The royal wartime heroines who inspired the names of two future queens

Poppies in the fields of Flanders, where some of the heaviest losses of World War One occurred. 

(photo Tijl Vercaemer)

Queen Consorts of England might have been expected to name the first few of their children after family members, but the younger children often provided a chance to use names belonging to those that inspired their parents.  And that's a trend that's been picked up by some of Europe's younger royals. A quick look at the names chosen by royal heirs for princesses who will grow up to be queen provides some interesting links to recent history.  Two of the junior princesses who will one day wear their country's crowns have names belonging to royal relatives whose reputations were shaped by World War One and World War Two.

Royal pictures for 2013: Belgium

The abdication of Albert II, King of the Belgians came as a surprise to many and certainly hadn't been predicted at the start of 2013.  Instead, the country began the year by looking forward to the planned celebrations in August for the king's 20th jubilee but on July 3rd 2013 he went on television to tell his fellow citizens that he planned to stand aside in favour of his son on Belgium's National Day, July 21st.  The royal household released an image of the king just before his abdication which gave Albert's departure an emotional touch.

Albert II, King of the Belgians, 1993 - 2013, leaves the stage

King Albert and his consort, Queen Paola, embarked on a farewell tour of the country where they were greeted by huge crowds everywhere they went.  The tour ended in Liege, the city of which Albert was made prince on the day of his birth.  Queen Paola found it hard to contain her tears as the monarchs bade an emotional farewell to their fellow citizens before handing over to a new royal family.

Tears of a queen - Paola of the Belgians says farewell in Liege, the area of which she was princess for decades before Albert's unexpected accession to the throne in 1993

The actual day of abdication and accession was a joyful occassion which began with a Te Deum in Brussels before the outgoing king signed away his kingdom and his successor took an oath of allegiance in front of politicians and family members.  Philippe, King of the Belgians then rode through the streets of Brussels to greet his fellow citizens as their monarch for the first time before a balcony appearance where all eyes were on his consort, Mathilde, the first Belgian born queen of the country.

Mathilde, Queen of the Belgians, with her husband, Philippe, on the day of their accession, July 21st 2013

The new royal family kept a low profile after the accession with the king taking on many new functions while the royal children - including the first heiress to the throne, Princess Elisabeth - carried on with their normal routines.  And at the beginning of September there was a chance to see a king on the school run.

King Philippe of the Belgians takes three of his four children to school on the first day of term in September 2013

Belgium now has two kings and three queens and Fabiola, consort of Baudouin, led the tributes to her late husband in August on the twentieth anniversary of his death.  While the former king and his successor and the two most recent consorts stood by, it was the poignant sight of Fabiola being wheeled towards a giant photo of the man she loved for decades during a religious service to commemorate his life that really stuck in the memory.

A queen remembers her lost love - Fabiola of the Belgians at the memorial service for her late husband, King Baudouin, in August 2013

Royal baby number two - lessons from Europe

William and Kate are currently keeping us all guessing over the names of the godparents they've chosen for baby George but once that's out of the way and we've seen everyone smiling in big hats on the christening day, then that favourite guessing game of royal watchers can begin again in earnest.  The increase in public duties for the Duchess of Cambridge will co-incide with an increased focus on the size of her impossibly flat tummy as the wait for the spare for the heir of the heir begins.

 

Kate and William on Anglesey six weeks after the birth of George.  Reports of pregnancy number two are likely to begin just days after the christening of baby number one if the experiences of other consorts and consorts in waiting are anything to go by

Admittedly, most European heirs and their wives haven't kept people waiting too long for baby number two.  The shortest gap between babies is about eighteen months with three royal couples giving themselves just about enough time to pause for breath before starting all over again.  The new king and queen of the Netherlands had just over a year an a half between the birth of their two eldest girls with Catharina-Amalia arriving on December 7th 2003 and Alexia joining her on June 26th 2005.

The then Prince and Princess of Orange were well prepared for the christening of Princess Alexia of the Netherlands - they'd done it all not that long before for baby Amalia

Also leaving just enough time for a couple of nights out before hunkering down into new babyhood again were the Danish and Spanish heirs and their wives.  Back in those heady days of the early noughties, when Fred and Felipe couldn't do anything without the other one following hard on their heels, both of them presented baby number two just eighteen months after showing off their first borns.  Frederik and Mary welcomed baby Isabella on April 21st 2007 in the same hospital where Christian had arrived on October 15th 2007. 

Isabella of Denmark with her brother, Christian, and parents Frederik and Mary a few days after her birth in April 2007

That gap of just over eighteen months was beaten by a few days by Felipe and Letizia when they welcomed Sofia on April 29th 2007.  Their eldest child, Leonor, had arrived on October 31st 2005 meaning their gap was two days short of eighteen months.

