A royal wedding between Belgium & France
On 9 August 1832, a real royal wedding took place between King
Leopold I of Belgium and Princess Louise of Orléans.
Hard Negotiations
At the beginning the parents of Princess Louise of Orléans,
Mixed feelings
Princess Louise of Orléans wrote to a good friend of her:
"I don't know if the King understand what sacrifice I make.
Does he think that for his sake, I will have to leave my homeland,
my quiet life, all that is dear to me.
The last few days, I have suffered horribly. Pity me, pray for me,
although I'm calm. I've done my duty and duty always brings rest
and a sense of satisfaction."
On the day of the wedding Queen Amélie wrote in her diary:
After dinner, I kept my precious daughter company, while she
was getting dressed for her wedding. This took place in my room.
Her hairstyle was adorned with a crown of white flowers and in the
front she wore the brilliants given to her by her aunt. On top came
a carved English lace veil topped with a bouquet of orange blossoms
secured with a diamond pin. She was wearing a beautiful English lace
dress that Leopold had given to her. The necklace, the earrings and
the briliant-cut medaillon were also gifts from her fiancé.
The actual wedding
The civil ceremony took place at the Grand Cabinet du Roi in the
Royal Palace of Compiègne. After the civil ceremony the royal
guests went to the chapel of the Palace. There the Catholic service
took place. It was Gallard, the bishop of Meaux and the archbishop
of Cambrai, who gave the blessings. Afterwards they went to a
nearby room where the Lutharian ceremony took place by pastor
Goepp.
The celebrations for this very important wedding lasted a week,
there were inter alia banquets and opera performances.
It was a political marriage to strenghten the ties between Belgium
and France.
Source picture: post stamp
Leopold I of Belgium and Princess Louise of Orléans.
Hard Negotiations
At the beginning the parents of Princess Louise of Orléans,
King Louis Philippe I of France and Maria Amalia of the
Two Sicilies, didn't like the idea that their daughter would marry King
Leopold I of the Belgians.
They had several reasons to decline the marriage:
- King Leopold had fought in the army of the Russian
Tsar against France.
- He (had) belonged to the court of the royal family of the United Kingdom.
- He was not a Roman Catholic.
- King Leopold had fought in the army of the Russian
Tsar against France.
- He (had) belonged to the court of the royal family of the United Kingdom.
- He was not a Roman Catholic.
Other objections were:
The mother of Princess Louise of Orléans would like to marry
her daughter to the Duke of Calabria, who was also the heir to the
kingdom of Naples to tighten the strings between France and her native
country.
Above all these arguments, King Leopold had a bad reputation. It was
known that he was a womanizer.
Besides these things, Belgium was at that moment a new country, it
just recovered from a revolution, so King Louis-Philipe of the French
thought its political situation wasn't stable enough.
her daughter to the Duke of Calabria, who was also the heir to the
kingdom of Naples to tighten the strings between France and her native
country.
Above all these arguments, King Leopold had a bad reputation. It was
known that he was a womanizer.
Besides these things, Belgium was at that moment a new country, it
just recovered from a revolution, so King Louis-Philipe of the French
thought its political situation wasn't stable enough.
An agreement
However King Leopold continued to asked the hand from Princess
Louise of Orléans and finally in the summer of 1832, King Louis-
Philippe of the French agreed.
However King Leopold continued to asked the hand from Princess
Louise of Orléans and finally in the summer of 1832, King Louis-
Philippe of the French agreed.
Mixed feelings
Princess Louise of Orléans wrote to a good friend of her:
"I don't know if the King understand what sacrifice I make.
Does he think that for his sake, I will have to leave my homeland,
my quiet life, all that is dear to me.
The last few days, I have suffered horribly. Pity me, pray for me,
although I'm calm. I've done my duty and duty always brings rest
and a sense of satisfaction."
On the day of the wedding Queen Amélie wrote in her diary:
After dinner, I kept my precious daughter company, while she
was getting dressed for her wedding. This took place in my room.
Her hairstyle was adorned with a crown of white flowers and in the
front she wore the brilliants given to her by her aunt. On top came
a carved English lace veil topped with a bouquet of orange blossoms
secured with a diamond pin. She was wearing a beautiful English lace
dress that Leopold had given to her. The necklace, the earrings and
the briliant-cut medaillon were also gifts from her fiancé.
The actual wedding
The civil ceremony took place at the Grand Cabinet du Roi in the
Royal Palace of Compiègne. After the civil ceremony the royal
guests went to the chapel of the Palace. There the Catholic service
took place. It was Gallard, the bishop of Meaux and the archbishop
of Cambrai, who gave the blessings. Afterwards they went to a
nearby room where the Lutharian ceremony took place by pastor
Goepp.
The celebrations for this very important wedding lasted a week,
there were inter alia banquets and opera performances.
It was a political marriage to strenghten the ties between Belgium
and France.
Source picture: post stamp
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