Belgium a Royal History - 1830 till now

The royal family of Belgium and its history


 
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium - National Day of 2017 - screenshot




royal palace of Brussels, Belgium


Belgium is a country located in Western Europe. It became in 1830
independent from The Netherlands.

Belgium is a rather difficult country with three official languages
(Dutch, French and German) and as many communities.

Belgium is famous for his beers, chocolates and fashion, think about
NATAN, Dries Van Noten & much more.





A yummy Belgian dessert


On this page I gave a short survey about Belgian's Royal History.

I hope you'll enjoy it!



Leopold I (1831-1865)





Leopold I National Bank Brussels Belgium 

Own picture - painting of Leopold I in the National Bank of Belgium

Leopold I Royal Palace in Brussels Belgium

Own picture of painting - Location Royal Palace of Brussels

Born: 1790 in Coburg (Germany)
Died: 1865 in Brussels (Belgium)

He married twice

1/ 1816: Charlotte Augusta 
(Crown princess of England)

File:Princess Charlotte of Wales.jpg

Born: 1796 (London)
Died: 1817 (Esher)

2/ 1832: Louise -Marie
(Princess of Orléans)


Own picture of painting - Location Royal Palace of Brussels

about her life on this link




Bookreview Louise Marie d'Orléans on this link



Born: 1812 - Palermo (Sicily - Italy)
Died: 1850 in Ostend (Belgium)



Travel Ostend Luise Maria Belgium

More about the former Palace of Queen Louise-Maria 
in Ostend on this link


They had 4 children:


1/ Louis - Philippe

File:LouisPhilippeBel.jpg

Born: 1833
Died: 1834

2/ Leopold II

Later king of Belgium


Bestand:Leopold ii garter knight.jpg


3/ Filip (1837 - 1905)

Count of Flanders

Bestand:De Graaf van Vlaanderen.jpg

Born: 1837 - Brussels
Died: 1867 - Brussels

He married

1867: Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen 

Bestand:Maria von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.jpg

Born: 1845 - Sigmaringen (Germany)
Died: 1912 - Brussels

They had 5 children

1/ Baudouin (1869 - 1891)
He died young

2/ Henriette
Born: 1870 - Brussel
1896: marriage with Emmanuel of Orleans - Duke of Vendôme
Died: 1848 - Sierre (Switzerland)

3/ Joséphine
She died young

4/ Joséphine
Born: 1872 Brussel  
1894: marriage with Karl-Anton of Hohenzollern -Sigmaringen
Died: 1958 - Namen (Belgium)

5/ Albert Leopold Clement Marie Meinrad
later King Albert I



4/ Charlotte (1840 -1927)


File:Charlotte of Belgium.jpg

Born: 1840 - Brussels
Died: 1927 - Meise

She married 

Maximilian Of Austria (1832 - 1867)
Emperor of Mexico (1864 - 1867)


File:Emperador Maximiliano I de Mexico.jpg

He was the younger brother of emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria.
He became the emperor of Mexico in 1864 and was executed in 1867.

Leopold II (1865-1909)


Quote:
Petit Pays, Petit esprit - translated: Small Country, small minds

See also this link




Bestand:Leopold ii garter knight.jpg

Born: 1835 - Brussels
Died: 1909 - Brussels

1853: he married Archduchess
Marie Henriette of Austria 

File:Maria Hendrika of Belgium, Winterhalter.jpg

Born: 1836- Budapest (Hungary)
Died: 1902- Spa (Belgium)

More about King Leopold II on this link
More about Marie Henriette of Austria, Queen Consort of Belgium
on this link

They had four children

1/ Louise

File:LouiseBelgie.jpg

Born: 1858 - Brussels
1875: Marriage with Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Koháry
Children: Léopold-Clement and Dorothea 
Died: 1924 - Wiesbaden 

More about her on this link


2/ Leopold

File:Leopold Duke of Brabant.jpg

Born: 1859 - Brussels
Died: 1869 - Brussels

3/ Stéphanie

File:Stephanie of Belgium 3.jpg


Born: 1864 Brussels

1/ 1881: Marriage with crown prince Rudolf of Austria
(son of Emperor Frans Jozef and Sisi)

They had one child: Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria.

2/ 1900 Second Marriage with count 
Elemér Lónyay de Nagny-Lónya and Vásáros-Namény.

Died: 1945-Pannonhalma (Hungary)

See also the History / OnThisDay blogpost on this Link


4/ Clementine 


File:Clementine of Belgium.jpg


Born: 1872 - Brussels
1910: Marriage with Napoleon Victor Bonaparte
Princess Clementine's husband, Victor, Prince Napoléon,
was the grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte and
Catherine of Württemberg.

