Personal diaries and archives shed new light on the ethical and spiritual dilemmas faced by the former monarch in the years before his death, just as Belgium was preparing to legalize abortion.
By Jean-Pierre Stroobants (Brussels, correspondent)
June 15, 2026
It was one of the most astonishing political sleights of hand of the 20th century, tinged with a dose of surrealism, and it played out in the Kingdom of Belgium. Yet, not all the details of this incredible episode, which took place in April 1990, were widely known: Baudouin (1930-1993), king of the Belgians, refused to sanction a law on abortion. This unprecedented act brought both the monarchy and the nation to the brink. In a country where the monarch "reigns but does not govern," Baudouin simply could not defy the will of a majority of lawmakers without consequence. After 20 years of debate, they had finally reached an agreement to legalize abortion.
Writing an extensive biography entitled Baudouin, un roi face aux crises de son temps ("Baudouin: A King Facing the Crises of His Time"), historian Vincent Dujardin, a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, was the first to access the king's personal diaries and archives. In his book, he illuminates all the twists and turns of an event that stunned the world.
Continued: https://archive.is/2j9eZ
(https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/06/15/baudouin-the-former-king-of-the-belgians-who-was-willing-to-do-anything-to-stop-abortion_6754477_4.html)
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