REFERENCE | TITLE | NAME | BORN | DIED | TITLE | NAME | BORN | DIED | COMMENTS | |
14 | King | Leopold I of the Belgians | 1790 | 1865 | Princess | Charlotte of Great Britain | 1796 | 1817 | See
28.8 - Leopold was previously Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (from 1826
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and became King of the Belgians on 21 July 1831, some fourteen years after the death of his wife Charlotte
who died in childbirth.
A detailed report on the death of Princess Charlotte. A further tragedy was to occur about four months after the death of Princess Charlotte. Sir Richard Croft an accoucheur (male midwife and obstetrician) who had attended Princess Charlotte during the birth of her stillborn son committed suicide by gun shot to his head. He carried out this sad occurrence whilst attending to another patient who was in the final stage of giving birth. The death of Princess Charlotte had played heavily on his mind. The Belgian crown was originally offered to Prince Louise of Orleans (Duke of Nemours) but this was rejected by his father King Louis-Philippe I of France. Belgium, with Holland formed the Kingdom of the Netherlands as confirmed by the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815. A Belgian uprising in 1830 resulted in an enforced separation of the two countries but it wasn't until 19 April 1839 that King Willem I of the Netherlands accepted a settlement and the independent and neutral state of Belgium came into being. |
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14 | King | Leopold I of the Belgians | 1790 | 1865 | Caroline Bauer | 1807 | 1877 | Although not mentioned in some Royal Genealogy sources Leopold married secondly and
morganatically Caroline Bauer (1807-1877) in 1829 apparently by signing a contract rather than in a religious wedding, in the
contract she was created Countess of Montgomery. They were divorced not long after with Caroline returning to her acting career.
Caroline died in 1877 from an overdose of sleeping-pills and in 1885 a posthumous book
"Posthumous Memoirs of Caroline Bauer" was published giving details of her life with
Leopold. Caroline Bauer was a cousin to Baron Stockmar advisor to Leopold and his niece Queen Victoria of Great Britain An interesting article from
the "The New York Times" of November 2, 1884 can be found
here. Google have scanned the book and made it available here. A report on the death of Caroline Bauer. |
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14 | King | Leopold I of the Belgians | 1790 | 1865 | Princess | Louise Marie of Orleans | 1812 | 1850 | See 13.2 &
28.8 - Leopold was previously Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and became King of the Belgians on 21 July 1831. The Belgian crown was originally offered to
Prince Louis of Orleans (Duke of Nemours) but this was rejected by his father King Louis-Philippe I of France. Belgium, with Holland formed the Kingdom of the Netherlands as confirmed by
the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815. A Belgian uprising in 1830 resulted in an enforced separation of the two countries but it wasn't until 19 April 1839 that King Willem I of the Netherlands accepted a settlement and the
independent and neutral state of Belgium came into being. A somewhat unusual report of the wedding of Leopold and Louise Marie. The New York Times announcement of the death of King Leopold. |
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14.1 | Prince | Louis-Philippe of Belgium | 1833 | 1834 | ||||||
14.2 | King | Leopold II of the Belgians (1 st Duke of Brabant 1840-1865) | 1835 | 1909 | Archduchess | Marie Henriette of Austria (Hungarian Line) | 1836 | 1902 | See
21.8 -
A Royal Decree of 16 December 1840 assigned the heir apparent to the crown (i.e. Leopold) the title of Duke of Brabant. The New York Times report of the death of King Leopold and his infidelities. The New York Times notice of the death of Archduchess (Queen) Marie Henriette. |
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14.2 | King | Leopold II of the Belgians (1 st Duke of Brabant 1840-1865) | 1835 | 1909 | Caroline Lacroix | 1883 | 1948 | See
