Queen Astrid of Belgium, Sweden's Snow Princess

(Left) Queen Astrid of the Belgians. (Right) Princess Astrid of Sweden on her engagement with the Duke of Brabant, 1926. Images: Wikimedia Commons 

Queen Astrid of Belgium was perhaps the prettiest and most charming royal consort during her lifetime. Simple but lovely, she earned the admiration of the Belgians for her love for her adopted land. Alas, her life was cut short by tragedy.

Sofia Lovisa Thyra was born on November 17, 1905 to Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and his wife, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.  She was a princess of Sweden’s House of Bernadotte by birth. As a child, she studied ballet, piano, sewing, childcare, as well as French.

When she reached adulthood, Astrid emerged as one of Europe's most beautiful princesses, attracting a number of eligible princes who tried to win her heart. Her suitors included the future King Olav V of Norway and the unfortunate King Edward VIII of Great Britain. In the end, she chose Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant.

 Astrid’s and Leopold’s engagement was announced in September 1926, with King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium inviting the press to the Royal Palace to declare the young couple’s impending marriage. “We are convinced that the princess will bring joy and happiness to our son… Theirs is a true union among people with the same inclinations," the king sais. The queen seconded her husband’s statement, saying, "It is a marriage of love... Nothing was arranged. Not a single political consideration prevailed in our son's decision."

Astrid and Leopold were united in a civil marriage in Stockholm on November 4, 1926. The religious wedding took place six days later at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. The union produced three children: Princess Joséphine-Charlotte, who would later become Grand Duchess of Luxembourg after marrying Grand Duke Jean; Prince Baudouin, who would later reign as the fifth King of the Belgians; and, Prince Albert II, who succeeded his brother as King of the Belgians.

The Belgian government gave Astrid a tiara on her wedding day, a stupendous creation adorned with 11 huge diamonds that represent Belgium’s nine provinces and the country’s former colony, the Belgian Congo.  It was designed by Van Bever, a Belgian jeweler.

 Astrid, a Lutheran, was expected to convert to Catholicism upon marrying Leopold, who came from a strictly Catholic country. She finally did so, and wholeheartedly at that, in 1930 after a few years of soul-searching. “My soul has found peace,” she confessed to a childhood friend.

"She was tender, understanding and profoundly human," wrote royal historian Arturo Beeche. She was adored and revered by the Belgian people for her charm, compassion, beauty, and simplicity, and if there were people who disliked her, they were mostly from the upper class  who frowned upon her warmth towards the ordinary people.

At Stuyvenberg, not far away from Laeken Palace, the young Duchess of Brabant, who grew up in an unassuming household, contentedly raised her growing family. She would cook for ger family at a small villa in the palace grounds. She would also bring her children to stroll along the Avenue Louise, drawing the ire of the Court Marshall, who strongly protested against these promenades. 

"They break protocol," he would explain, to which  Astrid would gently reply, "But I am just another mother, am I not?" 

She even went as far as joining the crowds during a military review in an effort to see her promenading husband at the head of his regiment.

 King Albert figured in a fatal mountaineering accident on February 17, 1934. The grieving Leopold ascended to the throne and was proclaimed the new king, while Astrid became the queen consort, the new Queen of the Belgians.

Astrid penned a letter that has been dubbed as “Queen’s Appeal” during the Belgian economic crisis of 1935, aiming to collect food and clothing for the impoverished. August 29, 1935 proved to be one of the saddest moments in the history of both Belgium and Sweden. Only more than a year into her reign as queen, Astrid, who was just 29 years old, was killed in an accident during their incognito holiday vacation in Switzerland. King Leopold was driving when the car went off the road and slid down a steep slope before it slammed into a pear tree. Astrid died on the spot while Leopold sustained injuries. Her remains were interred in one of the royal vaults at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels.