Astrid of Sweden

Infobox consortstyles


royal name=Queen Astrid of the Belgians
dipstyle=Her Majesty
offstyle=Your Majesty
altstyle=Ma'am

Astrid, Queen of the Belgians (born Princess Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden) (November 17, 1905 - August 29, 1935) was the Queen consort of Leopold III of the Belgians.

Early life

Princess Astrid of Sweden was born in Stockholm on November 17, 1905. She was the niece of King Gustav V of Sweden, since she was the youngest daughter of the king's brother, Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and his wife, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Astrid's paternal grandfather was King Oscar II of Sweden and her maternal grandfather was King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Astrid's sister, Princess Märtha, married the future King Olav V of Norway. Her eldest sister, Princess Margaretha of Sweden married Prince Axel of Denmark, while her only brother Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland, married morganatically. Astrid was raised on the family estates in the Swedish countryside ( Barjansky ) and grew up into a lovely and gracious young woman, with a keen interest in Swedish folklore ( Graham ).

Marriage

On November 4, 1926, Princess Astrid married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, the son of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. The marriage may have been part of an effort to bring about an alliance of the Northern European countries, especially in view of the threat posed to these small nations by Germany and Soviet Russia. Astrid married into a royal family which was greatly admired at home and abroad for its heroism in World War I. During this period, King Albert had personally led the Belgian army against a German invasion, and Queen Elisabeth had worked as a nurse, caring for the most severely wounded soldiers at the front. In addition, Prince Leopold, at the age of 13, had volunteered for the Belgian army and fought in the trenches during his teenage years. Astrid was enthusiastically adopted by the Belgians. She was called the “Snow Princess” and the “Queen of Hearts.” In the words of her father, Prince Carl of Sweden, Astrid “had a heart of gold … she loved everyone, and everyone loved her" ( Capelle ). Astrid’s husband, Prince Leopold, was her greatest admirer. They were a very happy, deeply devoted couple. In 1927, Leopold and Astrid had a daughter, Princess Josephine-Charlotte, and in 1930, their first son, Prince Baudouin.

Conversion to Catholicism

Raised as a Lutheran, Astrid converted to Catholicism after marrying Prince Leopold, but not until she was fully convinced of the truth of the religion. She had initially considered converting to Catholicism, simply because it was the religion of Belgium, but the priest she consulted told her not to do so until she genuinely believed it was the true religion. Astrid learned more about Catholicism and, several years later, in 1930, converted from deep conviction. Her decision made her happy, and she confided to a close childhood friend: “Finally, my soul has found peace" ( Sparre ). Her father-in-law, King Albert, who was very devout himself, said, over and over again, on the day of Astrid's conversion: "I am very glad. Now the family is united in the same religion." ( d'Ydewalle )

Queen

In February, 1934, while Leopold and Astrid were vacationing in Switzerland, King Albert died tragically in a mountain-climbing accident in Belgium. Deeply shocked and grieved, Leopold and Astrid returned to Belgium for the King’s funeral. Some days later, Leopold swore his accession oath in Brussels, becoming King Leopold III of the Belgians. Astrid attended the ceremony with her two children, Josephine-Charlotte and Baudouin. At the end of his accession speech, Leopold declared “I give myself entirely to Belgium,” and Astrid, transported by the occasion, lifted up her son, Baudouin, to offer him to the country ( Beeche ). Later that year, the third child of Leopold and Astrid was born, a little prince who was named Albert, after his grandfather. Astrid became the most popular queen in Belgian history. She was a wonderful moral support to her husband, King Leopold, surrounding him with tenderness and devotion in a difficult period of political and economic crisis in Belgium and Europe. She dedicated her time to raising her family and promoting social causes. She was very concerned with the situation of women, children, and the disadvantaged. During an economic crisis in Belgium in 1935, she organized a collection of clothing and food for the poor. She did this through an open letter, which was published as the “Queen’s Appeal.”