21.8 - Leopold was gravely ill in early December 1909 and on 14 December 1909 was allegedly married to his lover
Blanche Delacroix (1883-1948) (sometimes referred to as Caroline Lacroix) by a royal chaplain, Leopold died a few days later
on 17 December 1909. Leopold had two sons out of wedlock with Blanche, Lucien (1906-1984) and Philippe (1907-1914), Philippe is reported to have been born handicapped resulting in his early death. Caroline is said to have
been created Baroness de Vaughan in Belgium (a courtesy title) with Lucien becoming the Count of Tervuren, and Philippe the Count of Ravenstein. A report on the birth registration of Philippe where the father apparently was shown as "father not declared". The New York Times report of the death of King Leopold and his infidelities. An article from "The Week" relating to the marriage of Leopold and Blanche and how he tried to cut his daughters from his money. Blanche later married Antoine Durrieux and The New York Times reported in August 1910 the possibility Blanche and Antoine were already married at the time of the alleged marriage of Leopold and Blanche. The marriage of Blanche and Antoine Durrieux was thought to be a record for a quick wedding |
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14.21 | Princess | Louise of Belgium | 1858 | 1924 | Prince | Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 1844 | 1921 | See 28.521 - Louise eloped to Nice 1898 with her husband's
chamberlain Géza Mattachich (1868-1923). She was eventually
captured and returned to Vienna and placed in a lunatic asylum at the instigation of her husband. Prince Philip was considered one of the most dissolute
princes and his drunken and violent behaviour towards his wife led to her attachment to Géza Mattachich. Louise managed to escape in 1904 and fled to France with her lover Géza Mattachich, she obtained her divorce from her
husband Philip in 1906 (one source mentions 1907) and lived the rest of life with Géza Mattachich although they never married. Géza Mattachich was the stepson of Count Oskar Keglewitch (or Keglevich) and unofficially assumed the
countly title of his stepfather (i.e. assumed title Count Keglewitch). An interesting article from The New York Times which includes the introduction to a book by Géza Mattachich. According to the The New York Times 31 December 1905 Prince Philip was to pay Princess Louise $211,000 a year as alimony plus $1,000,000 by instalments as part of the settlement for their divorce. A report on the civil marriage of Louise and Philip. A report following the death of Princess Louise |
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14.22 | Prince | Leopold of Belgium (2 nd Duke of Brabant 1865-1869) | 1859 | 1869 | Leopold died from pneumonia, after falling into a pond. Obituary of Prince Leopold. There is an error in the obituary in that it mentions "The first Duke of Brabant , heir presumptive to the throne of Belgium, of the present dynasty, died at the Chateau of Laeken in May, 1834, at the age of ten months. He was the first child of the marriage of Leopold I with Queen Louise Marie, Princess of Orleans, daughter of King Louis Philippe, and was born in July, 1833." The prince who died in 1834 was Prince Louis-Philippe of Belgium (1833-1834) The first Duke of Brabant was in fact Louis-Philippe's younger brother Leopold (future King Leopold II) who was Duke of Brabant 1840 (by Royal Decree dated 16 December 1840) until 1865 when he succeeded his father as King of the Belgians |
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14.23 | Princess | Stephanie of Belgium | 1864 | 1945 | Crown Prince | Rudolph of Austria | 1858 | 1889 | See 19.J13 - Rudolph committed suicide after killing his eighteen year old mistress Baroness Maria Vetsera in
in Mayerling. A report on the marriage of Rudolph and Stephanie. |
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14.23 | Princess | Stephanie of Belgium | 1864 | 1945 | Count | Elemer Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásáros-Namény | 1863 | 1946 | Elemer was created Prince Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásáros-Namény by Emperor Karl of Austria on 9 February 1917.
