Queen Paola of Belgium

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Paola Queen of the Belgians Born September 11, 1937 (1937-09-11) (age 70) Consort August 9, 1993 - present Consort to Albert II Issue Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este Prince Laurent of Belgium Royal House Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Father Fulco, Prince Ruffo di Calabria Mother Luisa Gazelli dei conti di Rossana

Belgian Royal Family HM The King HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Brabant HRH The Duchess of Brabant HRH Princess Elisabeth HRH Prince Gabriel HRH Prince Emmanuel HRH Princess Eléonore HI&RH Princess Astrid HI&RH Prince Lorenz HI&RH Prince Amedeo HI&RH Princess Maria Laura HI&RH Prince Joachim HI&RH Princess Luisa Maria HI&RH Princess Laetitia Maria HRH Prince Laurent HRH Princess Claire HRH Princess Louise HRH Prince Nicolas HRH Prince Aymeric HM Queen Fabiola HRH Prince Alexander HRH Princess Léa HRH Princess Marie-Christine HRH Princess Maria-Esmeralda This box: view • talk • edit

Styles of Queen Paola of the Belgians Reference style Her Majesty Spoken style Your Majesty Alternative style Ma'am

Paola, Queen of the Belgians, born Donna Paola Margherita Maria Antonia Consiglia, Principessa Ruffo di Calabria (born September 11, 1937, Forte dei Marmi, Italy), is the queen consort of Albert II of Belgium. She is the sixth and youngest child of Fulco, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda (1884-1946). ^[1] Her mother was Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano (1896-1989), a matrilineal descendant of General Lafayette. She is of Italian and Belgian ancestry and was hailed as one of the leading beauties of Europe in her youth.

Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria married HRH Prince Albert, Prince of Liège, in Brussels, Belgium, on July 2, 1959. The couple have three children:

• Philippe, Duke of Brabant who married Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz
• Astrid who married Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este;
• Laurent, who married Claire Louise Coombs.

Queen Paola speaks fluent French, Italian, English and German. Some people criticize her inability to speak Dutch, the mother tongue of nearly 60% of Belgians.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Titles 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References and notes 5 External links

[edit] Titles

• Donna Paola, Princess Ruffo di Calabria (1937 - 1959) ^[2]

• Her Royal Highness The Princess of Liège (1959 - 1993)
• Her Majesty The Queen of The Belgians (Since 1993)

[edit] Gallery

Queen Paola with George W. Bush, Albert II of Belgium, and Laura Bush

Queen Paola with Albert II of Belgium, Prince Henrik of Denmark, Bernadette Chirac, President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal, George W. Bush and Laura Bush, President Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines at the funeral of John Paul II.

[edit] See also

• Queen Paola Foundation
• The Queen's Charities

[edit] References and notes

[edit] External links

• Her Majesty's official homepage (In English).
• Her Majesty's paternal ancestry: Ruffo di Scilla (in Italian).