DEATH OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS. (Hansard, 20 February 1934)

§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Ramsay MacDonald)
I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty to convey to His Majesty the expression of the deep regret with which this House has learned the news of the death of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, and to pray His Majesty that he will be graciously pleased to express to His Royal Highness the Duke of Brabant, the heir to the throne of Belgium, the profound sympathy of this House with Her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians and the Royal Family, and with the Government and People of Belgium. We have all, this House and the nation at large, been so deeply touched, especially by the circumstances attending the death of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, that I am sure I need utter very few sentences in commendation of the Resolution that I have moved.
The late King held a unique place among the Rulers of Europe. No envy shadowed him; none of the pride and circumstance of Imperial splendour kept him in the glare of light. Suddenly Europe was maddened by blaring trumpets. War was loose, and like a rock in the river Belgium stood right in the middle of the torrent of marching feet. But at the head of Belgium was the King. From that day this quiet, unostentatious man, unshakable in his devotion to national liberty and his loyalty to obligation, became the embodiment of his people and one of the most powerful personal factors in the conduct of the War. As the months passed he grew in stature in the eyes of all who had dealings with His Majesty. At first valued mainly as an ally, he came to be regarded as a friend richly endowed with the qualities which surely may be set amidst the most kingly of all human qualities. He was gracious, he was reliable, he was patient in suffering and he was restrained in triumph.
During the whole of that terrible time he was faithful to the charge of his Kingship. In him the virtues of the man became the honours of the King. He carried his dignities in such a way as to increase the genial intimacy of his friendship. He loved to be here in this country; he was at home with [...]s. Nothing gave him more pleasure and con- 192 tentment than those almost casual calls when, everyone at his ease, he held converse on politics, its far-away dreams, its hard-won achievements, its difficult roads; on science, on art, and occasionally on the solemn concerns of life and death. Those qualities he shared with her who shared his life, his position, his work, his aims, and I venture in this humble tribute to his memory to mingle thoughts of special sympathy for her whose heart is now grieving at his untimely death.
To all who knew him intimately he revealed a keen mind concerned above all with his own people, their aspirations and their social conditions, and he showed a close intimacy with their ordinary life, their factories, their places of work and their domestic firesides. As our late Ambassador said of him, "He was always tremendously interested. Nothing of any importance was ever mentioned in his presence without his showing a very keen interest in it." How well during the years and the fortunes of his reign did he carry out the pledge in the first Speech that he delivered from the Throne. "The Sovereign," he said, "must be unceasingly attentive to the voice of the country and watch with sympathy over the fate of the humble. He is the servant of the law and the guardian of social peace."
Reviewing these stimulating memories one can indeed but say, bidding him farewell, a fine man, a great King, a noble citizen.

§ Mr. ATTLEE
On behalf of the Opposition, I rise to support the Motion. I think that but few words are required of me. We are all alike moved by our common human sympathy when the hand of death suddenly descends upon a family and takes away the husband from the wife, the father from the children. It is a daily event in the world around us, but it never loses its poignant appeal, for it touches us all so near. Everyone will join in sincere sympathy with the bereaved members of the Belgian Royal Family. But the untimely death of Albert, King of the Belgians, our friend and ally, is more than a domestic tragedy. It has taken away from the world a man who filled greatly a great position. He was the head of a friendly nation, the constitutional ruler of a democratic State, the man who in adversity and war 193 displayed high courage and constancy and in the difficult times of peace, wisdom and understanding. Therefore, it is fitting that we, the representatives of the Commons of England, should also extend our sympathy to the Belgian people, our old friends and Allies, and trust that the new ruler, and his people may be spared any return of the dark shadows against which the late King's high qualities shone out so brightly.

§ Sir HERBERT SAMUEL
We are enjoined to speak naught but good of the dead. That injunction it is easy to obey on this occasion. King Albert's was a character to evoke at all times only words of praise. He had the qualities of chief value in one born to a throne—honour, courage, good will, sound judgment and untiring devotion to duty. In conversation he was direct, simple, prudent. There was a moment in 1914 when King Albert was the pivot on which world history turned. His action was decisive for Belgium. Belgian action was decisive for us. British action was decisive for the War. His letter to King George appealing to definite treaty obligations and the stand taken by Belgium united our Cabinet, united this nation, united the whole British Commonwealth. It fell to my lot to be the Minister responsible for caring for the welfare of the 250,000 Belgian refugees who came to this country in the first weeks of the War, and after the Armistice, to go to Belgium as special commissioner appointed to aid in her restoration. Then, and since, I was able to see at close quarters how greatly the Belgian people depended upon his wise guidance, his quiet authority and how completely he had won their affection. He might have said in the famous words of Queen Elizabeth: Though God hath raised me [...]igh, yet this I count the glory of my crown, that I have reigned with your loves. The British people will extend to Belgium in this hour of sorrow and anxiety the hand of friendship and consolation.