Baudouin of the Belgians

King Baudouin of the Belgians was the eldest son and heir of King Leopold III, succeeding his father upon his abdication in 1951. In December of 1960 he married Doña Fabiola Fernanda María de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón. The two were never able to have children but were deeply devoted to each other through their shared values. King Baudouin's reign saw many historic events; the granting of independence to the Congo, the extension of federal autonomy to Flanders and Wallonia and the rebuilding of Belgium after World War II and establishing her new place in the political environment of the Cold War. King Baudouin was a deeply religious Catholic and refused to sign an abortion bill in 1990 which caused him to lose his throne for a day while the bill became law. A devout man who put duty first, he set a perfect example as monarch and was widely respected by all of his people of every background. It came as a great shock when he died in 1993 while on holiday in Spain. He was succeeded by his brother the current King Albert II.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Baudouin
• Belgium
• King
• Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
• Royalty
• Monarchy

[wiredgeese]

What a King and what a man- I had the pleasure of living in Belgium when Baudoin was king and remember how he abdicated for one day while a law allowing abortion was put into law - as a King he was obliged to sign what his government put before him yet he had the courage to refuse on the basis of his beliefs as a human being - a "noble" man in the true sense of the term- God Bless him!

[kieran196]

May he rest in peace, Long live his memorie, long live Belgium.

[Verviers1952]

I was on the staff of the US Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, on leave from the University of Maryland. Before the fair opened i  was presented to King Baudoin at the opening ball of the Expo . I had livedin Belgium before I immigrated to the US in l952.

[Maasdam1993]

Boudewijn en Fabiola waren zeker zeer geliefd in Nederland, ook hier liepen de emoties op en stopte tv uitzendingen om het overlijden bekend te maken.

[dutchman139]

hahah at min: 0.50 is the marriage of the dutch queen beatrix :p

[princeofthegodseuphr]

this video gave me goose bumps watching it... i am so with the Belgian Monarchy... King Baudouin died a man with a broken reputation.. many disliked him... but i love him... he's one of the best :)

Long Live the Royals of Belgium

[darwincity]

Peut-Etre LE plus grand souverain de la deuxième moitié du 20 Siècle, ou du moins l'un des deux ou trois plus marquants. Il restera, dans la conscience Belge, comme un grand souverain. Veuillez reposez en paix, votre Majesté, et que Dieu vous bénisse...

[ServantOfChristendom]

Great video!

[mchachaabl]

He was adored by every Belgian, too bad I only lived 40 days under his reign :(

R.I.P.

[Dimi10b]

L'un des plus grands et respectueux roi des belges...Reposez en paix votre Majesté...