Queen Paola of Belgium
Queen Paola Paola, born Princess Paola
Ruffo di Calabria, born
September 11,
1937) is the
queen consort of
Albert II of Belgium. She is the youngest daughter of
Prince Don Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, 6th
Duke of
Guardia Lombarda (
1884-
1946), and his wife, the former
Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano (
1896-
1989). She is of Italian and Belgian ancestry and was hailed as one of the leading beauties of Europe in her youth. Princess Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria married HRH Prince Albert, Prince of Liège, in
Brussels,
Belgium, on
July 2,
1959. The couple has three children:
*
Philippe, Duke of Brabant who married
Jonkvrouw Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz, a Belgian noblewoman who was created Princess of Belgium prior to her marriage;
*
Astrid who married
Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, created Prince of Belgium;
*
Laurent, who married
Claire Louise Coombs, an Anglo-Belgian former real estate agent, who was created Princess of Belgium prior to her marriage.
Queen Paola fluently speaks
French,
Italian,
English and
German. She seems to have, however, a poor ability to speak
Dutch. She is often criticized for this weakness, because Dutch is the mother tongue of nearly 60% of all Belgians.
*Her Royal Highness Princess Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (1937 - 1959)
*Her Royal Highness The Princess of Liège (1959 - 1993)
*Her Majesty The Queen of The Belgians (Since 1993)
*
Her Majesty's official homepage (In English).
*
Her Majesty's paternal ancestry: Ruffo di Scilla (in Italian).
