Wedding of Baudouin of Belgium and Fabiola de Mora y Aragón
Date | 15 December 1960 |
---|---|
Venue | Royal Palace of Brussels Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula |
Location | Brussels, Belgium |
Participants | King Baudouin I of Belgium Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón |
The wedding of Baudouin of Belgium and Fabiola de Mora y Aragón took place on Thursday, 15 December 1960 at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. King Baudouin I was the eldest son of King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden, while Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón was the sixth child of Don Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández, 4th Marqués de Casa Riera, and Doña Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo.
Engagement
The marriage of King Baudouin, who acceded to the throne in 1950, was of great interest to the Belgian people. Leo Joseph Suenens, Auxiliary Bishop of Mechelen, took matters into his own hands and sent Irish nun, Sister Veronica O’Brien, to find him a devout Catholic, Spanish, aristocratic wife. Sister O'Brien believed she found the perfect candidate in Fabiola.[1]
The couple announced their engagement on 16 September 1960 at the Castle of Laeken. The news came as a pleasant surprise to the Belgian people, who were not aware the King was seeing anyone.[2]
Pre-wedding celebrations
Prior to departing Spain, Doña María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, wife of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, presented Doña Fabiola with a strawberry leaf tiara, resembling a Ducal coronet, with interchangeable rubies, aquamarines and emeralds, on behalf of the Spanish government.[3]
On 13 December, a ball was given at the Cinquantenaire Museum.
On 14 December, a ball was given at the Royal Palace of Brussels.
The wedding
Civil marriage
Prior to the religious service, the couple were married civilly in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Brussels. The service was presided over by Albert Lilar, Minister of Justice, Lucien Cooremans, Mayor of Brussels, and a member of the Municipal Council.[4] The witnesses were the groom's father, King Leopold III, his brother-in-law, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, the bride's brother, The Marqués of Casa Riera, and the pretender to the Spanish throne, The Count of Barcelona.[5]
Religious marriage
The religious service was conducted by Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. A representative from the Holy See read a personal message from The Pope.[6]
As the King and new Queen left the cathedral Handel's Hallelujah chorus from Messiah was played.
Attire
The bride's white silk and tulle gown, trimmed with ermine, had a high neckline, three-quarter length sleeves with a drop waist and a full skirt. It was designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and had a 22-foot long train. She wore the Art Deco diamond tiara given to her late mother-in-law at the time of her own marriage in 1926.[7]
The groom wore the uniform of a Lieutenant-General of the Armed Forces with the riband and star of the Belgian Order of Leopold and the collar of the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic.[8]
Guests
As a descendant of Christian IX of Denmark, Louis Philippe I of France, Miguel I of Portugal and Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Baudouin was closely related to most of the royals in Europe, many of whom were present at his marriage.
The groom's family
- Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the groom's grandmother
- King Leopold III of the Belgians and The Princess of Réthy, the groom's father and stepmother
- The Hereditary Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the groom's sister and brother-in-law
- The Prince and Princess of Liège, the groom's brother and sister-in-law
- Prince Alexandre of Belgium, the groom's half-brother
- King Leopold III of the Belgians and The Princess of Réthy, the groom's father and stepmother
The bride's family
- The Dowager Marquesa of Casa Riera, the bride's mother
- The Countess and Count of Sástago, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
- The Marqués and Marquesa of Casa Riera, the bride's brother and sister-in-law
- The Duchess and Duke of Lécera, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
- Don Jaime de Mora y Aragón, the bride's brother
- The Marquesa and Marqués of Aguilar, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
- The Count de la Rosa de Abarca, the bride's brother
Foreign royal guests
King Umberto II and Queen Marie-José of Italy, the groom's paternal aunt and uncle
Prince and Princess Alexander of Yugoslavia, the groom's first cousin and her husband, the groom's third cousin
The Prince of Naples, the groom's first cousin
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, the groom's first cousin
Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the groom's first cousin
The King of Norway, the groom's maternal uncle by marriage
Princess Astrid of Norway, the groom's first cousin
Prince and Princess Axel of Denmark, the groom's maternal aunt and uncle (representing the King of Denmark)
Prince and Princess George Valdemar of Denmark, the groom's first cousin and his wife
Count and Countess Flemming Valdemar of Rosenborg, the groom's first cousin and his wife
The Duke of Halland, the groom's second cousin (representing the King of Sweden)
The Queen and Prince Consort of the Netherlands, the groom's third cousin, twice removed, and her husband
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the groom's fourth cousin, once removed
Princess Irene of the Netherlands, the groom's fourth cousin, once removed
The Grand Duchess and Prince Consort of Luxembourg, the groom's first cousin, twice removed, and her husband, the groom's first cousin, twice removed (also parents of the groom's brother-in-law)
The Princess Margaret and Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones, the groom's third cousin and her husband (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom)
The Count and Countess of Barcelona, the groom's fourth cousin and his wife, the groom's third cousin, once removed
The Prince of Asturias, the groom's fourth cousin, once removed
Infanta María Cristina, Countess Marone and Count Marone, the groom's fourth cousin and her husband
King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania, the groom's third cousin and his wife, the groom's second cousin, once removed
Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, the groom's fourth cousin
The Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, the groom's second cousin, once removed
The Archduke and Archduchess of Austria-Este, the groom's second cousin, once removed, and his wife
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza, the groom's first cousin, twice removed, and his wife, the groom's third cousin, once removed
The Princess Napoléon, wife of the groom's second cousin, once removed
Prince Gholamreza of Iran (representing the Shah of Iran)
Other notable guests
References
- ^ "Queen Fabiola of the Belgians - obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "KING BAUDOUIN TO MARRY". YouTube. AP Archive. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Tiara Thursday: Queen Fabiola's Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara". The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Wedding of King Baudouin of Belgium". The Royal Watcher. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Wedding of King Baudouin of Belgium and Fabiola de Mora y Aragón". Unofficial Royalty. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Royal Wedding (1960)". YouTube. British Pathé. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Wedding Wednesday: Queen Fabiola's Gown". The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Wedding of King Baudouin of Belgium". The Royal Watcher. Retrieved 16 November 2019.