Children: Princess Marie Victor Bonaparte and 
Prince Louis Jérôme Bonaparte
Died: 1955 - Nice (France)

More about her on this link





Albert I (1909 - 1934)

Quotes: Belgium is a nation not a road!

File:Albert I Koning der Belgen.jpg

Born: 1875 - Brussels
Died: 1934 - Brussels 

1900: Marriage with 
Elisabeth Duchess of Bavaria

File:ElisabethofBelgium.jpg


An aunt of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium was Empress 
Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi).

Elisabeth, Queen of Belgium died in 1965



More about this bookreview on this link

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium had a love for Egypt. More about this 
on next link




They had 3 children:

1/ Leopold III

Later King of Belgium

















2/ Karel / Charles, Count of Flanders
Future King Leopold III, Queen Marie José of Italy and Prince Charles
















Prince Charles of Belgium
















Prince Charles of Belgium among artists

















Born: 1903 - Brussels
Regent of Belgium (1944-1950)
Died: 1983 - Ostend

I made a History/OnThisDay about him, check this link



Raversijde Ostend Karel (Charles) regent Belgium

Raversijde - Home of Karel (Charles) of Belgium




3/ Marie-José (last Queen of Italy)






















Born: 1906 - Ostend
1930: Marriage with Umberto II of Italy




A book review about her on this link




A book review about her wardrobe on this link



Children

Princess Maria Pia; 
Vittorio Emanuele , Prince of Naples; 
Princess Maria Gabriella; 
Princess Maria Beatrice.



May 9th. 1946: 

Umberto and Marie-José become king and queen of Italy.



June 2nd. 1946: 

Referendum about the future of the monarchy. 
Most of the Italians wanted a republic. 
Umberto and Marie-José were known as the May King and Queen

Princess Marie-José died in 2001 in Genève (Switzerland)



Three Kings of Belgium Coudenberg in Brussels


The first three Kings of Belgium - Own picture taken in 
Church of  Saint Jacques sur Coudenberg in Brussels





Leopold III (1934 - 1951)


King Leopold III own picture taken in 2019 in the parliament
of Belgium

Born: 1901 - Brussels
Died: 1983 - Brussels



paintings King Leopold III and Queen Astrid of Belgium in Brussels
Queen Astrid and King Leopold III -
own palace taken at the Royal Palace in Brussels


1/ 1926: Marriage with Astrid of Sweden



Born: 1905 - Stockholm (Sweden)
Died: 1935 - Küssnacht (Switzerland)


Travel Küssnacht Switzerland Astrid
Chapel in Küssnacht - Switzerland own picture

More about Queen Astrid of Belgium on this link .

Interesting books about this royal couple:





About the role of King Leopold III of Belgium during WWII on 
this link .



They had 3 children:

1/ Josephine - Charlotte






















Born: 1927- Brussels

1953: Marriage with Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1964-2000


Children:

* Marie Astrid, Archduchess of Austria;
* Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg;
* Prince Jean;
* Margaretha, princess of Liechtenstein;
* Prince Guillaume (uncle of the Hereditary 
Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg)

Died: 2005


2/ Baudouin

 Later King of Belgium



3/ Albert

 Later King of Belgium




2/ 1941: Second Marriage with  Lilian Baels

File:Lilian baels.png

Born: 1916
Died: 2002

They had also 3 children

1/ Alexandre

Born: 1942 - Brussels
1991: Marriage with Léa Wolman
Died: 2009 - Sint-Genesius-Rode

2/ Marie-Christine

Born: 1951 - Brussels

Married twice:

- Paul Drucker (1981)
- Jean-Paul Gourgues (1989)

She lives in the United States

3/ Maria-Esméralda

Born: 1956- Brussels

1998: Marriage with Salvador Moncada
She is a journalist writing under the name Esméralda de Réthy. 

Children:

Alexandra Leopoldine
Leopoldo Daniel

She lives in London (United Kingdom)

More about her on this link



Baudouin of Belgium 
(1951-1993)


King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium own picture taken at the parliament



King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola Te Deum in 1993
screenshot 


Ostend Statue King Baudouin Belgium
own picture of a statue of King Baudouin of Belgium
in Ostend

Statue of the king in Ostend (own pictures)

File:Baudouin 1969.jpg

Source picture: Wikipedia

Born: 1930- Brussels
1960: Marriage with Fabiola de Mora y Aragón 
Died: 1993 - Motril (Spain)

They where very popular but they had no children. 


