The King Takes a Wife

The wedding of the 1930 season took place in Rome. Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, glamor boy extraordinary, was marrying Belgian Princess Marie-Jose. Standing in the Pauline Chapel of the royal palace during the ceremony was another glamor boy, a little gloomy, but slightly angelic with the light catching his golden hair. He was Leopold III, Crown Prince of the Belgians, already married three years to Swedish Princess Astrid.

In Rome at the time and thrilled to the back teeth was an 18-year-old Belgian girl, Marie-Lelia Baels. She was a commoner, a descendant of Ostend fisherfolk; royal glamor boys were out of her class. But her eyes were fixed on the Pauline Chapel wedding and she was sorry when it was all over.

Marie-Lelia's father, Henri L. Baels, was an ambitious man. His father, though one of the fisherfolk, had managed to send Henri to a good school. Henri had become a lawyer and blossomed into better society. He joined the Flemish Catholic Party, was elected deputy of Ostend, later became Minister of Agriculture. In 1930, the year young Marie-Lelia was in Rome, he lost his ministerial job. He soon wangled an appointment as Governor of West Flanders Province and moved to Bruges, dreamy capital of West Flanders, Marie-Lelia then went home to enjoy a new life.

Henri Baels entertained lavishly, sent his family to the swank seaside resort Le Zoute, on the Belgian-Dutch border. Leopold, now King and widowed, often went down to Le Zoute to golf. When he was reported on the course, Marie-Lelia and her sisters would slick up, take a bag of clubs and skip off to have a round of golf. Leopold soon became conscious of witty Marie-Lelia. He enjoyed her company, chatted with her when he could. And he never forgot her.

When the Nazis invaded Belgium, the Baels fled to France. Leopold was confined to his palace at Laeken. He had little left in life except his two sons and daughter. But when the Baels returned to Belgium, he was glad to have Marie-Lelia call on him. She was one of the few people permitted to see him.

Last week Berlin announced that on Sept. 11 Leopold had married Marie-Lelia Baels, renouncing for any children of the marriage the right to the Belgian throne. The renunciation was largely academic. Eleven years had almost leveled the stations of the dark-eyed commoner and Bel gium's morose prisoner of war.

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