Louise of Orléans was born on 3 April 1812 in the Palazzo Santa Teresa in Palermo as the daughter of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and of his wife Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. She had a strict Catholic upbringing and a carefree childhood as the eldest daughter of eight surviving siblings. She knew the [read more]
Mary Lilian Baels was born on 28 November 1916 as the daughter of Henri Baels and his wife, Anne Marie de Visscher. She was born in London, where the family was living at the time after fleeing the First World War. The family originally lived in Ostend in Belgium. She was their sixth child, and [read more]
The Royal Galleries in Ostend were constructed between 1902 and 1906 on the orders of King Leopold II of Belgium. The galleries would allow the King and his guest to walk from the royal villa to the racetrack without being exposed to the elements. The royal villa is currently a health centre. During the German [read more]
The Saint Peter and Paul Church (Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk) in Ostend was built in between 1899 and 1809 on the ashed of a previous church that stood on the grounds. The building was supported by King Leopold II of Belgium and it was consecrated in 1908. The original stained glass windows were destroyed during the two World Wars [read more]
Ostend in Belgium seems like an unlikely place for a palace. From 1834, the palace in Ostend was made available as a summer residence for King Leopold I and his second wife, Louise of Orléans. The house is perhaps best remembered as the place where Louise died of tuberculosis. She was often in ill-health and [read more]
When Fabiola de Mora y Aragon married King Baudouin of the Belgians in 1960, the Belgian people were immediately informed that the future Queen had nothing to do with the Spanish civil war and had no relations with General Franco. Surprisingly, it was General Franco’s daughter who did attend the wedding. Could Fabiola truly be [read more]
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