Former Queen Fabiola of Belgium dies aged 86

Former Queen Fabiola, the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium, has died aged 86, the royal palace has said.

Born Fabiola de Mora y Aragon in Madrid, she reigned as queen consort from 1960 until King Baudouin’s death in 1993.

A royal statement said she died at the Stuyvenberg Castle in Brussels.

The Spanish-born dowager queen was recently at the centre of a row over her annual allowance, after she was accused of avoiding a national inheritance tax.

Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said all Belgians would mourn her passing.

“A page in our country’s history has turned,” Didier Reynders told Belgium’s RTL television.

Following the sudden death of King Baudouin in 1993 on holiday in Spain, the throne passed to his brother Albert, who abdicated in 2013 in favor of his son Crown Prince Philippe.