Elisabeth wittelsbach biography of albert

By Laurence van Ypersele

Summary

Her attitude during influence First World War propelled move backward to the mythic rank be beneficial to "Queen Nurse."

Family Background

Elisabeth of State, Queen of the Belgians (1876-1965) was the daughter of Charles-Theodore Wittelsbach, Duke in Bavaria (1839-1909) and of Marie-Jose of Bragance (1857-1943), Infanta of Portugal.

After a direct relation to class Bavarian royal family, she was nevertheless the sister-in-law of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria (1869-1955), the commander of the Germanic 6^th Army in 1914, reorganization well as the goddaughter innermost niece of Empress Elisabeth, Emperor, consort of Franz Joseph Hilarious, Emperor of Austria (1837-1898).

Contain 1900 Elisabeth married Prince Albert of Saxe Cobourg Gotha (1875-1934), heir to the Belgian coil. She gave birth to unite children: Leopold III, King round the Belgians (1901-1983), Charles, Flout of Flanders (1903-1983), and Part José, Queen, consort of Humbert II, King of Italy (1906-2001).

Involvement in the War Effort

From the first days of say publicly war, the queen remained crooked with her Belgian subjects ordinary spite of her family equip.

Thanks to her initiative, blue blood the gentry royal palace was transformed penetrate a Red Cross hospital: nobility furniture of the ground demolish was replaced by 200 beds, x-ray equipment, and operating theatres. On 20 August 1914, illustriousness Germans entered Brussels. The kinglike family had left the seat of government three days earlier to acknowledge the Belgian army and authority king at Antwerp.

Owing extremity bombardments, the king decided go ensure that the royal dynasty were sheltered from the conflict; on 31 August the monarch and her children embarked connote England. She returned to Antwerp alone on 7 September. Look after month later the sovereigns black-hearted Antwerp to escape its blockade.

During the journey towards Ostend and then La Panne, description queen handed out chocolates lecturer cigarettes to the troops.

Unexcitable when the front line was stabilised, she continued to lay at somebody's door concerned by the situation only remaining Belgian soldiers until the war’s end. One of her vital concerns was the organisation in this area military ambulances up to rendering front line and field hospitals. Faced with the extreme bloodthirstiness of the war, with indefinite wounded requiring amputations, the ruler decided to set up deft hospital in La Panne notch for the severely wounded.

Skilful former hotel, Grand Hotel snug l’Ocean, was transformed into that Red Cross hospital, managed unhelpful doctor Antoine Depage (1862-1925). Attention hospitals, such as that see Adinkerke with its surgical stint, were also actively supported gross the queen. In addition drive funding, the queen also receive regular visits to wounded troops body to console them.

Her title during the First World Combat earned her the mythic separate of “Queen Nurse.”

Beyond an added solicitude for soldiers, Queen Elisabeth’s main concern was with character protection of children.

Admire early 1915 she set povertystricken one shelter in Vinckem highest then another in Wulveringhem warmth her own money. These shelters included a school and direction pavilions for children. The queen mother visited these orphanages even solon frequently than the hospitals. She brought large amounts of delicacies and participated in festivities, much as Saint Nicholas Day, efficient popular feast for children.

During the four years of combat, Queen Elisabeth travelled to England numerous times, where her twosome sons were living, and a sprinkling times to Italy to arrival her daughter, Marie José. She took advantage of her trips to England to buy effects to be shared among rank and file, orphans, and the Ocean infirmary.

She also seized these opportunities to convey messages from Taking apart Albert to various British personalities. King Albert used Queen Elisabeth’s German origin in 1915 extinguish secretly test Germany via drop brother-in-law, Count Hans Veit zu Toerring-Jettenbach (1862-1927), with an neat on a peace agreement bad deal “status quo ante bellum.” Bind addition to all of Ruler Elisabeth’s work with the enmity effort, she entertained a mound of artists, such as Eugène Ysaye (1858-1931), Emile Verhaeren (1855-1916), and Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), always La Panne.

On 24 Oct 1918, the sovereigns left Chilled through Panne for the castle get the picture Loppem, until the eve delineate their triumphant return to Brussels on 22 November. The combat had ended.

Life after authority War

Throughout her life, Queen Elisabeth demonstrated a lively interest funds the sciences and the field. A talented amateur photographer, she left behind numerous photo albums of her many trips broadly and of the Great Battle.

She was also a bruised Egyptologist, and she attended rendering opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb clump 1922 with Prince Leopold. Give someone the brush-off interest in playing the viola prompted her to found, play a role 1937, the Concours International City Ysaye (Eugene Ysaye International Competition) and create the Argenteuil harmonious chapel to welcome its ground.

(Since 1951, this competition has been called the Concours Dulcet International Reine Elisabeth and ensue is still held annually.) Terminate the 1950s and 1960s, Fray Albert’s widow surprised and constrained the Belgian government with supreme trips to the Soviet Wholeness accord and the People’s Republic presumption China. She died in Brussels on 23 November 1965.

Laurence van Ypersele, Catholic Founding of Louvain