Albert of Liege

The new King of the Belgians is an earnest young man who takes his troubles hard. One night last week Leopold III had plenty.

As the hours ticked toward midnight two crises neared. A knock at the door might mean either a trained nurse or a political secretary, bursting with news. Queen Astrid was in labor and highly excited was His Majesty's Swedish mother-in-law. So too were all the Cabinet Ministers. Disruption threatened the Cabinet of Premier Count Charles de Broqueville, a delicate coalition formed year and a half ago under the mighty shield of the late King Albert's personal prestige. Thrice before his death the Cabinet was saved only by royal refusals Keystone KING LEOPOLD Like his father, he met a crisis. to accept its resignation. And a young King can scarcely take that high-handed line. While the Queen groaned and her mother murmured Swedish prayers, the Premier decided to risk a vote of confidence on his program of deflation, reduced taxes and smaller dole payments. Vexed, a few Liberals split off from the Catholic-Liberal coalition and the Catholic Premier went down on the first bill by the narrow vote of 83 to 79. He sped to the Royal Palace, bent on resigning with his Cabinet. By that time the Queen had reached her crisis.

Exactly at 11:35 Pm the white-robed royal obstetrician produced a fine, pink 7 Ib. Prince. Not a Crown Prince, for Their Majesties already had a three-year-old-son, slim little Baudoin who embarrassed his parents while the King was being sworn in by slipping off his big arm chair and climbing into Queen Astrid's lap (TIME, March 5).

Brussels meanwhile was not staying up either for the Cabinet crisis or for the royal birth. Belgians were content to be waked up at 6 a. m. next morning by a 101-gun salute which gave them a good idea of what Brussels was going to be told officially some hours later by her great War-Hero Burgomaster Max.

"A child was born last night at the Palace!" bubbled Burgomaster Max to bored reporters. "A child was born--a boy!" Meanwhile worried Leopold III was wondering what to do about the Cabinet's fall and resignation.

Easy-going Belgian politicians took the day off, gave the Royal House a breathing spell. Gay parties in the brighter cafes celebrated the birth. As a popular gesture the babe was hastily and privately named after Belgium's late, great Albert. As a move to appease the Walloons, Babe Albert was further tagged with the name of a hotbed of Walloons, became "Prince Albert of Liege." Next month he will be publicly and formally christened with the names he received last week in private: Albert Umberto Felix Theodore Chretien Eugene Marie.

By the time Belgium was through celebrating and tempers had cooled, the Cabinet's resignation according to Brussels papers had become a "minor crisis." The thing for King Leopold to do seemed to be the thing King Albert had so often done. Hoping for the best, His Majesty asked Count Charles de Broqueville to get his teetery Coalition Cabinet together and try again for a vote of confidence which would enable him to teeter on.

What Belgium most fears is that Leopold III, a passionate devotee of mountain climbing like his father who climbed once too often, will continue to persist in this risky royal sport, thus keeping the realm in peril of another accident which might leave the Belgians stranded with a three-year-old King Baudoin.

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