Leopold III back in London - a romance perhaps

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 December 4, 1937


King Leopold III of the Belgians is back in England just three weeks after his state visit to the country, reports the Chicago Tribune.    His "unexpected appearance" has set tongues wagging that the widower King has "come to woo" Lady Anne Cavendish-Bentinck, the granddaughter of the 6th Duke of Portland.

The King has been accompanied by his mother, Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians, and they are "strictly incognito" as private guests of the Duke and Duchess at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire.

The Belgian royal family are long time friends with the Portland, but this is the first time that Queen Elisabeth has visited them since the death of King Albert in 1934.

Despite "denials in Brussels and London" that King Leopold wants to marry Lady Anne, who lives with her father, the Marquess of Titchfield, the heir to the dukedom," London's gossips believe that a "romance is afoot."

The King's Lord Chamberlain said that "the king and his mother are paying a purely private visit to England, and we denied the marriage rumors before leaving Brussels."

There have been reports that Leopold was seeking a "mother for his children" since not long after the death of his wife, Queen Astrid, in a car accident in August 1935.

The king has three young children, Princess Josephine, 10, Crown Prince Baudouin,7, and three-year-old, Prince Albert.

King Leopold is 36 years old and Lady Anne is 21.  Their marriage would link the Belgian royal house with a "great Anglo-Dutch family."   Lady Anne is said to be "tall and attractive:" and a keen huntswoman.   She is expected to meet with the King tomorrow.

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