A diplomatic reception highlighted the celebration of Belgium’s national day. It was hosted by Belgian Ambassador Christian Meerschman and Honorary Consul of Belgium in Cebu Enrique Benedicto and his wife, Helena Benedicto. It was a well-attended affair held at the Manila Room of the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel.

 

A brief program hosted by Mila Espina highlighted the occasion. Ambassador Meerschman remarked that there are 2,500 Belgians in the Philippines, a good number of them in southern Philippines.

 

Eloquent as ever, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia recalled that eight years ago after her election as governor, the first diplomatic event she attended was the Belgian national day. It must be said that during her term she has led Cebu to be the No. 1 province in the country in terms of unprecedented progress.

 

She further stated that this was her last time to attend the national day of Belgium in Cebu as governor, to which many intercepted that she could do so in the future as senator, a position for which she is running in the next elections.

 

“To the King!” said Governor Gwen as she led in the toast for the continued reign and good health of King Albert II of the Belgians.

 

Later, Consul Benedicto was awarded the Knighthood in the Order of Leopold I, created by Belgium’s first king shortly after his accession to the throne. To confer the honor, Ambassador Meerschman asked Consul Benedicto to come up on stage.

 

In his response, Consul Benedicto said it was 26 years since he was appointed honorary consul of Belgium in Cebu. The position had been held by his brother, Francisco Benedicto (present that evening), until 1986 when he was appointed to serve as Philippine ambassador to various countries—Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, Canada, India and China.

 

“Foremost task for me,” said Consul Benedicto, “was to strengthen the close ties of friendship between the Philippines and Belgium. (The ties have) long-standing roots, especially in Cebu.”

 

For one thing, the image of the Santo Niño venerated here since 1521 was originally made in Antwerp, Belgium, at a time when it was a possession of the Spanish Hapsburgs. Through the years, Cebu has received much from Belgium, such as water projects, bridges and farm-to-market roads, benefiting thousands all over the province.

 

In Cebu City, Belgium aid is focused on constructing the fish market and wharf in the Pasil area, so much so that a street there has been named after Belgium.

 

For his knighthood, Enrique Benedicto expressed his gratitude to King Albert II, for “the highest honor granted to a civilian,” and as he added, “quite unexpected.”

 

“I share this with my family,” he said. “Without them I would not be where I am today. I also share this honor with all of you, my friends.”

 

“Please say something about King Leopold I when you write an article,” requested Enrique.

 

Leopold

 

It is quite a story to tell, how Leopold (1790-1865), youngest son of regnant Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, was chosen king of an independent Belgium.

 

He was briefly at the court of Napoleon I in 1806 in Paris. Later, under Russia’s Tsar Alexander I, he fought against the Napoleonic troops.

 

He joined the Tsar’s suite on a state visit to London and there courted the Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Regent, later King George IV.

 

Leopold’s marriage to the Princess of Wales was short-lived. She delivered a stillborn baby and died the next day. He lived in England and helped his sister Victoria (widow of the reigning Prince of Leiningen) to marry the Duke of Kent, George IV’s younger brother.

 

They were the parents of the future Queen Victoria, during whose reign saw the apogee of the British Empire. Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, son of Leopold’s eldest brother, Duke Ernest.

 

In 1830, Leopold rejected the offered Crown of Greece, but accepted that of the newly created Kingdom of Belgium. He was duly crowned on July 21, 1831, and that day has since been Belgium’s national feast. In 1832, he married Princess Louise, daughter of France’s King Louis Philippe I.

 

Leopold I ruled wisely and despite its small territorial size, Belgium became a European power. He was instrumental in setting up a railway service that with the years connected the capital, Brussels, with Central Europe.

 

Leopold and Queen Louise had four children. The first, Prince Louis Philippe, died less than a year after he was born. The second son, the future King Leopold II, would acquire the vast Congo territory as his personal property.

 

A third son, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, was the father of King Albert I who inherited the throne from his uncle Leopold II, whose three daughters were barred from the line of succession due to the Sallic Law.

 

Leopold I’s only daughter, Princess Charlotte, married Austria’s Archduke Maximillian. Both embarked on the illusory journey that made them emperor and empress of Mexico with such tragic consequences.

 

The current dynasty in Belgium descends from King Albert I and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, born a duchess in Bavaria, and namesake of her aunt, the Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary, one of the most beautiful women of her time.

 

Albert I was succeeded by his son. King Leopold III, married to Sweden’s Princess Astrid, who died in a car accident. Their son, King Baudoin I, married Spanish aristocrat Fabiola de Mora y Aragon. They were childless, and on Baudoin’s death, the throne passed to King Albert II, married to the Italian Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria.

 

Their eldest son Prince Philippe assures the continuity of the dynasty. His eldest child, Princess Elizabeth, after the repeal of the Sallic Law, stands to some day become the first queen of the Belgians.