|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Queen Fabiola
(By: Marina Fernández, 2002-03-12) Queen Fabiola always felt called to care for those in need, even long before she received the title of queen of Belgium. From her childhood, Doña Fabiola Mora y Aragon, a Spanish noble born in Madrid on June 11, 1928, always held the interests of the marginalized members of society close to her heart. She pursued a professional carreer as a nurse and worked in a Madrid hospital, acting on her need to care for others. The elegant and intelligent young woman, who fluently spoke Spanish, French, Dutch, English, German and Italian, didn´t know that her career as a nurse was preparing her for a much greater role in society. In 1960, at age 32, Fabiola married King Baudouin of Belgium, and embarked on a new era of her life as a Queen. Not only was this a new era in her life, but she was to begin a new era in the role of the Queen in Belgian society, a role that will make the Queen a much closer and personal figure for all Belgians. The King and the Queen began to endear themselves to the Belgians during their wedding ceremony. In place of using the more formal and stiff formulations of the weeding vows, the two exchanged their vows in the French informal vernacular. This move gave the entire ceremony a more personal tone, and allowed all the Belgians to see that the two were not merely two nobles, but two people genuinely in love. Queen Fabiola immediately took a keen interest in the cultural and social life of her new country, and her warm personality won over the Belgian people. That the two were happy and in-love was obvious to all, and likewise the fact that the couple remained childless affected the entire country. Nevertheless, the King and Queen surprised everyone with their positive attitude. In place of bemoaning their bad luck, the two simply “adopted” all the Belgian people, becoming mother and father to each one. Queen Fabiola lived her life as a wife and mother. She did all she could to help and support her husband, and likewise worked tirelessly for the well being of her children, especially the most needy. Her sphere of influence, however, often extended outside Belgium. In the international political scene she often took advanted of her official capacity and position as Queen to win support from international institutions and other influencial people for the well-being of marginalized groups. Since she had previously worked as a nurse, Her Majesty showed a special interest in health care. She supports medical and social charities for children and encourages the study, prevention and treatment of learning difficulties and psycho-social and cultural backwardness in children through the Queen Fabiola National Foundation for Mental Health. Queen Fabiola has also been involved in social and cultural activities ever since her youth, as is shown by her children’s stories “The Twelve Marvellous Tales of Queen Fabiola”. At her request, the royalties from the sale of the French and Dutch editions of the book go to the Oeuvre Nationale de l'Enfance (the National Children’s Charity). The Queen is also well aware of current problems relating to the education and moral and physical well-being of young people. She has created a social secretariat, presently run by Queen Paola of Belgium, at the Royal Palace to respond to requests which pour in from all corners of the country. Currently she is honorary president of the King Baudouin Foundation, which aims at improving the living conditions of the population and presides over the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium. The Queen continues to pursue activities which reflect her deep concern for the underprivileged. She is a member of the group of spouses of various heads of states, which launched an initiative to promote the economic advancement of women in rural areas, particularly those living in less developed countries. She and Boutros Boutros Ghali, United Nations Secretary General, chaired a meeting in which 70 First Ladies spoke in favour of adopting the Geneva Convention of the Advancement of Women in Rural Areas. She also served as an advisor for the September 1995 Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing and was chosen to address this conference on behalf of rural women. Queen Fabiola of Belgium recently received the 2001 Ceres Medal, in recognition of her work to promote rural women in developing countries, from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. As one can see, after King Baudouin’s death in 1993, Queen Fabiola demonstrated that her role as queen was not only a title. She dressed in white on the day of the Kings funeral, expressing an attitude of gratitude for the life he had lived and for having successfully completed his mission as King, but her life and her mission as Queen was not yet over. The people of Belgium returned the sentiment when they requested that she retain the title of Queen and to continue her active role in Belgian society. Fabiola continues to play a major part in the Belgian Royal Family and devotes her time to rally for her children, the Belgium people. .................................................. Sources: The Royal Archive http://www.royalarchive.com/ Belgium Federal Government http://belgium.fgov.be/ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) http://www.fao.org/ Expatica.com http://www.expatica.com/ |
 |
All rights
reserved Copyright New Woman 2001 - 2010 |