Elisabeth of Belgium 1876-1965: an unusual queen

In 1900 Elisabeth, Duchess of Bavaria, from the House of Wittelsbach, married the Belgian Crown Prince Albert. Nine years later she became Queen of Belgium. Elisabeth was extravagant and felt attracted to the unusual. She was interested in the secrets of Egyptian royal tombs, yoga, Indian philosophy, psychoanalysis and alternative medicine. But she was also passionate about art and science and had lost her heart to classical music and medicine. Many associations were founded partly under her impetus. The most famous is the annual Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Elisabeth was a perseverer. When she got something into her head, no one could stop her, not even her husband or the government. And she rubbed many people the wrong way. Officially she was Catholic, but she did not feel addressed by religious rules or prohibitions, let alone by church rituals. She was also a full-blooded pacifist and sympathized with communism. It was not for nothing that she was called 'red granny'. Nevertheless, 'the mad queen' believed in the right to exist of the monarchy. According to her, only the royal family could improve the world, not the political parties or the proletariat.