The wedding of King Baudouin of Belgium, and Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón took place on Thursday, 15 December 1960. The couple was married first in a civil ceremony held in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Brussels and then in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula.
Engagement
The marriage of King Baudouin, who acceded to the throne in 1950, was of great interest to the Belgian people. Leo Joseph Suenens, Auxiliary Bishop of Mechelen, took matters into his own hands and sent Irish nun, Sister Veronica O’Brien, to find him a devout Catholic, Spanish, aristocratic wife. Sister O'Brien believed she found the perfect candidate in Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, who was then working as a hospital nurse.
The engagement was announced on 16 September 1960 by Gaston Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium. Afterwards, the couple met the press in the gardens of the Castle of Laeken. The news came as a pleasant surprise to the Belgian people, who were not aware the King and Doña Fabiola were courting.
Pre-wedding celebrations
Prior to departing Spain, Doña María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, wife of Generalissímo Francisco Franco, presented Doña Fabiola with a strawberry leaf tiara, resembling a Ducal coronet, with interchangeable rubies, aquamarines and emeralds, on behalf of the Spanish government.
The wedding attracted media attention, both in Belgium and Spain and abroad. In its 6 September 1960, issue, TIME magazine called Doña Fabiola the "Cinderella Girl" and described her as "an attractive young woman, though no raving beauty" and "the girl who could not catch a man." Spanish bakers set out to honour the impending marriage by creating a type of bread called "la fabiola", which is still made in Palencia.
Two pre-wedding balls were held, the first on 13 December at the Cinquantenaire Museum and the second on 14 December at the Royal Palace of Brussels.
Wedding
Civil ceremony
Prior to the religious service, the couple were married civilly in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Brussels. The service was presided over by Albert Lilar, Minister of Justice, Lucien Cooremans, Mayor of Brussels, and a member of the Municipal Council. The witnesses were the groom's father, King Leopold III, his brother-in-law, Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the bride's brother, The Marqués of Casa Riera, and the pretender to the Spanish throne, the Count of Barcelona.
Religious ceremony
The religious service was conducted by Jozef-Ernest Cardinal van Roey at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Giuseppe Cardinal Siri read a personal message from Pope John XXIII.
As the King and new Queen left the cathedral Handel's Hallelujah chorus from Messiah was played.
Attire
The bride's white silk and tulle gown, trimmed with ermine, had a high neckline, three-quarter length sleeves with a drop waist and a full skirt. It was designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and had a 22-foot long train. She wore the Art Deco diamond tiara given to her late mother-in-law at the time of her own marriage in 1926.
The groom wore the uniform of a Lieutenant-General of the Armed Forces with the riband and star of the Belgian Order of Leopold and the collar of the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic.
Guests
As a descendant of Christian IX of Denmark, Louis Philippe I of France, Miguel I of Portugal and Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Baudouin was closely related to most of the royals in Europe, many of whom were present at his marriage.
The groom's family
King Leopold III of Belgium and the Princess of Réthy, the groom's father and stepmother The Hereditary Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the groom's sister and brother-in-law The Prince and Princess of Liège, the groom's brother and sister-in-law Prince Alexandre of Belgium, the groom's half-brother Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the groom's paternal grandmother Queen Marie-José and King Umberto II of Italy, the groom's paternal aunt and uncle Princess and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, the groom's first cousin and her husband, the groom's third cousin The Prince of Naples, the groom's first cousin Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, the groom's first cousin Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the groom's first cousin