1918 : Leaving the war

The Soldier King

At Porte de Flandre, king Albert tries to open his way through the crowd. After spending the war behind the Yser, he retook the head of the troops entering Brussels. Queen Elisabeth stood by him, but it was the image of the soldier-king which would remain in collective memory. Albert crossed the city towards the Palace of the Nation, the very same place where he had held his powerful discourse on 4 August 1914. Symbolically, the war ended where it had started.