Course side – The rare confidences of Paola of Belgium
Queen Paola of Belgium, 84, has agreed to speak exclusively to Belgian television. A rare event. Every week, Stéphane Bern deciphers the royal news with a new appointment: Côté Cours.
An unwritten rule stipulates in Belgium that “we do not discover the Crown”, in other words everyone must respect the discretion that surrounds the Sovereign in the exercise of his official functions. This is to say that it is rare for a member of the Belgian royal family to break the silence. Therefore, the documentary on Queen Paola by director Nicolas Delvaulx, a fine observer of the Belgian dynasty of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, broadcast last night on RTBF, is a real event. As much as former King Albert II was entitled to the honors of Belgian television, the life of his wife remained shrouded in mystery, given free rein to all conjecture. Above all, Queen Paola, 84, agreed to confide exclusively, in what remains as a sincere and moving confession, supported by the testimony of her family. “A lot of things have been said about the queen with approximations,” recalls the director. “So it was worth questioning him to get his version. It was a long-term job with months of maintenance but we worked in confidence to carry out this unprecedented project. Never, in the history of our country, has a queen attributed herself in this way to her function, her moods…”. In fact, for more than an hour and a half, Queen Paola reviews the various events that have marked her life, opening her intimate albums as well as her private residences, in Châteauneuf-sur-Grasse, in Brussels or in Villers- sur-Lesse, speaking with disconcerting sincerity, hiding none of the complicated moments of her life, such as when she came very close to a divorce with her husband.
An exceptional documentary
In this exceptional documentary, “Paola, garden side: confidences of a queen”, the 6th Queen of the Belgians confides like never before. Her childhood, her meeting with the Prince of Liège, Albert, her arrival in Belgium, her marriage, her marital difficulties, the education of the children… Born on September 11, 1937 in Tuscany, Paola Ruffo di Calabria is the youngest of a family of 7 children, one of the oldest of the Italian aristocracy. Her childhood is happy until the war when she is confronted with mourning, she confides. In a few years, she lost a brother, a sister and then her father when she was only 9 years old. Has she ever dreamed of being a princess? From the outset, she replies that she especially dreamed of a companion for life. But the lives of princesses don’t always resemble the fairy tales in the books. But if it looks like one of the illustrated magazines that relate their meeting in Rome at the end of the 1950s when the Prince of Liège came to represent his elder brother King Baudouin at the enthronement ceremonies of Pope John XXIII. For their wedding in Brussels on July 2, 1959, the whole kingdom fell under the spell of “such a pretty princess” to whom Salvatore Adamo dedicated a song “Dolce Paola”. But soon he was criticized for preferring the dolce vita to the rigors of protocol, and for not speaking Flemish. “It was a pain, and yet I made incredible efforts that no one knows,” said the queen. The couple will have three children in three years, but the first clouds are gathering. Especially since King Baudouin married Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon in December 1960 relegated the Princes of Liège to the background. “I had to rethink my life,” says Paola. “I wanted to be a nurse but my children were small.”
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There was this danger of divorce
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Albert and Paola admit that they were not always excellent parents. “It takes education to become a parent. It’s a shame we can’t start over. There, I understand how important it is to give affection to your children,” she says. Soon the couple is on the verge of breaking up. They each lead separate lives. Queen Paola admits having been very unhappy at that time and having found comfort with other men. “Me, I was not happy for 10 years. I didn’t know where to go. There was this danger of divorce. From 70 to 80, I was alone and sad. I had distanced myself from everything. Then, one day, Albert said to me: I have always loved you and that made me happy”. After the trials, the couple reunites, stronger than ever. “If you make a little effort in marriage, it’s worth it. There is no more hatred, sex, there is tenderness. Aging like that is good,” says Paola again. Even more incredible, in the register of confidences, the testimony of King Philippe in front of his parents. “We have witnessed difficult things, we have all suffered from them, but you are happy. It is a victory… I am convinced that you are always loved”. In hollow appears the true personality of Queen Paola, a woman long misunderstood, non-conformist, artist, creative, passionate about gardens, contemporary art and decoration, but also charity and social, she who would have liked to be a nurse … Never had a queen attributed herself with so much frankness and sincerity. As Nicolas Delvaulx puts it so well, “I wanted to understand the human behind the function. Like everyone else, Queen Paola was looking for love, freedom, meaning in her life. And a confession from Paola to conclude, which has value for all those who have a public mission to assume “When we accept what we have to do, we become free”.
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