BELGIAN ROYAL FAMILY.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 May 1916, Page 7

BELGIAN ROYAL FAMILY.

|«» HUN BOMBS OFTEN FALL CLOSE TO KINO. Paris, April 12. On the occasion of St. Albert's • Day, Le Journal, in a special article, describes something of the way in which the Belgian monarch lives in a Kttle Belgian town which.the King has not left for the past eighteen months except for two short visits to the -French front with President Poincnre. The Belgian Queen left the town for only four days when she took her children to London. The King's suite consists of four officers only, and the Queen only keeps one lady-in-waiting, her friend, the Comtesse Caramanchi. Many German aeroplanes fly over the town regularly. Belgian cannon generally drive them off, but several times bombs have been dropped in the vicinity of the royal villa. On a recent Sunday a bomb fell, touching the exterior of the church which the royal family attends. The damage was unimportant. The King's calmness aided in cheeking a panic among the congregation. 'As the King was returning to his villa after the service, another bomb fell near his carriage. There were several victims. The King remained and organised first aid for them, the Queen joining him. Both visited the .hospital to which the injured were taken, as well as the homes of the victims' families. When it was suggested to the King that a special Belgian aeroplane squadron be detailed to protect his villa, he replied "Our aviators ( have other work to do. King Albert's son, Leopold, arrived for the birthday, but he was not troubled I by aeroplanes, as there was a storm.