Belgium’s popular Queen Fabiola, 86

BRUSSELS — Queen Fabiola, who was inseparable from her husband, the late King Baudouin, and popular across much of Belgium, died on Friday. She was 86.

The royal palace said she died at her Stuyvenberg castle in Brussels, and no cause of death was given. However, she had used a wheelchair, was increasingly frail looking and limited her public appearances more and more.

King Philippe said he was left with “great sadness” when he heard of the death of his aunt.

Spanish-born Fabiola was very close with King Baudouin, and they shared a deep belief in Roman Catholic values. The couple were reclusive and remained childless after several miscarriages.

King Baudouin was enveloped in a controversy in 1990, when he refused to give a parliament-approved bill legalizing abortion his royal assent, one of his constitutional duties.

Some partly blamed Fabiola’s strong Catholicism for Baudouin’s opposition to a law he was required to sign. He stepped down for one day to allow the government to pass the law before he was reinstated as king.

Often Fabiola drew as much attention as the ruling queen, especially late in life when she became embroiled in a financial scandal concerning her heritage and was publicly rebuked by the prime minister.

During the European financial crisis, which began in 2009, Queen Fabiola, then in her early 80s, became involved in a tax scandal when she was accused of trying to shield from authorities some of her fortune, which had been amassed partly with taxpayer money.