Photos of the young Paola of Belgium

[hanzo1]

I think Beatrice Pierre's girlfriend looks a lot like her

[Paddy1311]

I see! I've always sort of wondered about that, because she really is the least visible of the reigning queens, isn't she. Sonia, Sofia, Silvia, Margarethe (yuck), QEII (obviously), even MT--all of them seem to be a lot more public and active than she is. Maybe I'm wrong because I certainly don't get much Belgian press, but you just never hear anything about Paola.

I also find it interesting that she hasn't aged remarkably well.  Don't get me wrong; she's still lovely and I'm so, so happy that she hasn't turned her face into a Joker mask like Silvia, but to look at her now you'd never know she was such a goddess.

Paola would've gotten a ton more attention as a younger woman had she been crown princess. But even as the wife of the spare, she was hailed for her beauty in the European press.
She was elevated to queen when she was in her 50's. She skipped the crown princess gig.
She doesn't get a ton of attention now because she's in her seventies and popular culture worships youth.

I think she is a polished older woman, but she has lost the glamour and sophistication that Jackie and Grace never lost as they aged.

I too think that Paola in her youth was more beautiful than Grace. To me the difference is not their "prettiness". They were equally pretty. The difference was that Paola had a somewhat "smoldering" quality while Grace was icy cool. Paola looked livelier while Grace looked serene. Yeah, I could picture Paola as a Bond girl, but not Grace.

I agree that Jackie never lost her sophistication. However, you can't compare Paola with Jackie and Grace. Because Jackie nor Grace were not that old when they died.

[SydneyLux]

I think a lot of women who are considered legendary beauties profit from the fact that we've never seen them becoming old, which is of course also quite tragic because they died at relatively young ages.

Agreed, she was quite a beauty. In a sort of "naughty" sort of way. I'm not surprised she hasn't aged very well. Mischievous looking ladies don't turn into kind looking old ladies when they age. She smokes too (or at least did smoke) and with a philandering husband with several out-of-wedlock children, I really do not blame her if she isn't quite as breath-taking as she used to be.

I love how she used the hair extensions and how she made the dark blonde look like a very pretty colour.

Paola had her fair share of lovers, too, so it was kind of a mutual thing. Of course we don't know who started though.

[Paddy1311]

I think a lot of women who are considered legendary beauties profit from the fact that we've never seen them becoming old, which is of course also quite tragic because they died at relatively young ages.

Agreed, she was quite a beauty. In a sort of "naughty" sort of way. I'm not surprised she hasn't aged very well. Mischievous looking ladies don't turn into kind looking old ladies when they age. She smokes too (or at least did smoke) and with a philandering husband with several out-of-wedlock children, I really do not blame her if she isn't quite as breath-taking as she used to be.

I love how she used the hair extensions and how she made the dark blonde look like a very pretty colour.

Paola had her fair share of lovers, too, so it was kind of a mutual thing. Of course we don't know who started though.

Hasn't there always been rumours that her son Laurent (excuse spelling) father is one of her lovers, not her husband Albert's.

[babalux]

I see! I've always sort of wondered about that, because she really is the least visible of the reigning queens, isn't she. Sonia, Sofia, Silvia, Margarethe (yuck), QEII (obviously), even MT--all of them seem to be a lot more public and active than she is. Maybe I'm wrong because I certainly don't get much Belgian press, but you just never hear anything about Paola.

I also find it interesting that she hasn't aged remarkably well.  Don't get me wrong; she's still lovely and I'm so, so happy that she hasn't turned her face into a Joker mask like Silvia, but to look at her now you'd never know she was such a goddess.

Paola would've gotten a ton more attention as a younger woman had she been crown princess. But even as the wife of the spare, she was hailed for her beauty in the European press.
She was elevated to queen when she was in her 50's. She skipped the crown princess gig.
She doesn't get a ton of attention now because she's in her seventies and popular culture worships youth.

I think she is a polished older woman, but she has lost the glamour and sophistication that Jackie and Grace never lost as they aged.

I too think that Paola in her youth was more beautiful than Grace. To me the difference is not their "prettiness". They were equally pretty. The difference was that Paola had a somewhat "smoldering" quality while Grace was icy cool. Paola looked livelier while Grace looked serene. Yeah, I could picture Paola as a Bond girl, but not Grace.

I agree that Jackie never lost her sophistication. However, you can't compare Paola with Jackie and Grace. Because Jackie nor Grace were not that old when they died.

IMO Paola was a girl of the sixties. All these pictures posted here are from that period. Sadly she had already lost her spark and sophistication during the 70ties when she was in her thirties.

[Makreel]

[bumbershoot]

Perhaps I wasn't paying that much attention to the Belgians back in the 60s and 70s, but I always had the impression that the Belgian royal family was best characterized by its extreme piety. So, frankly, the stories of Paola's infidelity are a little shocking to me. Wow!

[MeandI]

Paola was absolutely stunning and she doesn't look happy now.

[SydneyLux]

Paola was absolutely stunning and she doesn't look happy now.

Paola herself says that she is much happier today, especially in her role as a grandmother. Btw, her grandchildren call her "Grandma Lita" while Albert is "Grandpa Tino".