King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola at the Breakfast.
Picture from postcard which I received from Oscar Meijer.
Oscar Meijer is the creator of the Dutch blog : 
De Staat van Oranje

King Baudouin died on July 31st. 1993
Queen Fabiola died on December 5th. 2014.


King Baugouin hosted many state visits.

In 1960 he hosted a State visit from King Rama IX of Thailand in
Brussels. More about this event on this link



Albert II (1993 - 2013)

Quotes:
Belgium is modernizing itself and it gives me joy
King Albert II



Queen Paola and King Albert II
picture taken by Bjorn Hoex




More about King Albert II of Belgium on this link

Born: 1934 - Brussels
1959: Marriage with Paola Ruffo di Calabria 

Salvatore Adamo made a beautiful Italian song 
about Dolce Paola. 
You can listen to the song on this youtube link.

They have 3 children:


1/ Philippe

King Philippe of Belgium - screenshot - National Day 2017

Born: 1960 - Brussels

1999: Marriage with Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz


Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
picture taken by Bjorn Hoex




They have four children:

1/ Princess Elisabeth



On 25 October 2019, she turns 18 years old. She can become Queen of
Belgium. More on this link.

In 2022 Princess Elisabeth of Belgium has undertaken several official 
duties such as the B-day party of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

* In June 2022 she christened the ship Belgica, which was done very
well. 


2/ Prince Gabriel

More about him on this link


3/ Prince Emmanuel
More about Prince Emmanuel of Belgium on this link

4/ Princess Eléonore



2/ Astrid


Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz - picture taken by Bjorn Hoex




Born: 1962- Brussels

More about her on this link

More about her baptism on 21 June 1962 on this link

1984: Marriage with Lorenz, Archduke of Austria- d'Este

They have 5 children:

1/ Amedeo
2/ Maria Laura
3/ Joachim
4/ Luise Maria
5/ Laetitia Maria 

In 2022 there will be a royal wedding in Belgium. Princess Maria Laura,
the daughter of Princess Astrid and Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-d'Este
will marry William Isvy. They both live and work in
London (United Kingdom). 


3/ Laurent

Born: 1963- Brussels
2003: Marriage with Claire Coombs




Prince Laurent and Princess Claire
Picture taken by Bjorn Hoex


They have 3 children
1/ Louise
2/ Nicolas
3/ Aymeric


4/ Delphine 



Princess Delphine pictures taken by Bjorn Hoex



The husband of Princess Delphine
James O'Hare
Picture taken by Bjorn Hoex


Delphine Boël was born on 22 February 1968 as the daughter of King Albert II
of Belgium (then Prince of Liège) and Sybille de Selys de Longchamps. In
2020 the civil court decided that Delphine was allowed to carry the surname:
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She also was granted the title Princess of Belgium.






Philippe (2013-

On July 21st. 2013, Philippe became King of the Belgians. 
Since then we have two Kings and 2 Queens (Queen Fabiola died in 2014). 




King Philippe of the Belgians - Screenshot


Queen Mathilde of the Belgians - Screenshot


King Albert of Belgium - Screenshot


Queen Paola of Belgium - Screenshot


American President Barack Obama quote: 'Brave little Belgium'

Queen Mathilde with the Nato Spouses in 2017 
Source picture: Wikipedia

2017: Remembrance of the Battle of Passchendaele


Annual Royal Events


17 February: Remembrance of the deceased members of the Royal Family
11 July: Feast of the Flemish community
21 July: National Day, more on this link
31 July 1993 Death King Baudouin of Belgium, more on this link
3rd Sunday of September: Feast of the Walloon Region
15 November: King's Feast + Feast Day of the German community
2018: 5 years Philippe, King of Belgium new portraits on this link

On This Days

8 September 1831: VIP diner @ the royal palace of Brussels, link
28 September 1918 - World War I , more on this link
22 November 1918 - Joyous Entry in Brussels, more on this link
4 December 1999 - royal wedding in Belgium, more on this link
18 December 2019 - Christmas Concert at the Royal Palce
in Brussels, more on this link.


Royal Art

In the Summer exhibition of 2018, King Philippe shows his
paintings from King Baudouin more on this link
History of music with the Royal Music Chapel of the Guides
of Belgium on this link
2019 Summer exhibition, more on this link

Others

More about the Royal Trust on this link
More about the family of Queen Mathilde on this link


The pictures of 17 February 2022 are made by Bjorn Hoex,
he admires the Belgian royal family as well as the
royal family of The Netherlands (where he lives).


From 2 till 4 May 2022, a state visit to Greece
takes place. More on this link



Royal Cards



It's always nice to receive royal cards. Due to
copywright I can't show the inside of the
card. However I enjoyed the royal monogram
very much! 

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