An interesting Web Site on the lands and castle acquired by Stephanie and Elemer at Rusovce. The New York Times article on Stephanie's attempt to receive more money from the inheritance of her mother Queen Marie Henriette. A report on the marriage of Stephanie and Elemer Lónyay. Another report on the marriage. |
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14.24 | Princess | Clementine of Belgium | 1872 | 1955 | Prince | Napoléon Victor Bonaparte (Prince Napoléon) | 1862 | 1926 | See 22.1231 - A report on the wedding of Princess Clementine and Prince Napoléon | |
14.3 | Prince | Phillippe of Belgium (Count of Flanders) | 1837 | 1905 | Princess | Marie of Hohenzollern | 1845 | 1912 | See 6.6 - Phillippe was considered as a candidate for Prince of Roumania in 1866 but declined the offer. The Count of Flanders was
heir apparent to the Belgian throne but on 28 May 1905 he formally renounced his rights to the crown in favour of his son, Albert. The
Count of Flanders health was deteriorating and he was totally deaf and had never really expressed earlier inclinations to succeed to the throne. The title Count of Flanders was granted by Royal Decree dated 16 December 1840). Report on the wedding of Count of Flanders and Marie. The New York Times report on the death of the Count of Flanders Report on the death of the Countess of Flanders |
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14.31 | Prince | Baudouin of Belgium | 1869 | 1891 | Obituary of Prince Baudouin. This obituary mentions Baudouin died from congestion of the lung with rumours he actually died from smallpox. Another report on the death of Prince Baudouin. |
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14.32 | Princess | Josephine Marie of Belgium | 1870 | 1871 | Princess Josephine and Princess Henriette were twins | |||||
14.33 | Princess | Henriette of Belgium | 1870 | 1948 | Prince | Philippe Emmanuel of Orleans (France) (Duke of Vendome and Alencon) | 1872 | 1931 | See 13.422 - Princess Josephine and Princess Henriette were twins. A very brief report on the death of the Duke of Vendome and Alencon |
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14.34 | Princess | Josephine Caroline of Belgium | 1872 | 1958 | Prince | Carl Anton of Hohenzollern | 1868 | 1919 | See 6.13 | |
14.35 | King | Albert I of the Belgians | 1875 | 1934 | Duchess | Elisabeth in Bavaria | 1876 | 1965 | See 18.K53 - Albert was killed in a rock climbing accident at Marche-les-Dames, in
the Ardennes region of Belgium. near Namur. Albert succeeded his uncle Leopold II as King of the Belgians and was highly thought of due to his leadership of Belgium during the first World War. Report on the wedding of Albert and Elisabeth |
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14.351 | King | Leopold III of the Belgians (3 rd Duke of Brabant 1909-1934) | 1901 | 1983 | Princess | Astrid of Sweden | 1905 | 1935 | See 3.1333 - Princess (actually Queen of the Belgians) Astrid was killed
in a car accident in Küssnacht, Switzerland, the car being driven by her husband Leopold . They were driving along the winding, narrow roads near their villa at Küssnacht am Rigi, Schwyz, Switzerland on the shores of Lake of
Lucerne, Leopold lost control of the vehicle and the car plunged down a ravine. Leopold abdicated on 16 July 1951 in favour of his son Baudouin which followed public outrage regarding his second marriage and his conduct during
the second World War. A report on the crowning of Leopold as King of the Belgians. Leopold was the youngest soldier in the Belgian Army when he was enrolled in 1915 as a private in the 12th Regiment of the Belgian Infantry. Leopold was sent by his father to Eton School in 1915 and a this is a photograph of Leopold from the period |
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14.351 | King | Leopold III of the Belgians (3 rd Duke of Brabant 1909-1934) | 1901 | 1983 | Mary-Liliane "Liliane" Baels | 1916 | 2002 | Leopold's standing after the death of his first wife was greatly diminished. This was compounded by his second marriage to a
commoner Mary Liliane "Liliane" Baels in 1941 and the fact he decided to stay in Belgium during its occupation by German forces until he was deported to Germany in 1944. A plebiscite in 1950 invited Leopold to return but after
consideration he abdicated on 16 July 1951 in favour of his son Baudouin. Mary Liliane "Liliane" Baels initially received the title Princess de Réthy and later Princess of Belgium following her civil wedding. Their religious marriage ceremony took place on 11 September 1941 with the official, civil marriage not taking place until 6 December 1941. Birth Registration of Mary Liliane "Liliane" Baels |
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14.3511 | Princess | Josephine Charlotte of Belgium | 1927 | 2005 | Grand Duke | Jean of Luxemburg | 1921 | 2019 | See 34.221 - Grand Duke Jean abdicated on 7 October 2000 and was succeeded by his son Henri. A report on the wedding of Prince (later Grand Duke) Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte |
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14.3512 | King | Baudouin I of the Belgians (4 th Duke of Brabant 1934-1951) | 1930 | 1993 | Dońa | Fabiola de Mora y Aragón | 1928 | 2014 | The Law of Succession in Belgium was changed by Royal Decree published on 05 December 1991 but with effect from 02 December 1991,
whereby the standards of Salic Law was abolished in favour of succession by order of birth and applying to the descendants of King Albert II.
