When Queen Fabiola of Belgium, 79, married King Baudouin, in 1960, it was not a secret to anyone that they had high hopes to have many children for future heirs of the throne. After several years, the question was -- why weren't any children's footsteps being heard in the palace?
Now, for the first time, the Queen herself admits that every time she was expecting, unfortunately each pregnancy would end in a miscarriage. While each pregnancy was extremely difficult and caused the Queen such frustration, she says she tried to keep the same outlook on life: That it 'is beautiful.'
I lost five children, but I've learned to live with it. On the contrary, you learn from the experience. I had problems with each pregnancy, but in the end I kept thinking that life is beautiful.
The hardest thing for the Queen was that each time her pregnancy was announced, hundreds of flowers and cards would arrive to the palace, but in the end, there would be no baby. During this time, while the Queen remained quiet, King Baudouin made a public statement about their losses.
We have asked ourselves why we feel this pain: little by little we have begun to understand that this way, our hearts will be even more free to love all the children, every single one.
King Baudouin passed away in 1993.
Source: Hola!
Your Comments
Just wanted to let you know that the late king's name is Boudewijn (in Dutch) or Baudouin (in French)...not "Balduino"...;)
xxx
What a lovely way to view such devastating losses.
Imagine the stress and the sadness. It is hard enough when you are not in the public eye..in her position it must have been unbearable. Doctors do not deal with stress as it relates to infertility. I believe it is a huge factor.
I love that photo of Mathilde and Fabiola. The old queen looks SO elegant. I know that because they could never have children of their own, Baudouin and Fabiola became very close to Philippe, and I was so happy to hear that Philippe and Mathilde chose to honour her when they named little Eléonore :)
I believe Fabiola had a condition where she was unable to carry children to full term. People thought Baudouin should have divorced her and married someone who could have children, but even though any other king would have done that, he remained married to his wife. That's very admirable :)
it is not Baudouin but Boudewijn! it is a dutch name.
Fabiola is very close to Mathilde. She said that Mathilde rang straight after the birth of Eleonore and that the birth was naturel and lasted 3 hours
I think it's tragic that although this post is about heartbreaking loss, some readers have chosen to comment only on a supposed misspelling of the King's name. What shameful conduct!
I can appreciate the Queen's pain, having miscarried 7 babies of my own. However, I thank God I never had to bear such heartache publicly. My heart goes out to all who have suffered such terrible loss, public or private.