Category Archives: Belgian Royals

Ancestors of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant

compiled by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant; Credit – By Ian Jones – Buckingham Palace reception, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131631531

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. Belgium changed its succession law in 1991 to absolute primogeniture where the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender. Males and females have equal succession rights. This means that Elisabeth is the heir apparent and comes first in the line of succession as the eldest child. She is expected to become the first Belgian Queen Regnant. When her father Philippe became King of the Belgians, Elisabeth automatically became Duchess of Brabant, the title used by the female heirs to the Belgian throne and the wives of male heirs.

From her father Philippe, King of the Belgians, Elisabeth has the typical royal pedigree with Belgian, Danish, Portuguese, and Swedish monarchs among her ancestors, in addition to Dutch, Bavarian, and other German royalty. From Elisabeth’s paternal grandmother, there is a lot of Italian nobility with a smattering of Belgian and French ancestors. Adrienne Jenny Florimonde de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg, one of Philippe’s great-great-great-grandmothers, is the granddaughter of Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Better known as just Lafayette in the United States, Philippe’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles. After returning to France, he was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Lafayette is known as “The Hero of the Two Worlds” for his service to both France and the United States.

Elisabeth’s mother Queen Mathilde, born Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz, is the first native-born Belgian queen consort. Through her mother, Mathilde has Polish noble and Polish–Lithuanian princely ancestry. Mathilde’s father descends from Walloon (a French-speaking people who live in Belgium) nobles and was titled Jonkheer, the lowest title within the Belgian nobility system.  When Mathilde married Philippe in 1999, her father was created Count d’Udekem d’Acoz by Albert II, King of the Belgians, Philippe’s father.

Parents, Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Great-Great-Grandparents, and Great-Great-Great-Grandparents of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant (born October 25, 2001)

The links below are from Unofficial Royalty,  Wikipedia, Leo’s Genealogics Website, The Peerage, or Geni.

Parents

Philippe, King of the Belgians and Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz, parents; Credit – By Liesbeth Driessen – UHasselt, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28712939

Grandparents

King Albert II of the Belgians and Paola Ruffo di Calabria, paternal grandparents

Great-Grandparents

Leopold III, King of the Belgians and Princess Astrid of Sweden, great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Grandparents

Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, great-great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Great-Grandparents

King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden, great-great-great-grandparents

Sources:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Church of Our Lady of Laeken; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Built during the latter part of the nineteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium, which this writer has visited, is the burial church of the Belgian royal family, built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, the second wife of Belgium’s first king Leopold I, King of the Belgians.

Belgium has been a country only since 1830. In August 1830, the southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands rebelled against Dutch rule. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new country. On April 22, 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was asked by the Belgian National Congress if he wanted to be king of the new country. Leopold swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution on July 21, 1831, and became the first King of the Belgians. Under the Belgian Constitution, the Belgian monarch is styled “King/Queen of the Belgians” to reflect that the monarch is “of the Belgian people.”

Although the Belgian royal family is Roman Catholic, Leopold I was born a Lutheran and remained a Lutheran for his entire life. Before Leopold became King of the Belgians, he was first married to Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of King George IV of the United Kingdom, who tragically died in childbirth along with her son. Charlotte, who most likely would have been Queen of the United Kingdom,  and her son are buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

No family burial site had been planned for the members of the new Belgian royal family. When King Leopold I’s infant son Crown Prince Louis Philippe died suddenly in 1834, he was buried at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula out of necessity.

Queen Louise-Marie, born Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, predeceased her husband King Leopold I, dying of tuberculosis at age 38 in 1850. She wanted to be buried in the old Church of Our Lady of Laeken built in 1275  and her remains were buried there. To honor the memory of his wife, Leopold I, King of the Belgians conceived the idea of a new and larger church at Laeken. There has been a house of worship on this site since around 800.  In 1275, the original chapel was replaced by a church in the Gothic style called the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

By royal decree on October 14, 1850, the government authorized the construction of the new church and organized a competition for the design of the new church. There were only two stipulations for the design, the church should be able to hold 2,000 people and its price should not exceed 800,000 francs. In 1852, the jury decided upon a neo-gothic design by Joseph Poelaert, a 34-year-old architect.  The German architect Friedrich von Schmidt designed the portal and the 99-meter-high tower.

The choir of the old Church of Our Lady of Laeken, now a chapel, in the center in the Laeken Cemetery; Credit – Par EmDee — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48239336

King Leopold I laid the foundation stone for the new church in 1854 and in 1872 the church was consecrated but it was not fully completed until 1909 because of a long interruption of work. In 1894, the old church was demolished due to its state of disrepair. However, the choir of the old church was preserved and has survived as a chapel in the center of the adjacent Laeken Cemetery.

