Charles Count of Flanders

[Eric VdV]

During the evening of Wednesday 1 June 1983, Prince Charles/Karel of Belgium, Count of Flanders, died at the Heilig Hart hospital in Oostende. The royal Palace only announced the same morning that the prince was admitted to the hospital in Oostende in worrying health condition. King Boudewijn and Queen Fabiola paid him a last visit the day before he died and Queen Fabiola stayed for the night in a next-door room. Prince Albert and Princess Paola visited their uncle at noon the day he died. The prince was already in a coma by then. Also Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, godchild of her uncle, paid a visit in the hospital.

Prince Charles/Karel was hospitalised four days before he died, after suddenly caught a severe skin-eruption. After medical researches of his blood (too much white blood cells), the outcome was that the prince was diagnosed from a very malign form of leucemia and that this could led in a quick death for elderly people. While Prince Charles refused to inform the royal Court lying in the hospital, the doctors decided at least the day before he died to contact the royal Palace.

After he died, his body was brought to the royal Palace in Brussels, where a lying in state had been organised on Saturday 4 June. On a personal note, didn’t have to stand in queue to greet the body of the late prince.

The state funeral took place on Tuesday 7 June at the church of St Jacob-op-de-Koudenberg/St Jacques-sur-Coudenberg. The funeral procession, which started from the royal Palace in Brussels to the church, just around the corner was headed behind the coffin in a mourning car by:
King Boudewijn; Grand Duke Jean; Prince Albert
Behind them: Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoye; Prince Filip; Prince Laurent
Third row: Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; Prince Franz of Bavaria
Fourth row: Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia; Archduke Christian of Austria; Prince Serge of Yugoslavia.

The funeral took place in the presence of:

Sitting in the upper part of the church, near the altar:
King Boudewijn and Queen Fabiola
Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg
Prince Albert and Princess Paola of Belgium
Prince Alexander of Belgium
Princess Esmeralda of Belgium
Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoye
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoye
Prince Filip of Belgium
Princess Astrid of Belgium
Prince Laurent of Belgium
Pregnant Archduchess Marie-Astrid, née Princess of Luxembourg, and her husband Archduke Christian of Austria
Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, son of Princess Maria Pia of Savoye
Prince Serge of Yugoslavia, youngest son of Princess Maria Pia of Savoye

Sitting in the church:
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
Prince Franz of Bavaria
Archduke Carl Ludwig and Archduchess Yolande of Austria
Archduke Rudolph of Austria (probably also his wife Archduchess Anna Gabriela)
Prince Antoine de Ligne
Count George de Witte
General Moulay Hafid Aloui, minister of the royal House of Morocco
Admiral Sir Antony Norton, representating the Royal Navy
Mr Chamoun, previous President of Lebanon
Mr David Levy, vice Prime Minister of Israel
Mr André Labarrère, joint Minister to Mr Mauroy

Remarkable absentees were King Leopold and Princess Lilian; Queen Marie-José of Italy; brother and sister of the deceased.
Apparently, Queen Marie-José was staying with her youngest daughter Princess Maria Beatrice in Mexico.

After a short religious ceremony at the church of Our-Lady in Laeken, where traditionally only the male members of the family were present, the coffin was moved to the royal Vault, where the prince is buried in a side chapel.

Only just after some years of the death of King Boudewijn a mysterious wreath is always lying on the grave of Prince Karel/Charles with always the same inscription “A mon cher époux” (“to my beloved husband”), certainly from his religious wife Jacqueline de Peyrebrune.

1983 was a sad year, as in March King Umberto of Italy, brother-in-law of the prince had died, and the prince was followed in death by his brother King Leopold III in September.

It looks like there will be no commemoration on Sunday.

Prince Karel/Charles was born on 10 October 1903 at Hôtel d’Assche in Brussels, the home of Prince Albert and Princess Elisabeth, later King and Queen of the Belgians. He was the second child after future King Leopold III and preceded by Princess Marie-José, later shortly Queen of Italy. In December 1909, his father took the oath to become the third king of the Belgians, when his own uncle King Leopold II died. During the First World War, the children moved for safe reasons to England, where the prince started a naval training. After the end of the war, he went back to pursue his naval training. When the Second World War broke out, the prince helped undercover prisoners of captivity. At the time King Leopold III was ‘unsuitable’ to fulfill his royal duties, Prince Karel/Charles was asked to act as regent from 20 September 1944 until the return of King Leopold until 20 July 1950.
From that time the prince lived completely secluded at his estate Raversijde at the Belgian coast, not attending one single event in the royal Family, not even the funeral of his mother Queen Elisabeth in 1965. He took the name “Karel van Vlaanderen” when he started with his exhibitions on his paintings. In 1981 he made the headlines when he sold many belongings as his estate was sold to the Belgian state.

