Evening star., 1934-02-25
Leopold Found Greatest Gift,
Understanding, in Army Ranks
Trage e dy of onfict
Learned as Private
During World Var.
Belgian Woman Writer
Says His Greatness
Is Assured.

How the former Prince Leopold,
new King Of the Belgians, left school
while still boy to fight for his coun-
try during the World War-how the
tragedy he saw contributed to his de-
mocracy so that he later toiled in
coal pits, stocked furnaces and did a
mechanics work to learn to know
his people-are recounted in the fol-
lowing story written for T'hes Star by
Nine. Andree Royon, Paris correspon-
dent for two Belgian papers, who has
been visiting here.
He should be great king" Nine.
Royon says. ''for the gift of under
standing was born in him.
Nine. Royon is native Belgian
and began her newspaper career for
L'Etoile Beige, in Brussels, and La
Flandre Liberale, in Flanders-the two
papers she now represents in Paris.
Came Here to Study.
She was sent to the United States
"to study the situation under the
new DEAL" and after a month spent
in Washington and New York is very
well impressed with the recovery pro-
gram She will return to Paris this
week
Her vivid "reminiscences of King
Leopold follow:
The Winter of 1916 was a hard
Winter. For US, Belgians, is was the
third Winter since war had started.
I remember those sad days like a
nightmare. What was left Of Bel
GUM was a very small area, q
narrow desolated strip of land.
There we were-just behind the fight
ing line-living almost in the water.
For the sea was at one side and the
land under our feet was drenched
after several months of what seemed
endless rain, and the ground that
had been flooded in order to prevent
German advance was quite near 1t
was very wet world-and the skies
over our heads were forever gray and
low with clouds and sometimes
dark with fumes of bursting shells.
a hospital nurse.
One evening, after having been on
night duty might duty that lasted
until 5 pm. of the following day), I
went out for a walk. A boy was
coming toward me, a frail-looking
boy, such a pathetic sight. My first
thought was of his mother. Oh, that
this child should have had to leave
his home, the shelter of parental love.
Why will men fight? The misery
Of it all almost broke my heart.
Boy Was Future King.
The boy came nearer. He was
wearing a private soldiers uniform
and the coat looked very heavy on
his young shoulders. He was walk
ing with his head bent. Suddenly, he
looked up and as went by, he smiled
"a radiant smile Of youth. And I
recognized him, for indeed he was a
very well known figure In our little
world. This was Prince Leopold. To-
day he Is King Of Belgium.
If it Is true-as indeed it is-that
suffering is the making Of US and that
we are formed by our hardest expert
ences, feel glad to think that the.
man who is now to preside over my
country's destinies should have lived
through these ghastly times. And I
am proud to think his father should
have chosen, as the best way to make
a man out of him, to have him take
an active part in Belgium's tragedy.
A prince, Leopold might have been
sheltered and while war was going on
he might have led normal life.
When Brussels was invaded, Lord
Curzon begged King Albert to send
his children over to England and Of
fered them a home. Life in Mayfair
was going on much as usual. Men
were going out to the front, the
wounded were coming home. dressings
were being made, socks were being
knitted, but London was still Lon
don-a world untouched by war.
There it was that Prince Leopold,
with his brother, Prince Charles, and
his sister, Princess Marie-Jose, spent
the first weeks after the outbreak of
the hostilities. From London Prince
Leopold was sent to Eton, where he
was educated with the sons of English
gentlemen, just boy among boys.
He was at the time II years old. ..
Asked to Join Army.
Two years later, when he had made
lots of friends at school, when he
might have had a good time playing
foot ball and all that, he felt he could
not stay there longer and he asked
his father to make a soldier of him.
And so it was that he became
a private in the Belgian Army, one
of the youngest soldiers in the service
Of the allies.
When the war came to an end,
Prince Leopold was no longer a child.
Out of childhood he had stepped
straight into manhood, for he had
seen with his own eyes and under
stood with his own heart, what suf-
fering humanity had to go through.
But he also had seen what part his
father had played and how he came
to be such beloved King, and he
knew what q Woy,oan his mother was.