Royal aid fund to receive Fabiola’s full estate

The handling of the estate of dowager queen Fabiola, who died in late 2014, is complete, with most of her assets going to the Queen Fabiola Aid Fund, which she set up in 1960. Fabiola was the widow of Belgium’s King Boudewijn I, who died childless and passed the throne on to his brother Albert, the father of the present king.

Shortly before her death, it was revealed that Fabiola had drawn up a will bequeathing her fortune – derived from personal investments made by Boudewijn during his lifetime – to a number of family members in Spain, to allow them to carry out religious works. The news led to criticism that a fortune built up by a Belgian king would leave the country and be devoted specifically to religious projects.

Fabiola apparently changed her will, with the majority of her fortune going to the Aid Fund. That fund is now managed by the current Queen Mathilde. The fund, according to its official statement, “is intended to help the Queen in her philanthropic and social activities”.

Fabiola’s residence, the Stuyvenberg Castle in Brussels, where Boudewijn was born, becomes the property of the Crown Estates, the monarchy’s personal holdings.

Photo: pn/Het Nieuwsblad