Belgium’s Queen Paola has been filmed for a documentary which will chart her life and touch on the problems she experienced in her long marriage to King Albert II.
The programme will be the first time that Paola, now 83, has spoken at length in public since her husband admitted he had had a child with another woman. His natural daughter was granted the title of Princess Delphine in 2020.
Plans for the documentary came to light after a grant of 15,000 euros was revealed in documents belonging to the Brussels Screen Film Fund. Further investigation by Nieuwsblad confirmed that all the interviews for the programme have been completed.
Queen Paola is understood to have taken part ‘’for the sake of history’’.
Paola, who was born in Italy in 1937, married Albert in 1959 in Brussels and they went on to have three children together. At the time of their wedding, Albert was Prince of Liege and not expected to succeed to the Belgian throne. However, his older brother, Baudouin, didn’t have any children and when he died unexpectedly, in 1993, Albert and Paola became King and Queen of the Belgians. Albert abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Philippe, in 2013, just weeks before the 20th anniversary of his reign.
It’s understood that King Philippe has been informed of the programme which is set to air this autumn on RTBf.
