When I read fairy tales as a child, I often have a strong interest and deep envy for the stories of princes and princesses, but the reality is that not every prince can have a "happy life from now on" with the princess, such as Queen Paula of Belgium.
Paula was born into an aristocratic family and was beautiful in appearance,
It has always had the reputation of "Apennine swan"
, is enough to be a beauty alongside Hepburn. When he was young, he married a prince of Belgium and became the envy of everyone.
Later, for various reasons, she ascended to the heavens one step at a time and became the queen of Belgium alone. Such a legendary experience, who reads it does not say a word
"Jealousy"
？
When the queen was old, an "accident" occurred, so that her life was related to the "laughing stock". So, what exactly is this? What was Queen Paula's life like?
01, from the Apennine swan to the Belgian princess
Queen Paula, originally known as Paula Calabria, was born in 1937 to an ancient Italian family.
Her father inherited the title of Prince of Rufo di Calabria, a well-known ace pilot on the battlefield of World War I, and her mother, Luisa Gasseri, also of aristocratic blood, was a descendant of a marquis.
Paula is the youngest of the two,
There are six brothers and sisters on it, one of whom is the current head of the family and holds many noble titles.
Growing up in such a prominent family, even if the world had not stopped at that time, it did not have much impact on Paula.
She grew up slowly along the trajectory that an aristocratic lady should have,
Take aristocratic courses in literature, art, history, and more
Proficient in Italian, French, English and many other Chinese, she is a veritable little princess.
And because Paula's appearance is very beautiful, enough to rival Hepburn, so at a young age, she was infinitely praised by others, and she had the reputation of "Apennine Swan".
originally
Paula's life will go on like this
In the protection of her parents and brothers, she will always be a carefree noblewoman, but fate tricks Paula, so that Paula meets the culprit who finally became a laughingstock at the age of twenty-one.
The man, Albert, the second prince of Belgium, fell in love with the young Paula at first sight at the coronation of Pope John XXIII of the Vatican in October 1958.
What about Paula? He also had a crush on the handsome and shy prince, and the two had been dating for more than a year before entering the palace of marriage. Since then, Apennine swans have flown into the palaces of Belgium and become the princesses of Belgium known for their beauty.
02, lucky life
Life after marriage was as happy as Paula had hoped, and the young princess conquered not only the prince with beauty and elegance, but also the people of Belgium, and won the love and support of the whole country.
Four years,
Paula gave birth to two sons and a daughter for Albert.
The family is happy and harmonious, envious of others. Especially compared with Albert's brother, the King of Belgium who had been empty under his knees at that time, it seemed that Albert and Paula were very happy.
Of course, for Paula, one of the luckier things happened in 1993. King Baudouin of Belgium died suddenly, leaving no heirs.
Albert, as the first heir to the throne,
He naturally ascended to the throne of the king
Paula also became the new queen of Belgium.
Subsequently, she took over the philanthropy of her sister-in-law, Queen Fabiola, and personally supported her favorite art field, busily and fully active in the public eye.
On the surface,
Paula is indeed a competent and qualified queen,
At the same time, she is also a queen with a happy family, but Paula's occasional sad and solemn expression seems to tell people that the truth is not what everyone sees.
Isn't Paula's queenship as good as outsiders speculate? The answer was officially revealed to the public one day in 1999.
03, unhappy marriage
That year, a girl named Delphine Berel suddenly stepped forward and told the world that she had been born in 1968 as the illegitimate daughter of King Albert and Baroness Sibel, and had revealed the sixteen-year-long ambiguous relationship between Albert and the lady.
As soon as these words came out, the whole country of Belgium was immediately shocked, who could have imagined that the king, who on the surface seemed to love Queen Paula so deeply,
How could he have cheated so early,
Even gave birth to an illegitimate daughter.
In this regard, Albert naturally firmly denied it, and did not recognize the words of Delphine Berel. What about Delphine Berel?
On the one hand, he was upset with his mother, saying that in order not to affect the marriage of the king, the mother not only kept the birth father of her daughter hidden, but also left London to marry someone else.
As a well-known sculptor, he opened an exhibition with ulterior motives in Belgium, using appalling titles such as "Bastard Son" and "Adultery with the King's Permission" to win attention and show visitors his "fatherhood" process.
Time
Word of the king's affair was rife
The whole Belgian people seem to be waiting for the king to give a detailed explanation, but the royal family has not made any statement from beginning to end, and only allowed the matter to circulate in the folk.
At the same time, a rumor gradually spread among the crowd, saying that as early as the 1960s, Paula had discovered that her husband had changed her mind and even almost divorced him, but thanks to the persuasion of the then king Baudouin, the two reconciled.
Unfortunately, what should have happened is destined to happen, this scandal that has been hidden for more than ten years,
Eventually unveiled by Delphine Berel,
Not only did the king's reputation be damaged, but also the queen Paula was also disgraced, and the enviable happy marriage for decades instantly became the "laughing stock" of the public.
In addition, due to the differences in speech between the two sides and the inability to reach a consensus, the controversy over the king's extramarital affair lasted for more than ten years, until Albert abdicated and entered the eighty years of age with Paula, and only then did he have a clear message:
Because the previous king Albert was forced to test positive for DNA, delphin Berel was determined to be his biological daughter, a "legitimate child" of the royal family, and deserved royal status and inheritance rights.
But even so,
Albert is still reluctant to admit his blood relationship with Delphine Berel
。 The world does not know whether Albert's stubbornness and desperation are to maintain the dignity of the king or his affection for Paula.
But from Paula's point of view, this matter can not be solved for a long time, no doubt continues to pour salt on her wounds, reminding her and reminding the world that the married life she has always been considered happy is actually a tragedy at all.
Even she herself has become a "laughing stock" in the eyes of the world. If Albert really loved Paula, it would be better to end the matter early and give Paula a peaceful old age.
Text/Lin Bonan