Lilian Baels: A Royal Love That Divided a Nation
Mary Lilian Baels, later known as Princess Lilian of Belgium, Princess of Réthy, was born on November 28, 1916, in Highbury, London. She was one of nine children of Henri Baels, a prominent Belgian politician, and her youth was spent between Belgium and the great finishing schools of France, Switzerland, and Austria. Cultivated, elegant, and multilingual, Lilian had a taste for literature, golf, skiing, and the arts. Her charm and refinement soon brought her into royal circles, where the widowed King Leopold III of Belgium noticed her. The first encounters between Lilian and the king took place at public events and during golf outings, some discreetly arranged by Leopold himself.
Wikipedia
When the Second World War broke out and Belgium was invaded, Lilian devoted herself to the Red Cross, transporting wounded Belgian and French soldiers to hospitals. It was against this dramatic backdrop that her life took its most fateful turn. In July 1941, Leopold proposed. Lilian accepted, though she made it clear she would never replace Queen Astrid in the hearts of Belgians. She refused the title of queen, becoming instead Princess of Réthy, and their future children were excluded from the line of succession.
The marriage itself was unusual: first, a secret religious ceremony at Laeken Castle on September 11, 1941, and later a civil wedding on December 6, 1941, which officially made her a Belgian princess. When news of the union became public, reactions were fierce. While some sent congratulations, others accused the king of betraying their mourning for Astrid. One newspaper wrote bitterly: “Sire, we thought you had turned your face toward us in mourning; instead, you buried it in the shoulder of another woman.”
The following years were turbulent. Lilian and Leopold were deported to Germany by the Nazis in 1944, held under strict surveillance until the Allied liberation in 1945. Yet, returning home proved difficult. Leopold was accused of collaboration, and although he was cleared by a commission, the Royal Question divided Belgium so deeply that in 1951, he abdicated in favor of his young son, Baudouin. During this transition, Lilian stepped briefly into the role of First Lady at court.
After abdication, the couple retired to Domaine d’Argenteuil, near Waterloo, where Lilian created a refined yet private household. She developed a lifelong interest in medicine after her son underwent heart surgery in Boston in 1957. In 1958, she founded the Cardiological Foundation, which funded pioneering research and gave Belgian children the chance for life-saving treatments abroad. By 1961, she had established a research laboratory at Saint-Pierre Hospital in Brussels, and in 1989, she was honored as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
Despite her reserved public image, Lilian expressed herself through elegance and style. One of her most iconic pieces of jewelry was a dazzling Cartier deer brooch, symbolizing both grace and resilience. Worn on several occasions, it became a subtle signature piece, reflecting her love for refined artistry while also hinting at her strength of spirit during a life filled with controversy. The brooch, with its exquisite detailing, has since become closely associated with her image in Belgian royal history.
Yet, popularity eluded her. To many, she remained a controversial figure, admired for her beauty and philanthropy, but criticized for her influence over the king. After Leopold’s death in 1983, she lived quietly at Argenteuil. When she passed away on June 7, 2002, she wished to be buried at Argenteuil, but instead, she was laid to rest beside Leopold and Queen Astrid at Laeken.
Princess Lilian’s legacy is complex. She was never embraced as Queen Astrid had been, but her life reflected both the splendor and shadows of royalty, love and scandal, devotion and suspicion, public hostility and private generosity. She defied expectations, not through a crown, but through her work in medicine, her quiet resilience, and even in her personal style, epitomized by the sparkling Cartier deer brooch. Lilian may never have been queen, but through grace and determination, she left an indelible mark on Belgium’s royal history.
✨ What do you think of Princess Lilian’s story? Was she unfairly judged, or was her reputation inevitable given the times?
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