deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

Happy Birthday Queen Paola

The Kingdom of Belgium. A country in Western Europe bordered by The Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest and the North Sea to the northwest.

It is divided into three autonomous regions: Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south and Brussels-Capital region.

The flag is a tricolor of three equal bands containing the national colors: Black, Yellow and Red. These three colors have been associated with the region since 1459 when they appeared on the coat of arms of the Duchy of Brabant.

Black, yellow and red are carried on in the official coat of arms for Belgium.

Yesterday, September 11, was the 88th Birthday of Queen Consort, Paola. Her life story is more interesting than a well written romance novel and certainly better than a top notch ‘rom -com.

She was born Princess Ruffo di Calabria in Forte dei Marmi, Italy — more than 700 miles from her future home at the Royal Palace of Brussels. That being said, Paola was probably one of the most privileged babies of her day. As the daughter of Italian royalty herself, Paola was already born with some combination of wealth and fame.

Considered to be one of the he most beautiful and glamorous women in all of Europe. In 1958, the Prince of Liège went to the Vatican to witness the coronation of Pope John XXIII. At a reception at the Belgian embassy, the Prince met Italian Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria. “We were both shy, so we only talked a little”, Paola said later about their first meeting. Prince Albert later proposed marriage to Paola and she accepted. Their engagement was announced at the Palace of Laeken in 1959.

With her background and education, Paola mastered Greek, and Latin. Her native language was, of course, Italian but she was also fluent in French and Dutch. The problem later became she did not speak Belgian.

As a fourth daughter and second son, respectively, Paola and Albert were the very definition of their families’ “royal spares.” In other words, they were meant to wear the crown only if their older siblings were to die unexpectedly. Thus, it was not particularly difficult for Paola and Albert to convince their families to support the marriage

But…isn’t there always a but, the marriage was rough from the start. The Belgian government did not like that Paola was not Belgian. The Belgian people didn’t like Paola because she didn’t speak Belgian. Paola didn’t like the cold forbidding climate of Belgium. Albert’s parents were strict Catholics and very restrictive.

Things were not going well for the young couple even after two children are born. Next, Albert’s father, the King, dies. So Albert’s older brother becomes King. What else? Albert’s brother unexpectedly dies and Albert becomes King with Paola now Queen Consort. And sure enough all along the way good ole Al is having extra marital affairs. Paola wants a divorce but is convinced that would be a disaster for Belgium.

Over the years Paola works hard on herself and realizes she can decide to be happy and live a good life, even if Albert is a bit of a cad.

With Paola healthy and still vibrant King Albert comes to his senses and goes to Paola to reconcile. The old spark returns and they live a happy active life.

I feel like I just wrote a Netflix movie.