 A friend of King Albert I of the Belgians, and later equally trusted by Albert's son, King Leopold III of the Belgians, Henri Baels was responsible, among other important public initiatives, for the creation of the Albert Canal.Baels was also a great friend of Dom Marie-Albert van der Cruyssen, the Abbot of the Cistercian Monastery of Orval, Belgium, and took a lead in supporting the restoration of the Monastery, a project the Abbot (who was also a highly decorated Belgian war hero of World War I) had undertaken.Baels was married to Anne Marie de Visscher (1882–1950), a daughter of Adolphus Gustavus de Visscher and his wife, Alicia Victoria Carolina Opsomer.