King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Donna Paola were in Cracow this Tuesday after spending Easter with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.
The Royal couple were given a private tour of the medieval salt mines at Wieliczka, whose jewel in the crown is the vast underground chapel of Saint Kinga.
Later in the day, King Albert and the Queen took a long stroll around Cracow's Market Square, where they were welcomed with the traditional bouquet of flowers.
Poland may have lost it's monarchy two hundred years ago, but by coincidence the heir to the Belgian throne is quarter Polish. King Albert's eldest son, Philippe Leopold married Mathilde D'Udekem d' Acoz, who is half Polish through her mother, Countess Anna Maria Komorowska.
The Komorowskis are a noble Polish family whose most famous scion in recent times was General Tadeusz Komorowski (codename Bor), who led the tragic Warsaw Uprising against Nazi rule.
However, according to society gossip, Princess Mathilde is distinctly more Belgian than Polish these days. On a recent official trip to Warsaw, the Princess apparently failed to appear at a breakfast that was being held in her honour by Warsaw's beleaguered aristocracy.
But one should never listen to tittle tattle dear readers. Indeed, for all we know, the gallant Princess may be planning a glorious return of the Polish monarchy by placing her second child on the resurrected Polish throne. Perhaps that was the actual purpose of King Albert's visit to Poland. O.K, enough silly Royal gossip, there's enough of that as it is. Long live King Albert.
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