Queen Paola of Belgium - Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family

In 1958, Prince Albert of Liege went to the Vatican to witness the inauguration of Pope John XXIII. At a reception at the Belgian embassy, the prince met Italian Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria. “We were both shy, so we only talked a little,” Paola said later about their first meeting.Shy but smitten, Prince Albert proposed marriage to Paola, and she accepted. The Prince wanted to marry in Rome by the Pope, but when that didn’t work out, the couple were married at St. Goedele Cathedral in Brussels. Upon arriving in Brussels for the first time before her wedding, Princess Paola won over the Belgian media immediately.”The charm and beauty of the blond princess from the south quickly captured the hearts of the Belgians,” wrote the newspapers back then.

Donna Paola married HRH Prince Albert, Prince of Liège, in Brussels, Belgium, on 2 July 1959. The couple have three children:

• Philippe, Duke of Brabant who married Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz
• Astrid who married Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este;
• Laurent, who married Claire Louise Coombs.

By the late 1960s, things were going wrong for Albert and Paola. Both were allegedly having affairs, and lived apart for a long while. There were even rumors of divorce plans. But by the early 1980s, things had improved well for Albert and Paola. It is said the Prince’s brother, King Baudouin, acted a mediator between the two. Even their daughter, Princess Astrid’s devout Roman Catholic faith might have played a role. In the end, Albert and Paola chose to stay together.

For her 70th birthday interview, Paola, now Queen of the Belgians, said, “we’ve had our problems, but now we both say that we were meant for each other. We are very happy now.”