Perhaps I wasn't paying that much attention to the Belgians back in the 60s and 70s, but I always had the impression that the Belgian royal family was best characterized by its extreme piety. So, frankly, the stories of Paola's infidelity are a little shocking to me. Wow!

Albert and Paola were estranged for many years. They fell in love and married rather quickly. They wanted a wedding in the Vatican but the Belgian government refused so they had to get married in Belgium. Paola was only 21 when she married and often fell homesick. Their wedding apparently was the first big television event in Belgium and after her wedding Paola became THE Belgian style icon and was thus followed by paparazzi at all times (even on their honeymoon). Afterwards they had their children in rather quick succession. Paola often felt very lonely in Belgium and didn't hide it, much to the annoyance of Queen Fabiola. Although she enjoyed the glamorous part of being a princess, she also found her life to be difficult and heavy and that the price she had to pay for the good aspects was too much.
In the 60's Albert started to travel a lot for economic missions and such, at first Paola accompanied him to the point that their children reportedly felt alienated. As Paola was also bored by the travels, she decided to stay in Belgium and thus they grew apart even more. While Albert performed his duties both at home and abroad, Paola started to spend a lot of time in Italy. By the mid-sixties or so, rumours started to get around that both Albert and Paola had extramarital affairs. Albert, e.g., with Barones Sybille de Selys-Longchamps, the mother of his said to be daughter Delphine, and it is said that Salvatore Adamo was one of Paola's lovers, he was a singer and even wrote a song about her called "Dolce Paola" - http://www.youtube.com/wa...rLwtA&feature=related. There have always been rumours that Laurent isn't Albert's son.
Though they played the happy family for public events, behind the doors the divorce papers were drawn up, which must mean something to two Catholics that only a couple of years before wanted to get married in front of the Pope. King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, both very devout Catholics, strongly opposed the divorce and thus Albert and Paola stayed married for many years while leading largely seperate lives. Ironicly, when the Baudouin and Fabiola would finally agree to divorce, Albert and Paola had fallen in love all over again. Some say Baudouin acted as a mediator or that their daughter Astrid, who was strongly opposed to her parents splitting as she is another devout Catholic, may have played a role, I guess we will never know.

A few years ago Paola admitted that they had their fair share of difficulties but that today they know that they are made for each other.

[abs]

Love her style! 

[bumbershoot]

GREAT story!

[tgb]

I think Beatrice Pierre's girlfriend looks a lot like her

Funny, I was going to type just the other day that Phillipe and Mathilde's eldest reminds me of a little Beatrice.

[Tinika]

Paola was absolutely stunning and she doesn't look happy now.

Paola herself says that she is much happier today, especially in her role as a grandmother. Btw, her grandchildren call her "Grandma Lita" while Albert is "Grandpa Tino".

Perhaps I wasn't paying that much attention to the Belgians back in the 60s and 70s, but I always had the impression that the Belgian royal family was best characterized by its extreme piety. So, frankly, the stories of Paola's infidelity are a little shocking to me. Wow!

Albert and Paola were estranged for many years. They fell in love and married rather quickly. They wanted a wedding in the Vatican but the Belgian government refused so they had to get married in Belgium. Paola was only 21 when she married and often fell homesick. Their wedding apparently was the first big television event in Belgium and after her wedding Paola became THE Belgian style icon and was thus followed by paparazzi at all times (even on their honeymoon). Afterwards they had their children in rather quick succession. Paola often felt very lonely in Belgium and didn't hide it, much to the annoyance of Queen Fabiola. Although she enjoyed the glamorous part of being a princess, she also found her life to be difficult and heavy and that the price she had to pay for the good aspects was too much.
In the 60's Albert started to travel a lot for economic missions and such, at first Paola accompanied him to the point that their children reportedly felt alienated. As Paola was also bored by the travels, she decided to stay in Belgium and thus they grew apart even more. While Albert performed his duties both at home and abroad, Paola started to spend a lot of time in Italy. By the mid-sixties or so, rumours started to get around that both Albert and Paola had extramarital affairs. Albert, e.g., with Barones Sybille de Selys-Longchamps, the mother of his said to be daughter Delphine, and it is said that Salvatore Adamo was one of Paola's lovers, he was a singer and even wrote a song about her called "Dolce Paola" - http://www.youtube.com/wa...rLwtA&feature=related. There have always been rumours that Laurent isn't Albert's son.
Though they played the happy family for public events, behind the doors the divorce papers were drawn up, which must mean something to two Catholics that only a couple of years before wanted to get married in front of the Pope. King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, both very devout Catholics, strongly opposed the divorce and thus Albert and Paola stayed married for many years while leading largely seperate lives. Ironicly, when the Baudouin and Fabiola would finally agree to divorce, Albert and Paola had fallen in love all over again. Some say Baudouin acted as a mediator or that their daughter Astrid, who was strongly opposed to her parents splitting as she is another devout Catholic, may have played a role, I guess we will never know.

A few years ago Paola admitted that they had their fair share of difficulties but that today they know that they are made for each other.

This is all absolutely fascinating; thank you so much! 

[esther angeline]

  SydneyLux!

[Fragrance78]