Belgium Archives - Page 8 of 11 - History of Royal Women

Marie Henriette of Austria – A desperately lonely Queen

Thursday, 31 May 2018, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 3

Marie Henrietta of Austria was born on 23 August 1836 as the daughter of Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary, and Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg. Dorothea de Ficquelmont described the young Archduchess as “having been raised as a boy.” Marie Henrietta was a happy girl who learned to speak German, French, English and Italian. She [read more]

Louise of Orléans – The lonely Queen of Belgium

Friday, 4 May 2018, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 2

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]

Lilian, Princess of Réthy – Queen in all but name

Friday, 27 April 2018, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

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]

Royal Galleries of Ostend

Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

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 guests 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]

An empty tomb for a Queen – Saint Peter and Paul Church in Ostend, Belgium

Wednesday, 11 April 2018, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

The Saint Peter and Paul Church (Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk) in Ostend was built in between 1899 and 1809 on the ashes 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 [read more]

City Palace Ostend – The Death of the Queen

Wednesday, 4 April 2018, 6:00 Moniek Bloks 0

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]