Both Louise-Marie who died in 1850 and Leopold who died in 1865 were first buried at the old Church of Our Lady of Laeken.  On April 20, 1876, their remains were interred in the royal crypt at the new Church of Our Lady of Laeken. All the monarchs, all their consorts, and some other members of the Belgian royal family have been buried at the neo-gothic Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium, the burial church of the Belgian royal family, built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, the second wife of Belgium’s first king Leopold I.

Interior of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken; Photo © – Susan Flantzer

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Royal Burials

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Entrance to the Royal Crypt; Photo © Susan Flantzer

The crypt is located under the main altar. Two staircases on either side behind the main altar lead down to the crypt. At the foot of the stairs, just in front of the carved oak doors of the entrance to the crypt, is a mosaic depicting the nine coats of arms of the Belgian provinces.

Tomb of Leopold I, King of the Belgians and Queen Louise-Marie; Credit – Door Michel wal – Eigen werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7758486

In the center of the crypt is the large, white tomb of Leopold I, King of the Belgians and his second wife Queen Louise-Marie, topped by a royal crown with four mourning figures draped in black at the four corners.

Royal Crypt; Credit – Wikipedia

Surrounding the tomb of Leopold I and Louise-Marie are the tombs of Leopold I’s successors and their spouses. The niches in the wall house the coffins of other members of the royal family, such as Prince Charles, Duke of Flanders, Regent of Belgium, and other princes and princesses. A very nice touch that this writer observed was the framed photographs on the tombs.

Tomb of King Leopold III of Belgium, his first wife Queen Astrid, and his second wife Princess Lilian with their framed photos; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Graves of (left to right) Crown Prince Louis Philippe, Empress Carlota of Mexico who was born Princess Charlotte of Belgium, and Prince Leopold of Liechtenstein with empty grave niches awaiting burials in the crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken; Credit – www.findagrave.com

The management of the burial crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken is under the direct authority of the Belgian monarch who manages the burial crypt on behalf of the members of the Belgian royal family. The Belgian government has no authority over the burial crypt. The Belgian monarch decides who will be allowed burial in the royal crypt and where they will be buried.

In 1927, Albert I, King of the Belgians allowed the burial of his aunt Empress Carlota of Mexico in the royal crypt. Empress Carlota was born Princess Charlotte of Belgium, the daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, and the wife of Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who, as the ill-fated Emperor of Mexico, was executed by a firing squad. Under the laws of the Austrian House of Habsburg, Empress Carlota was to be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria.

Although the tombs are designed for two remains, the tomb of King Leopold III contains three remains. King Leopold III ordered that his second wife Princess Lilian would be buried in his tomb upon her death, and this order was carried out by his son Albert II, King of the Belgians.

Baudouin, King of the Belgians allowed Prince Leopold of Liechtenstein, stillborn on May 20, 1984, in Brussels, Belgium, the son of his niece Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and her husband Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, to be buried in the royal crypt although he was not a member of the Belgian royal family. 

The following are interred in the royal crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken. Note that Leopold III was styled as Leopold III, King of the Belgians from 1934 – 1951. After his abdication in 1951, he was styled King Leopold III of Belgium and that is how he is referred to below.

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Church of Our Lady of Laeken – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady_of_Laeken> [Accessed 19 July 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2012. Belgian Royal Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/belgian-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 19 July 2021].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2021. Église Notre-Dame de Laeken — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Notre-Dame_de_Laeken> [Accessed 19 July 2021].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Laken) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk_(Laken)> [Accessed 19 July 2021].
  • The Belgian Monarchy. 2021. Royal Crypt in Laeken | The Belgian Monarchy. [online] Available at: <https://www.monarchie.be/en/heritage/royal-crypt-in-laeken> [Accessed 19 July 2021].
  • Unofficial Royalty. 2021. Kingdom of Belgium Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-articles-index/belgian-royals-index/> [Accessed 19 July 2021].

Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg in Brussels, Belgium

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg; Credit – By EmDee – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17166498

The Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg is a Roman Catholic church in the Place Royale, a historic square near the center of Brussels, Belgium. It is named for Saint James the Greater, one of the twelve Apostles, who is styled “the Greater” to distinguish him from another Apostle, James “the Less”, with greater meaning older or taller, rather than more important.

It is the church with the first connection to the Belgian royal family. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, stood on the cathedral steps when he took the oath that made him Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831. Since the reign of Albert I, King of the Belgians, most baptisms of monarchs’ children have occurred at the Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg. However, the christenings of the children of Philippe, King of the Belgians all took place in the chapel at Ciergnon Castle in Houyet, Namur, Belgium, one of the favorite summer residences of the Belgian royal family. Several funerals for members of the Belgian royal family have also taken place at the Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg. Located close to the Royal Palace of Brussels, the cathedral is the parish church of the Royal Palace.

