Evening star., 1960-11-15
Queen-to-Be Steps
Out ofChi|d's Book

BRUSSELS (AP). - The
Spanish senorita who soon
is to be the queen of Belgium
once wrote a book which she
titled Twelve Marvellous
Stories"
The ending of one Of the
stories. Queen Myrta," reads:
"And wishing henceforth
to please everyone, she was
the most understanding, the
best, the most beloved queen
Of all times"
Those words. published in
Belgian newspapers. already
have endeared Dona Fabiola
de Mora y Aragon to the Bel
gian people. whose queen she
will become December Is
when she weds King Bau-
douin.
Red-haired. serious, and
devout. Fabiola is the daugh-
ter Of a rich Spanish banker.
the late Don Gonzalo de Mora
y Fernandez, Riera del Dina.
Count Of Mora, Marquis Of
Casa Riera. who died in 1857.
Although a. commoner, she
and Baudouin have a mutual
ancestor. Juan II Of Aragon.
whose son Ferdinand married
Isabel Of Castillo, unifying
Spain for the first time.
Christopher Columbus, dis
coverer Of America, was this
royal couples best-known
protege.
Where They Met
The romance of Baudouin
and Fabiola was so secret
that when the engagement
was announced, few here had
ever heard Of her.
The story is that they met
in Lausanne, Switzerland, at
the home Of the former Queen
Victoria Eugenia, widow of
Alfonso XII of Spain. long a
friend of the Mora family.
Fabiola and her father had
spent some time there just
before his death. She and
Baudouin met, so intimates
hint, in Switzerland. on the
French Rivera. in Brussels.
and on several trips Baudouin
made to Spain.
He is believed to have
asked her to marry him dur
ing a visit to Barcelona early
this year, and he has declined
any discussion of the court
ship. Only to their children
will the story be told. he says.
FabiOla Talented
Fabiola is 5 feet 7 inches
tall, with shoulder length
chestnut red hair and hazel
eyes.
She is 80 years old and
weighs 1872 pounds. She plays
the piano and guitar. paints
and writes music as we'll as
stories. Two waltzes. Under
the Bridge of Dreams" and
Under the Chestnut Trees"
are among her musical
compositions.
Milagros Rosines, house.
keeper at the Mora home in
Madrid, told reporters what
Fabiola was like as a child.
"She was a quiet, serious
child who caused no trouble,
except that she was a slow
eater. She never cried"
A picture Of Fabiola the
school girl, comes from the
Nuns of the Assumption
Convent School, who agree
that their future queen is
goodness of spirit"
One remembers that dur.
ing her first year at school
she brought a new pencil
nearly every day.
"She would lend her pencil
to a classmate and then
couldn't bring herself to ask
for it,"
She was outstanding in ali
her subjects except mathe.
matics. She showed excep-
tional talent in literature
and the arts.
Teen-age Fabiola had be-
come quick-minded. knowl-
edge-hungry, deeply religious,
and with an impelling need to
do good for others. These
characteristics directed her
future course.
When an old man returned
a purse Fabiola lost in the
streets Of Madrid one day In
1857 she learned that he ran
a sewing school.
To reward him for his
honesty, she enrolled and
studied for an hour every
day, five days a week for two
years.
During these same years
she was learning nursing at
the Madrid Military hospital