The royal once called Europe’s most beautiful princess

Paola of Belgium turns 89 this September 11 : the Belgian press isn’t publishing big special features on her, and so far the official channels also haven’t marked the day with a new photo or a public gesture, as they tend to do when it’s a milestone birthday. It’s been a while since the woman who was queen consort for two decades stepped into the background; she suffered a stroke in 2018, from which she recovered, and now lives a quiet life between Belgium and the south of France.

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