UK royals urged to learn from Belgium

The King of Belgians, Albert II, has announced his abdication from the throne, following a nearly 20-year reign marked by political strife between northern Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking southern Wallonia.

The 79-year-old monarch stepped down in favour of his son Crown Prince Philippe, 53, on 21 July, Belgium’s national day.

His departure ended months of speculation about an early end to his rule. He also cited bad health as one of key reasons behind the decision to abdicate, saying that œmy health was no longer good enough to fulfill my duties well.”

“Age and health no longer allow me to perform my duties,” he said.

“After a 20-year reign, the time has come to pass the torch to the next generation.”

Albert was sworn in as the sixth king of the Belgians on 9 August 1993, following the death of his childless brother, King Baudouin at the age of 62.

The Belgian monarchy is largely a ceremonial position, but Albert had in recent years been forced into playing a mediator role when his increasingly divided kingdom of 10.5m people found itself without a government for a record 541 days during political deadlock between representatives in northern, Dutch-speaking Flanders and southern, French-speaking Wallonia.

Belgium™s sole national figure, as he was called, had a much more controversial and complex family life.

Albert™s first scandal surfaced a few years after he became king when Delphine Boël, a British-educated artist, came forward claiming she was his illegitimate daughter born out of an extra-marital relationship.

That issue came to the fore again this spring when Boel opened court proceedings to prove she was the king’s daughter. There is some speculation in the media that this may have influenced his decision to abdicate.

King Albert’s announcement comes only three months after Queen Beatrix of the neighbouring Netherlands vacated the Dutch throne in favour of her son Willem-Alexander.

Despite going through some tough times, Europe’s ageing monarchs refuse to step down.

This is while there is no longer such a thing as a job for life in a Europe which is grappling with ever greater longevity, higher retirement ages and soaring youth unemployment.

In Britain, many millions want the whole institution of monarchy consigned to the history books.

However, the 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth II is showing scant sign of calling it a day.

The monarchy is practically an institution that is not fit for purpose. It is secretive, having recently lobbied successfully to have itself removed entirely from the reaches of the UK™s Freedom of Information laws; it lobbies government ministers for improvements to its financial benefits and for its own private agenda; it is hugely costly — an estimated £202 million a year, enough to pay for thousands of teachers, nurses or police officers at a time of sweeping public spending cuts.

Britain and Europe as a whole are supposed to be democratic societies, which mean they should cherish and value democracy as it is.

However, Spain™s monarch Juan Carlos, currently enduring the toughest of times as his debt-ridden country goes through hell, clings on at 75.

Margrethe II of Denmark has just chalked up 41 years as queen ahead of her 73rd birthday in April.

King Carl-Gustaf of Sweden, embarrassed by a recent stream of philandering allegations and kiss-and-tell revelations, is a relatively sprightly 66.

This week the Dutch bucked the trend. Just ahead of her 75th birthday on Thursday, Queen Beatrix announced she was to become a princess.

Abdication is an extremely rare event among the monarchs of Europe, albeit not for the Dutch. Queens Juliana and Wilhelmina, Beatrix’s mother and grandmother, both made way for their daughters, while the first Orange king, William I, also threw in the towel in the 19th century.

Elsewhere, it seems to be unthinkable. An abdication in the house of Windsor might trigger a crisis in the UK, at least it did the last time it happened in 1936. It has never occurred in Sweden’s 195-year-old monarchy although the opinion polls show a majority wishing King Carl-Gustaf would go and make way for his much more popular daughter, Crown Princess

Victoria.

King Juan Carlos has just survived the worst year of his reign. For the first time since his starring role in stabilising Spain’s post-fascist democracy in 1975 and warding off an abortive military putsch in 1981, he has become a bit of a laughing stock.

Allegations of sleaze and revelations of family dys-functionality are weighing heavily on the royals in Belgium, with Albert this week forced to issue a highly unusual statement confessing he had been “humbled” by tales of financial impropriety involving the 84-year-old dowager Queen Fabiola, the widow of Baudouin, Albert’s late brother and predecessor on the throne.

And the ageing monarchs of Britain, Spain, and Belgium may even be witnessing their realms’ end to an extent, owing to secessionist pressures in Scotland, Catalonia, and Flanders, the latter two being strongly republican.

In this context, Queen Beatrix might be seen to have cannily set the right example, injecting greater dynamism into the dynasty by handing over to a younger generation.

“The Dutch have difficulty accepting all the heritage stuff. You really have to work hard at being king or queen. It’s very much seen as a career,” said Daniela Hooghiemstra, a historian of the house of Orange. “So it’s better if you’re not too old. If you’re 80 years old, it’s hard to bring in new ideas. It’s not wise of Queen Elizabeth to stay on this long. What Beatrix has done means that the monarchy will keep up with modern times.”

If queens Elizabeth and Beatrix have had a good year, Europe’s ruling males are faring a lot less well. This week Juan Carlos’s son-in-law was ordered to stump up £7million bail or be imprisoned in a fraud investigation, amid allegations he used a not-for-profit company on Mallorca as a vehicle for embezzling public funds.

The sleaze claims come as Spain struggles to weather a devastating financial and economic crisis with unemployment nudging 30%. In the middle of the crisis last year, Juan Carlos initially sought to hush up an all-expenses-paid big safari excursion to Botswana.

MOL/HE