=Anecdotes= There are many interesting and touching anecdotes about Astrid. For instance, she admired Leopold so much that on one occasion, she joined the crowds during a military review in order to see her parading husband at the head of his regiment ( Beeche ). She cooked personally for her family ( Capelle ), and apparently once baked a cake specially for Leopold with Belgian chocolate! She was appreciated very much by the Belgians for her simplicity and naturalness. For instance, when still Crown Princess, she used to stroll her children up and down in the street in their carriages, incurring the criticism of the Belgian court officials, who told her she was breaking protocol by so doing. She only replied: “But I’m just another mother, am I not?” ( Beeche ) In 1935, when Leopold and Astrid made their “Joyous Entry,” ( a Belgian tradition for the new king and queen ) into the city of Liège, Astrid insisted on taking her little son, Albert, who had been titled “Prince of Liège”, to the ceremonies. Leopold was worried about bringing the baby along, but Astrid insisted: “Yes, we’ll take him … Liège is his city.” The Joyous Entry was a great success. The people showed their enthusiasm for the royal family with shouts of : “Long live Albert! Long live Belgium! Long live the King! Long live the Queen!”( Sparre )

Death

Tragically, Queen Astrid was killed in a car accident in the mountains, at Küssnacht am Rigi, near Lake Lucerne, Schwyz, Switzerland, on August 29, 1935. She was only 29, and was rumored to be pregnant with her fourth child at the time of her death. Strangely, Astrid seems to have had a definite premonition of her death. When her close friend, Anna Sparre, who had been vacationing with the royal couple in Switzerland, took leave of the Queen shortly before the car crash to return home to Sweden, Astrid was atypically melancholic and expressed fears that either Leopold or herself would die in the near future. Astrid asked Anna to "look after" her daughter, Princess Josephine-Charlotte, if she herself were to die prematurely. Anna considered the fears unreasonable and tried to raise Astrid's spirits, but Astrid insisted: "I'm serious." Ten days later, she was dead ( Sparre ). Astrid was deeply mourned by her husband, King Leopold, by the Belgians, and by the Swedes. A commemorative chapel was built in Switzerland at the site of the crash. Queen Astrid is still remembered with great affection by the Belgians. Astrid became a popular name for baby girls in Belgium, and, because of the Queen, the Belgians developed a very positive image of Sweden!On the topic of Astrid's death, there is a remarkable story told by her sister-in-law, Marie-José, the daughter of Albert and Elisabeth of Belgium, and the last Queen of Italy. In the last few years before World War II, Marie-José went to visit Padre Pio, the Italian priest and mystic. Marie-José was anguished over the tragic deaths of her father, King Albert, and sister-in-law, Queen Astrid, but was comforted by her meeting with Padre Pio. Marie-José and Padre Pio talked about Albert and Astrid for a long time, and the priest, “as if he could see them, ” said: “They are close to God” ( Regolo ).Queen Astrid is interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Belgium, beside her husband, King Leopold III of the Belgians, and his second wife, Princess Lilian of Belgium.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Princess Astrid of Sweden
2= 2. Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
3= 3. Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
4= 4. Oscar II of Sweden
5= 5. Sofia of Nassau
6= 6. Frederick VIII of Denmark
7= 7. Lovisa of Sweden
8= 8. Oscar I of Sweden
9= 9. Josephine of Leuchtenberg
10= 10. William, Duke of Nassau
11= 11. Princess Pauline of Württemberg
12= 12. Christian IX of Denmark
13= 13. Louise of Hesse-Kassel
14= 14. Charles XV of Sweden
15= 15. Princess Louise of the Netherlands
16= 16. Charles XIV John of Sweden
17= 17. Désirée Clary
18= 18. Eugène de Beauharnais
19= 19. Princess Augusta of Bavaria
20= 20. Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
21= 21. Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
22= 22. Prince Paul of Württemberg
23= 23. Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen
24= 24. Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
25= 25. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel
26= 26. Prince William of Hesse
27= 27. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark
28= 28. Oscar I of Sweden (= 8)
29= 29. Josephine of Leuchtenberg (= 9)
30= 30. Prince Frederik of the Netherlands
31= 31. Princess Louise of Prussia

References

Luciano Regolo. "La Regina Incompresa."Anna Sparre. "Astrid mon amie."Evelyn Graham. "Albert King of the Belgians."Robert Capelle. "Dix-huit ans auprès du Roi Léopold."Art Beeche. "The Snow Princess."Catherine Barjansky. "Portraits with Backgrounds."Charles d'Ydewalle. "Albert and the Belgians: Portrait of a King."

External links

* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/sweden.html Royal House of Sweden]
* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/belgium.html Royal House of Belgium]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5527 Astrid of Sweden] at Find-A-Grave

-s-ttl|title=Queen consort of the Belgians
years=1934-1935