royalty
Frivolous, useless and unhappy with Leopold II: who was Marie-Henriette, the forgotten queen of Belgium?
Have you ever wondered where the watermark got the inspiration for the name Spa Marie-Henriette? For years, the Ardennes spa was the only place where Queen Marie-Henriette could still be seen, before she died there 121 years ago. But as great was King Leopold II’s stamp on Belgium, so negligible was the impact of his wife. Queen Marie-Henriette lived separated from bed and board from Leopold for 30 years and was marked by frustrations, humiliations and tragedies. “If God hears my prayers, I will not live long.”