The Prince never missed an opportunity of showing his sympathy for the royal family. One day he was present at a representation of _Richard Cœur de Lion_ at the small theatre at Tournai. The public was chiefly composed of French _émigrés_, who were full of hope and illusion, impatiently awaiting the time when they should return to their country. The Prince could not hear without emotion the air of: _O Richard! Ô mon roi! l’univers t’abandonne_.[105] Tears came into his eyes, and the audience, perceiving his emotion, frantically applauded. “At that part,” says the Prince, “where the promise is made to avenge the poor captive king, I advanced, applauding as though I too wished to contribute my efforts. I was in earnest at the time, and it seemed likely that my services would be accepted. Suddenly the French ladies, both young and old, in the excitement rushed out of their boxes, and the whole of the pit, mostly consisting of young French officers, jumped on the stage, crying out: ‘Long live the King! Long live the Prince de Ligne;’ and they only stopped clapping their hands to wipe their eyes over-flowing with tears.” Among the young refugee officers who were the most cordially received at Bel Œil was M. de Villeneuve Laroche. He writes in his Memoirs:[106] “The Prince de Ligne at this time was residing with all his family at Bel Œil, a fine estate distant one league from the town of Ath; he took pleasure in conversing with us about the principles of honour that were the basis of our conduct, and he commended us with enthusiasm. “He was good enough to invite me several times to dine at his magnificent residence; I may even go so far as to say that I formed quite an intimacy with his eldest son, Prince Charles, an officer of the very greatest promise; he was a _colonel major_ in the artillery, and had lately distinguished himself in the war against the Turks.... “The son sympathised with our feelings as much as his father. He told me one day that he had just written to the Emperor asking to be employed in the coalition war, and added that if his request was rejected he would serve as a mere volunteer with the French nobility.” Prince Charles had in fact urgently requested to be allowed to return to the Austrian army, with the rank of colonel in the engineers. After the death of the Emperor Leopold, which took place on the 27th of February 1792, the Prince was given an appointment in General Clairfayt’s army corps. The Austrian general-in-chief was the Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, husband of the Archduchess Christine.