Albert I of Belgium (1875-1934)
On the eve of the outbreak of World War I he was entertaining a powerful chieftain from the Belgian Congo at the palace; after dinner at a signal, the royal orchestra filed into the hall and began tuning their instruments.
“Tell me the kind of music you like best and my orchestra will be happy to oblige.” proposed the king. “That is it,”replied the guest,”they are playing it now.” The king nodded graciously and for the rest of the evening the assembled guests listened while the orchestra tuned up.
2.
At the beginning of World War I, Albert resisted the illegal German demand to move troops through neutral Belgium in order to attack France. (The refusal to permit the passage of troops was based on a respect for international law, and a concern for the balance of power in Europe, which, at the time, required that Belgium be a neutral buffer zone between Germany, France, and Great Britain.)
Albert famously responded to the German desire to move soldiers through his country: "I rule a nation, not a road!"(ack:wikipedia)
compiler:benny
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