The Washington times., 1919-10-27
king AND QUEEN
LIKE 4HOMEF0LkS'
Belgian Rulers Are Thoroughly
0emocratic-Fough Rsla-
tives During War.

won such popular respect. Affection.
interest and confidence from bis oVn
people, and the world at large. In -
short a time as Albert of Belgfum
Unknown to all and indifferent to
most in the years before the war. he
has quslined as quite the most strtk-
ing ngure the war produced
Kaiser wilhelm can name Abort
Of Belgium toward the top OF his list
of UNFORESEEN difficulties.
And. strange to relate. both King
Albert and his consort. Queen Eliss-
beth. are n German AZ centuries Of
German blood can make them They
sacrtnced their nearest and dearest
family ties 20 remain loyal 10 Bel
gium when the mailed fast of the In
vader was upiifted and hovered IN
terrifying reality over the little ma
ton.
Fsrsesrs sf Qseeu.
Ths queen. who is the daughter of
Duke Carl Theodore OF Bavaria, one
Of the most celebrated eye specisi-
lists OF his generation. is the name
sake and god-daugh.er Of her aunt,
the murdered Empress Elizabeth Of
Austria who was assassinated st Ge-
neva- He had, up to now. maintained
the most cordial relations with her
aged uncle. Emperor Francis Joseph
of Austria-Hungsry.
The Queen is of mixed Bavarsan and
Portuguese blood. Her father was .
famous Prince of Bavaria q scientist
who became a great oculist Her
mother was q Braganza- As q little
girl she helped her father at his work
He did much free work for the poor.
She became his nurse. Again compss-
sion and science met in this training.
h. tAd - -
Belgium. son of the Count OF Flanders,
she had no idea that he would ever BE
King. or she Queen. Quite uncou-
fortly and simply she and Albert
would walk out on the streets OF
Brussels on Sunday afternoon. like all
the rest of Brussels. and when the
children came along. they took them
out TO the park and along the Avesue
Louise like any other father and
mother.
YssaG Duke Killed.
But the heir apparent the you1S
Duke of Brabant. nephew of Leopold
III. was killed in an accident: the old
King soon followed. and Albert and
Elizabeth were crowned.
Long ago in that happy Bavarian
home, with science. with the best of
music with training in art. no oDs
could have imagined a dramatic sftua-
tion like that which the slowly NOV
ing years ushered in with the out
break of the great war.
The Belgium which this Queen had
learned to love was placed squarely>
in the path of the huge J1egeruauA
Not only that. Belgium for time was
the sole hope of the allied cause. Be-
varians fought their way into the
country with the Prussians. During
all those long years the King and
Queen and their men were holding
the User. Bzvarians were sendtng
shells down on .LaPanne where the
Queen lived. The Grown Prince Rup-
precht. her own brother-in-law. corr
msnded the German armies trying to
break through the British and outdank
what was left of Belgium
If Queen Elizabeth had hours Of
pain over the broken ties. nobody ever
knew it. With head up she faced TIE
situation. There was no divided alle-
glance.
Many German TttSes-
King Albert. on his side has many
ties in Germany. His mother was
Princess Marie of Hohenzoilern, of the
family OF the kaiser. His sister is the
wife of Prince Charles of Hohenxcl-
lern, a kinsman OF the kaiser. whe
lives in Berlin. and is helping the
Stfhans 10 pidn lhe cohtfof OF 6el-
gium. King Albert's most intimate
friends have been the German crown
prince and the other sons of the
kaiser.
The Belgian people have blind con-
hdence in Albert In those dark days
of German occupation. the king
demonstrated his grit and stamina
He was always with his soldiers.
beside them and perhaps pointing
cannon.
.-The young and great king of my
little country was truly the proyi-
Dental man." wrote Maeterlinck. de
embodied in beauty the deep Mill OF
the people. He had the great luck TO
take and give confidence in the most
tragic moment when the stoutest con-
sciences may momentarily lose cour-
age. Had he not been there history
no doubt would have lost one Of her
nAhla~s