 

The Prince and Princess of Asturias leave hospital with baby Sofia just eighteen months after they'd faced the cameras on the day they brought Leonor home

 A slightly longer gap for the Belgian and Norwegian heirs although the dates of birth of Haakon and Mette-Marit's children make the space look slightly smaller.  Ingrid Alexandra was born on January 21st 2004 with Sverre Magnus arriving 22 months later on December 3rd 2005.

 

Sverre Magnus was still getting the hang of posing for portraits at his christening - everyone else's faces are on display but he clearly wants no more photos judging by the hand over his eyes

A gap of around 22 months was the choice of the now king and queen of the Belgians, Philippe and Mathilde, when they came to expand their family after the birth of their heiress, Elisabeth, on October 25th 2001.  Her little brother, Gabriel, arrived on August 20th 2003, just short of a one year ten month space between them.

 

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium holds her new brother, Gabriel, as the family pose for photographers two days after the little prince's birth in August 2003

Victoria of Sweden will have at least two years between the birth of Estelle and any other baby that comes along for the heiress and her husband.  The baby princess turns two in February 2014 and with no announcement of number two by now that means she'll be the oldest sibling with the biggest gap between herself and her heir unless, of course, William and Kate decide to leave it a few years before another child.

 

The heroines behind the names of future queens of Belgium and Sweden

Queen Consorts of England might have been expected to name the first few of their children after family members, but the younger children often provided a chance to use names belonging to those that inspired their parents.  And that's a trend that's been picked up by some of Europe's younger royals. A quick look at the names chosen by royal heirs for princesses who will grow up to be queen provides some interesting links to recent history.  Two of the junior princesses who will one day wear their country's crowns have names belonging to royal relatives whose reputations were shaped by World War One and World War Two.

Poppies in the fields of Flanders, where some of the heaviest losses of World War One occurred. 

(photo Tijl Vercaemer)

In just a few days' time, twelve year old Elisabeth Therese Marie Helene of Belgium will become heir to her country's throne when her father, Philippe, becomes king on the abdication of his father, Albert II.  Elisabeth's name is among the most traditional in European royalty with consorts and regnants right across the continent wearing it through the centuries.  It's also a name found in all three languages of the country she will one day rule - Flemish, French and German.  But the little princess was given the name in honour of her great, great, grandmother who began life as Elisabeth of Bavaria and went on to rule as Queen Consort of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934.

 

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen Consort of the Belgians and wife of Albert I.  Her great, great granddaughter, Elisabeth, becomes heir to the throne on July 21st 2013.

  

Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians was the son of a royal trailblazer, Karl-Theodor, who was a trained doctor and who ran a clinic assisted by his wife, Maria Josepha of Portugal who worked with him as a nurse.  And nursing was one of the ways that Elisabeth made her mark on the hearts of her people and the history of her country.  Five years after she became Queen Consort, Belgium was dragged into World War One - her husband, Albert I, refused to let the German army march through his country to attack France and found his own nation invaded.  Elisabeth became a nurse, working on the frontline and opening a clinic.  She also founded an orphanage for children affected by the war.

 

King Albert I of the Belgians and Queen Consort Elisabeth on the day of their engagement

 

Elisabeth was a widow and Queen Mother by the time World War Two started but during that conflict she was involved in work to rescue Jewish children from deportation by the Nazis.  As a war heroine in both world conflicts, she remains beloved in Belgium and a role model for the 21st century.

 

 

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will become heir to her country's throne on July 21st 2013 and from then on will be known as the Duchess of Brabant.  She's seen here with her father, Prince Philippe.

 

And the inspiration of a great charity worker also seems to have inspired the Crown Princess of Sweden and her husband when they chose a name for their first child.  Their selection of Estelle was a surprise when it was announced by the present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, the day after the birth.  But it's widely thought that the couple used the inspiration of the American born wife of a royal cousin to name this future Queen of Sweden.

 

 

Princess Estelle of Sweden with her mother, Crown Princess Victoria on their way to auntie Madeleine's wedding in June 2013

(photo Frankie Foughnthin)

 

Estelle Bernadotte was born in New York in 1904 and married the nephew of Swedish King Gustaf V in 1928.  During the war, her husband Folke Bernadotte was involved in the negotiations for the release of tens of thousands of Jewish prisoners being held by the Nazis and when the conflict ended he was appointed UN Security Council mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict.  In 1948 he was assassinated by the Jewish group Lehi.  His wife took up the mantle of his charity work.

 

 

Estelle Romaine Manville in 1928 before her marriage to Folke Bernadotte

 

Estelle Bernadotte became president of the Swedish Girls Guide and Scout Association and led a charity for children with cerebral palsy named after her husband after its foundation on the 10th anniversary of his death.  She was also involved with major international charities including the Red Cross and UNICEF.

 

Inspirational people have been used to name babies by English Queen Consorts but in medieval times that meant using a saint's name.  The eldest son of Eleanor of Provence and Henry III is likely to have been named after England's saint, Edward the Confessor and Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville is thought to have named her youngest child after St Bridget of Sweden. 

 

The fact that two future monarchs have named future queens after modern heroines is an interesting trend.