Astrid Sophie Louise Thyra
Bernadotte, princesse de Suède, née le 17 novembre 1905 à
Stockholm et décédée dans un accident de voiture le
29 août 1935 à Küssnacht am Rigi (Suisse),
est la quatrième reine des Belges, du 23 février
1934 jusqu’à sa mort.
Née à Stockholm le 17 novembre 1905, seconde fille
du prince Carl de Suède et de la princesse Ingeborg de Danemark,
nièce du roi Gustave V de Suède, sœur de la
princesse royale Martha de Norvège, elle épouse, le 10
novembre 1926, Léopold, prince de Belgique et duc de
Brabant, le futur Léopold III.
De cette union naîtront :
À la suite de la mort tragique du roi Albert Ier, le 17 février
1934, Léopold, sous le nom de Léopold III, et Astrid deviennent roi
et reine des Belges.
Préoccupée par les questions sociales, elle organise en
1935, au palais royal de Bruxelles, une grande collecte de
vêtements et de vivres.
L´accident de voiture qui causa le décès
d´Astrid1,2,
survenu le 29 août 1935 à Küssnacht am Rigi, en Suisse,
cause une grande émotion en Belgique (émotion d´autant plus vive
que des clichés pris de l´accident et de la mise en bière de la
reine sont publiés dans la presse3)
et en Europe, où son souvenir demeure jusqu´à
aujourd´hui.
Elle est inhumée, comme tous les rois et reines de
Belgique, dans la crypte royale de l´église Notre-Dame de
Laeken, à Bruxelles.
Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden (17 November
1905 – 29 August 1935) was Queen consort of the Belgians as
the wife of King Leopold III. By birth she was a
princess of the Sweden´s royal House of Bernadotte. Her grandsons are
King Philippe of Belgium and Henri, Grand Duke of
Luxembourg.
Astrid was born at her parents´ home of Arvfurstens Palats in Stockholm on 17 November 1905, the third daughter
of Prince Carl, Duke of
Västergötland, and his wife Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.
Her father was the younger brother of King Gustav V of Sweden, and her mother was the
sister of King Christian X of Denmark and of King
Haakon VII of Norway.
As an eligible princess, Astrid was mentioned as a
potential bride for a number of princes including the future Edward
VIII of Great Britain and the future Olav V of Norway. Astrid´s
successful suitor was Crown Prince Leopold of
Belgium.
In September 1926, their engagement was announced. King
Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium invited the press to the
royal palace in Brussels. "The Queen and I," declared Albert,
"would like to announce to you the impending marriage between
Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant and the Princess Astrid of Sweden.
We are convinced that the princess will bring joy and happiness to
our son. Leopold and Astrid have decided to join their lives
without any pressures or reasons of state. Theirs is a true union
among people with the same inclinations." Queen Elisabeth,
incorrigible romantic that she was, insisted in saying "It is a
marriage of love... tell it to our people. Nothing was arranged.
Not a single political consideration prevailed in our son´s
decision."
In Stockholm on 4 November 1926 civilly and in
Cathedral of St.
Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels on 10 November religiously,
Princess Astrid married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, the son of
King Albert I of Belgium and his wife,
Queen Elisabeth,
born Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. The couple travelled separately
to Antwerp after their civil marriage, to be reunited in
Belgium.
For the religious marriage, the couple were attended by a
large wedding party of young friends and relatives: Princess Feodora of Denmark,
Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium,
Princess Martha of Sweden,
Princess Ingrid of Sweden,
Alfhild Ekelund,
Prince Carl of Sweden[disambiguation needed],
Prince Gustav
Adolf of Sweden, Crown Prince Olav of Norway, Margareta Stähl,
Count Claes
Sparre, Anna Adelswärd,
Prince Charles of Belgium,
Count Folke Bernadotte, Baron Sigvard Beck-Friis, Anne Marie von
Essen, and Baron Carl
Strömfelt.[1]
Princess Astrid was given a tiara as a wedding gift from
the Belgian government, created by Belgian jeweler Van Bever, the
original version of the diadem is a flexible diamond bandeau in a
stylized Greek key motif topped with 11 large diamonds on spikes.
