga
Surrogate mother
King Leopold III married Queen Astrid and had three children, including Boudewijn and Albert. But fate struck again. Astrid was killed in a dramatic road accident in Switzerland in 1935. Grandma Elisabeth almost became the surrogate mother for the future King Albert II, who was only one year old at the time of the accident.
In the TV interview with France 3, of which the magazine Paris Match published the transcript, Albert says that his earliest memory of her dates back to 1939, when he was five. Elisabeth wanted her grandchildren to be musical and to learn to play the violin just like her. But Albert turned out – to put it mildly – not very talented. “When I took the instrument out of the case, everyone fled.”
The Queen Elisabeth Competition is also named after the former queen dowager.
–Photo: Luxembourg Grand Ducal Court
Act of resistance
During World War II, Elisabeth showed “an act of resistance,” according to Albert. She had chosen a young Czech as a music teacher. A Jewish one too, who could be persecuted by the Germans. Since she taught the princes, there was no problem. And so my grandmother saved that woman’s life. ‘
That Elisabeth liked to do her own thing, Albert illustrates in yet another way. He says that when the whole world banned China, the former queen met with the communist leader Mao. To the dismay of the Belgian army.
The interview with Albert has been incorporated into a larger report about Elisabeth, which will be broadcast on France 3 on Monday at 9.05 pm.
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