Hitherto the Constitution of 1831 excluded women from the throne. Report on the wedding of Baudouin and Fabiola |
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14.3513 | King | Albert II of the Belgians | 1934 | Princess | Paola Ruffo di Calabria | 1937 | A report on the wedding of Albert and Paola. King Albert II abdicated his throne on 21 July 2013 in favour of his son Philippe |
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14.35131 | King | Philippe of the Belgians (5 th Duke of Brabant 1993-2013) | 1960 | Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz | 1973 | Mathilde was granted the title Princess of Belgium ad personam by
Royal Decree on 8 November 1999, which was published on 13 November 1999 but didn't come into force until 4 December 1999, when she married Prince Philippe. Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz's father Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (1936-2008) was created a Count by King Albert II of the Belgians on the marriage of Mathilde to Philippe. Philippe was Crown Prince of Belgium (Duke of Brabant) until the abdication of his father King Albert II on 21 July 2013. |
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14.351311 | Princess | Elisabeth of Belgium (6 th Duchess of Brabant 2013-present) | 2001 | On 16 October 2001 (nine days before the birth of Elisabeth) a Royal Decree was issued which amended the Royal Decree dated 16 December 1840. The effect of which was to replace the automatic right of the eldest son of the King to the title the Duke of Brabant by the title of Duke of Brabant or Duchess of Brabant being granted to the eldest son or daughter of the King. This means that when her father Philippe became King, Elisabeth was granted the title of Duchess of Brabant in her right rather than as the spouse of a Duke of Brabant, the birth of her younger brothers would not usurp her rights as Duchess of Brabant and as future Queen of the Belgians. | ||||||
14.351312 | Prince | Gabriel Baudouin of Belgium | 2003 | |||||||
14.351313 | Prince | Emmanuel Leopold of Belgium | 2005 | |||||||
14.351314 | Princess | Eléonore of Belgium | 2008 | |||||||
14.35132 | Princess | Astrid of Belgium | 1962 | Archduke | Lorenz of Austria-Este | 1955 | See 19.J32132 - Lorenz was created Prince of Belgium by Royal Decree (number 1995021415) published on 14 November 1995 but with effect from 10 November 1995. The children of Princess Astrid and Archduke Lorenz are also Prince or Princess of Belgium from 1991 following a change to the Belgium Constitutional Laws which repealed the laws of succession by male primogeniture. | |||
14.35133 | Prince | Laurent of Belgium | 1963 | Claire Coombs | 1974 | Claire was granted the title Princess of Belgium ad personam by Royal Decree (Number 2003021084) on 1 April 2003, which was published on
08 April 2003 but didn't come into force until 12 April 2003, when she married Prince Laurent. Birth Registration of Claire Coombs |
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14.351331 | Princess | Louise Sophie of Belgium | 2004 | |||||||
14.351332 | Prince | Nicolas Casimir of Belgium | 2005 | |||||||
14.351333 | Prince | Aymeric Auguste of Belgium | 2005 | |||||||
14.35134 | Princess | Delphine of Belgium | 1968 | 1974 |
Delphine Boël is the daughter of King Albert II and Sybille, Baroness de Selys
Longchamps who had a long term relationship.Delphine was born on 22 February 1968 and bore the surname of Jacques Boël the husband of her mother
Sybille (Jacques and Sybille were married in 1962). After years of legal argument, a DNA test established that Albert was the biological father of Delphine. Following the DNA confirmation The Brussels Court of Appeal ruled that Delphine Boël, had the right to her Royal father’s surname and also a princess of Belgium. She will be called Delphine of Saxen-Coburg-Gotha, princess of Belgium. Delphine is a talented artist. |