These large stones, totaling around 100 carats on their own,
symbolize the nine provinces of Belgium and the (now former)
Belgian colony of the Congo. She later added a set of diamond arches
to enclose each of the 11 independent stones. After Astrid’s
death the tiara was in the possession of King Leopold, and his
second wife Princess Lilian wore parts of the tiara but not the
full gem (Lilian never held the title of Queen). Leopold abdicated
the throne in favor of his son Baudouin; when Baudouin married,
Leopold gave the tiara to the new queen. Fabiola, Belgium’s first queen
since Astrid, wore it on her wedding day. She handed the jewel over
after Baudouin’s death to be worn by Queen Paola who, after the abdication
pf her husband Albert, gave it to Mathilde new Queen of the
Belgians.
Astrid was enthusiastically adopted by the Belgians. She
was widely loved for her beauty, charm and simplicity. Her public
and official engagements radiated enthusiasm. Leopold was her most
fervent admirer. The love shared by the young couple was evident to
all. On more than one occasion people could see them holding hands,
even during official engagements. In 1927, Leopold and Astrid had a
daughter, Princess
Joséphine-Charlotte. In 1930, the Belgian press gave extensive
coverage to the birth of the long awaited royal heir. Leopold was
on his way to visit some areas away from Brussels when the Duchess
of Brabant went into labor. The royal palace immediately sent him a
telegram that reached Leopold at a stop during his journey. The
royal palace´s message announced the impending birth of the
couple´s second child. Without thinking twice about the day´s
engagements, Leopold returned to Brussels immediately. Prince
Leopold and King Albert walked anxiously in the garden at
Stuyvenberg Palace while the Duchess of Brabant began her labor.
Next to Astrid were her mother, Ingeborg of Denmark, duchess of
Västergötland, and her mother-in-law Queen Elisabeth. At 4:15 pm
the royal physicians proudly announced the healthy birth of a
little prince. The sound of a cannon silenced the general happiness
expressed by the people of Brussels. Their first son, Prince Baudouin eventually succeeded his
father as King of the Belgians. He was given the
name of Baudouin in memory of his deceased great-uncle who was supposed to
have become king.
At Stuyvenberg, not far away from the Royal Palace of Laeken, the young
Duchess of Brabant, raised in the simplicity of the Scandinavian
courts, joyfully raised her growing family. At a small villa in the
palace grounds, Astrid cooked for her family. And every time she
could, Astrid would stroll along the Avenue Louise with her children. The Court
Marshall vehemently protested against these promenades. "They break
protocol," he would say. Yet in her simplicity, Astrid would retort
by saying "But I´m just another mother, am I not?" She even went as
far as joining the crowds during a military revue in an effort to
see her promenading husband at the head of his regiment.
On February 17, 1934, King Albert died in a mountain-climbing accident in
Marche-les-Dames, Belgium. Leopold and Astrid became the new King
and Queen of the Belgians with the style of Majesty. Later that year, the third child of
Leopold and Astrid was born. He was named Albert after his grandfather, and would
eventually succeed his brother Baudouin as King of the Belgians.
As Queen, Astrid 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".
In August 1935, the King and Queen went incognito to Switzerland on holiday. Prince Albert
remained in Brussels. Only one year old, he was considered too
young for the journey. Joséphine-Charlotte and Baudouin had
travelled with their parents to their holiday home, Villa
Haslihorn in Horw, Switzerland. The children were sent back to
Belgium with their nannies on 28 August. On 29 August 1935, the
King and Queen decided to go for a last hike in
the mountains before returning home. Their chauffeur was sitting in
the back of the Packard One-Twenty convertible, the King
was driving and the Queen looking at a map. As the Queen pointed
out something to her husband the car went off the road, down a
steep slope, and slammed into a pear tree. Queen Astrid had opened
her door to try to get out, but she was thrown out upon impact. Her
body collided with the trunk of the tree, while the car slammed
into a second tree. King Leopold was thrown out of the car as well,
but he was only lightly injured. The car went on, only to stop in a
lake. It was 9:30 am on 29 August 1935. The Queen died from her
injuries at the scene of the accident at Küssnacht am Rigi, near Lake Lucerne, Schwyz,
Switzerland.
Queen Astrid is interred in the royal vault at the
Church of Our Lady of
Laeken, Brussels, beside her husband, King Leopold III of the
Belgians, and his second wife, Princess Lilian of
Belgium.
Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra (Stockholm, 17
november 1905 – Küssnacht am Rigi, 29
augustus 1935), hertogin van Brabant, prinses van België, prinses van
Zweden, vrouw van Koning Leopold III, was de vierde Koningin
der Belgen en de moeder van prinses (latere groothertogin) Josephine-Charlotte,
Koning Boudewijn en Koning Albert II.
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