Sources:
Books:
“Karel, Graaf van Vlaanderen, Prins van België, Regent van het Koninkrijk” by Gunnar Riebs
“Prins Karel, seigneur van Raversijde, petites histoires” by Michel Capon

Magazines :
“De Post”
“Zondagsnieuws”
“Le Patriote Illustré”
“Point de Vue”

Newspaper :
“Gazet van Antwerpen”





St-Jacob-op-de-Koudenberg/St-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg



Funeral procession



Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg; King Boudewijn; Prince Albert

The royal Family: left to right:
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoye; Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoye; Princess Esmeralda of Belgium; Prince Alexander of Belgium; Princess Paola and Prince Albert of Belgium; Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte and Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg; Queen Fabiola and King Boudewijn of the Belgians
Second row from the left: Archduke Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria; Prince Serge of Yugoslavia; Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia; Prince Laurent of Belgium; Princess Astrid of Belgium; Prince Filip of Belgium



King Boudewijn with behind him Princess Astrid of Belgium and Prince Filip of Belgium



Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoye and Princess Esmeralda of Belgium



The grave with wreath in the royal Vault in Laken last May


Eric VdV

[Norbert]

Is it true he has  a child by Jacqueline Werchli, Isabelle born 1938 ? Did he ever consider a marriage to a princess ?

[Eric VdV]

Is it true he has  a child by Jacqueline Werchli, Isabelle born 1938 ? Did he ever consider a marriage to a princess ?

Indeed, but the mother's name is Jacqueline Wehrli, the daughter of a patissier in Brussels, and she died already in the 1947 after a long illness. Isabelle received the name of the futur husband of her mother, Wybo, an old militair and courtier of the royal palace.

There were some rumours about an unofficial engagement to Princess Teresa of Orléans-Bragança in November 1949. It must be about the sister of the late Countess of Paris, who still alive today. No further plans came true.

I think during the 1930's there were also some plans with a noble British lady.

Eric VdV

[Norbert]

Many thanks . How interesting that Jacquelne died so early. I 'd love to know more about the life of Isabelle...did she marry and have children, was she ever acknowledged by her father or the royal family?

[Eric VdV]

Many thanks . How interesting that Jacquelne died so early. I 'd love to know more about the life of Isabelle...did she marry and have children, was she ever acknowledged by her father or the royal family?

Isabelle Wybo never married and was not officially acknowledged by Prince Charles. However, Queen Elisabeth received her as a granddaughter.

Don't know much about her, apart that Prince Charles tried to finance a bakery shop for her in Brussels at the time Isabelle was still a child, but it failed when Isabelle was still a child. Have never seen a picture of Isabelle Wybo. It seems that she is very discrete.

Eric VdV

[Rani]

[Rani]

I read that Elisabeth and Leopold III. were against a marriage between Charles and a commoner. And that after Leopolds marriage with Lillian.
Charles never forgave them and didn´t go to Elisabeths funeral.
I think Charles was a very sad person. A pity that he wasn´t the firstborn.

[KarlandZita]

I think Charles was a very sad person. A pity that he wasn´t the firstborn.

He had good reason to be sad, many dating back to childhood during which he was not loved by his mother, who always preferred Leopold and little regarded by his father whom he admired, however. His relations with his mother and older brother were generally poor throughout his life.

He proved yet as regent he was the most gifted and most intelligent of the two brothers.

[Rani]

And the irony is that Charles resembled Elisabeth so much, especially the look.

[Modena]

I read that Elisabeth and Leopold III. were against a marriage between Charles and a commoner. And that after Leopolds marriage with Lillian.
Charles never forgave them and didn´t go to Elisabeths funeral.
I think Charles was a very sad person. A pity that he wasn´t the firstborn.

No, it's a good thing he wasn't, because Leopold III was a very intelligent, honourable man. He was very unfairly maligned and scapegoated.

Charles seemed to have a grudge against his family.

[Modena]

I think Charles was a very sad person. A pity that he wasn´t the firstborn.

He had good reason to be sad, many dating back to childhood during which he was not loved by his mother, who always preferred Leopold and little regarded by his father whom he admired, however. His relations with his mother and older brother were generally poor throughout his life.

He proved yet as regent he was the most gifted and most intelligent of the two brothers.

More intelligent? I don't believe so. And to say he was not loved by his mother is pretty outrageous and unfair.

He obviously had artistic gifts, but was known to be very jealous of his elder brother.

[Carolath Habsburg]