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14.3514 | Prince | Alexandre of Belgium | 1942 | 2009 | Lea Wolman | 1951 | Prince Alexandre and Lea Wolman were married in 1991 although it was not made public until 1998. Lea was created Princess of Belgium in her right (information being checked). Marriage Registration of Prince Alexandre and Lea Wolman. Obituary on Prince Alexandre |
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14.3515 | Princess | Marie Christina of Belgium | 1951 | Paul Druker | 1937 | 2008 | Marie Christina's marriage to Paul Druker lasted 40 days. Obituary on Paul Druker |
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14.3515 | Princess | Marie Christina of Belgium | 1951 | Jean-Paul Gourgues | 1949 | |||||
14.3516 | Princess | Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium | 1956 | Sir | Salvador Moncada | 1944 | Princess Marie-Esmeralda is a journalist working under the name of Esmeralda de Rethy. Salvador Moncada is a highly respected pharmacologist and is currently Director of the Cancer Domain at The University of Manchester. It was announced on 31 December 2009 that the Queen signified her intention of conferring the Honour of Knighthood on Salvador Moncada for services to Science. The Queen actually conferred the Honour on 12 February 2010. Marriage Registration of Princess Marie-Esmeralda and Salvador Moncada |
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14.35161 | Alexandra Leopoldine Moncada | 1998 | ||||||||
14.35162 | Leopoldo Daniel Moncada | 2001 | ||||||||
14.352 | Prince | Charles of Belgium (Count of Flanders) | 1903 | 1983 | Jacqueline Peyrebrune | 1921 | 2014 | On the liberation of Belgium, King Leopold III was not in the country, having been deported to Germany by the occupiers. As the Constitution provides for the possibility of a Regency, Prince
Charles was made Regent of the Kingdom by the Combined Chambers of Parliament. On 20 September 1944, Prince Charles took the constitutional oath. He
exercised the royal prerogatives until 20 July 1950. It would appear the marriage of Charles to Jacqueline was not legal. Their union was blessed in a private religious ceremony on 14 September 1977, but under French law a religious marriage must be preceded by a civil one. |
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14.3521 | Isabelle Wybo | 1938 | Isabelle Wybo is the daughter of Charles of Belgium (Count of Flanders) and Jacqueline Wehrli (who married Arthur Wybo around about 1942). Various reports mentions Isabelle has been accepted into the Belgium Royal for many years. A video of Isabelle and her cousin (once removed) Prince Laurent of Belgium. | |||||||
14.353 | Princess | Marie-José of Belgium | 1906 | 2001 | King | Umberto II of Italy | 1904 | 1983 | See 8.1213 - Umberto succeeded his father as King on 9 May 1946. In a referendum on 2 June 1946 12.7 million (actually 12,672,767) Italians voted in favour of a republic and 10.7 million (actually 10,688,905) for the retention of the monarchy. Although Umberto refused to accept the vote against the monarchy he left Italy on 13 June 1946 to prevent the outbreak of violence. | |
14.4 | Princess | Charlotte of Belgium | 1840 | 1927 | Archduke | Maximilian of Austria | 1832 | 1867 | See 19.J2 - Maximillian was created Emperor of Mexico in 1864 with the support of the French and falsely believing he had the general support of the people of Mexico. Napoleon's French troops were forced under pressure from the United Sates of America to withdraw from Mexico. Maximilian refused to abdicate and was captured and executed by the Mexicans. Charlotte went "Mad" during 1866 trying to get assistance in Europe for her husband. She spent the remaining 60 years after the death of her husband locked up a chateau outside Brussels. |