Fabiola (1928–)
Fabiola (1928–)
Queen of the Belgians. Name variations: Fabriola de Mora y Aragón; Fabiola of Aragon. Born Fabiola Fernanda Maria de las Victori Antonia Adelaide, June 11, 1928, in Madrid, Spain; dau. of Gonzalo Mora y Fernandez (d. 1954), count of Mora; m. Boudewijn also known as Baudouin I (1930–1993), king of the Belgians (r. 1951–1993), Dec 15, 1960 (died July 31, 1993); no children.
At the time of her engagement to Belgium's Baudouin I, was still living at home with mother and employed as a surgical nurse at a military hospital in Madrid; was extremely religious; her reign was distinguished by her charitable work, which began immediately after her honeymoon when a series of crippling strikes brought the country to a standstill; after a landslide buried one village and a flood destroyed another, was one of the 1st on the scene at both disasters, organizing first aid and giving solace to victims; breaking with tradition, kept no official ladies-in-waiting, and her daily life very much revolved around the king.
See also Women in World History.