66
THE YPRES TIMES
I recall that on one occasion the late King Albert passed the remark, I want both
my sons to be workers, and for that reason the principal condition I insist upon being
observed in the selection of their companions is that they shall be children of honest men
and workersnot children of idlers." King Leopold was sent for a time to Eton and
afterwards served as a young soldier in Belgium during the latter part of the war. Duty
Firstis his adopted motto, and each morning sees him at his study in Brussels at nine
o'clock sharp, going through a mass of correspondence and State documents with his
staff. Then he is ready to receive ambassadors, ministers and other visitors. It is
usually late when his business day is done, but he makes a practice of taking a short
walk before dinner.
That his sympathies are with his people in an hour of national sorrow is demon
strated by the fact that, as soon as he heard of the mine disaster at Paturges, near Mons,
last May, in which forty-three lives were lost, he hastened to the pithead and on the
following day inaugurated a relief fund with a handsome donation.
In Belgium there is no crown, no regalia, and consequently no coronation ceremony,
but last month a special mission was sent from Brussels to London for the purpose of
announcing officially to the Court of St. James's the new King's accession to the throne.
The dedication of the carillon of the Ypres Belfrypart of the reconstruction scheme
of the immortal Cloth Hallwill take place on Sunday, 29th of the present month, when
King Leopold and Queen Astrid are to make a State entry into the resurrected city. The
rejoicings are to extend over several days, and the British colony is making arrangements
for a personal participation.
It is interesting to recall that three years ago his Majesty, then Duke of Brabant,
unveiled at Ploegsteert the memorial erected there to the 11,447 missing British
soldiers who fell in that area whilst in the speech he delivered before the African Society
in London, last year, he gave strong evidence of his affection and regard for the British
Empire.
1 Queen Astrid.
It was said of the late King Albert in 1909 that he did not mount the throne alone
his family mounted it with him." So, likewise, it may be claimed on behalf of his
son, for the popularity of Queen Astrid and her children is manifest in all parts of Belgium.
The Queen has a special interest for the British people, on account of her relationship
to their own Royal family, and the fact that she was brought up with the Duke of
Connaught's only grand-daughter, Princess Ingrid. At Fridhem, the family seat in the
heart of Sweden, the children grew up in the happy atmosphere of freedom and unpre-
tentiousness. When in Stockholm they attended a public cookery school together, and
went through all branches of the work, from vegetable cleaning to cake making. The
cakes were allowed to be taken home. It was Princess Astrid's special delight to take
her turn marketing. Carrying a capacious basket, she would descend upon the barrows
in the Östermalm Square and spend a happy time arguing with the peasant women over
the price and quality of their wares. It was also a special privilege, on her way home
from school, to walk arm-in-arm with a girl friend, stopping now and then to admire
the pretty shops along Strandvagen or the Hamngatan. It may be mentioned that
needlework is not her strong point. She prefers the more active, even menial, tasks of
housewifery to patient hours spent in fine sewing. In this respect she resembles her
great-aunt, the late Queen Alexandra, who was seldom, if ever, known to take up the
needle.
The Royal Children.
In Belgian Court circles, where etiquette is very strictly observed, Princess Astrid's
informality at first caused a little stir of surprise. On the other hand, the great mass
of the people loved her for it.
Nothing could have been better calculated to win their hearts than to see her sitting,
like any hunlble house-mother, on the sands at Ostend, building castles with her little
girl, Josephine Charlotte. The absolutely natural behaviour of this small princess and