The interior of the Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg; Credit – By IDD5000 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20251585

Originally the Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg Abbey, an Augustinian abbey, was on the site of the present cathedral. During the development of the Place Royale between 1776 and 1781, the abbey was demolished and the Cathedral of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg was built. Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, laid the cornerstone on February 12, 1776. The Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg was the official church of the court of the Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands and served as an abbey church and a parish church.

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July 21, 1831: The Constitutional Oath of Leopold I, King of the Belgians

Leopold I, King of the Belgians takes the constitutional oath on the steps of the Cathedral of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Belgium has been a country only since 1830. In August 1830, the southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands rebelled against Dutch rule. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new country. On April 22, 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was asked by the Belgian National Congress if he wanted to be king of the new country. Leopold swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution on July 21, 1831, and became the first King of the Belgians. Each year July 21 is celebrated as Belgian National Day.

The accession ceremony took place at the Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg. A stand was erected on the cathedral steps surrounded by the names of revolutionaries who died in the Belgian Revolution. After remarks from government leaders and the reading of the entire Belgian Constitution, Leopold, dressed in the uniform of a Belgian lieutenant-general, took the constitutional oath, as stated at the time in Article 80 of the Belgian Constitution, in French: “Je jure d’observer la constitution et les lois du peuple belge, the maintenir l’indépendance nationale et l’intégrité du territoire.” (Translation: “I swear that I will abide by the Constitution and the laws of the Belgian people, maintain the country’s independence and preserve the integrity of the territory.”

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Royal Baptisms

The future Albert II, King of the Belgians being carried into the Cathedral of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg for his baptism. He is followed by his father Leopold III, King of the Belgians and mother Queen Astrid, his elder sister Princess Joséphine-Charlotte and elder brother Prince Baudouin

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Royal Funerals

The coffin of King Leopold III of Belgium leaving the Cathedral of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg; Credit – https://royalwatcherblog.com/2018/10/06/funeral-of-king-leopold-iii-of-belgium-1983/

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg> [Accessed 18 July 2021].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2021. Cathédrale Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3%A9drale_Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg> [Accessed 18 July 2021].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Intrede van Leopold I in België – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrede_van_Leopold_I_in_Belgi%C3%AB> [Accessed 18 July 2021].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg> [Accessed 18 July 2021].
  • Paroisse-militaire-saint-jacques-sur-coudenberg.be. 2021. Eglise Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg | Paroisse royale – Cathédrale du diocèse aux forces armées. [online] Available at: <https://paroisse-militaire-saint-jacques-sur-coudenberg.be/fr/accueil/> [Accessed 18 July 2021].

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula; Credit – By I, Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4789498

While the construction of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, a Roman Catholic Church in Brussels, Belgium, which this writer has visited, began in 1226, its connection with the Kingdom of Belgium is short because Belgium has been a country only since 1830. In August 1830, the southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands rebelled against Dutch rule. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new country. On April 22, 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was asked by the Belgian National Congress if he wanted to be king of the new country. Leopold swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution on July 21, 1831, and became the first King of the Belgians. Under the Belgian Constitution, the Belgian monarch is styled “King/Queen of the Belgians” to reflect that the monarch is “of the Belgian people.”

The various predecessor states of the Kingdom of Belgium whose royalty also used the cathedral will be noticed below in the listing of royal events that occurred at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula over the centuries. Before 1830, going back to the twelfth century, the predecessor states of Belgium were:

  • Duchy of Brabant – a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the core of the historic Low Countries. It was part of the Burgundian Netherlands and the Habsburg Netherlands. Today, the title of Duke or Duchess of Brabant is the title of the heir apparent to the Belgium throne.
  • Burgundian Netherlands (1384 – 1482) – Holy Roman Empire and French fiefs ruled in personal union by the Dukes of Burgundy of the House of Valois-Burgundy and later by their Habsburg heirs.
  • Habsburg Netherlands (1482 – 1797) is the collective name of Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire’s House of Habsburg.
    • Spanish Netherlands (1556 – 1714) – was the name for the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714
    • Austrian Netherlands (1714 – 1797) – was the name for the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by Governors from the Austrian House of Habsburg. It existed from the end of the Spanish War of Succession in 1714 until the conquest by French revolutionary troops and the annexation to the French Republic in 1797.
  • France (1797 – 1815) – France took over the Austrian Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars.
  • Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815 – 1830) – After the defeat of Napoleon, Willem V, Prince of Orange, urged on by the powers who met at the Congress of Vienna, proclaimed the Netherlands a monarchy on March 16, 1815. The new United Kingdom of the Netherlands consisted of territories that had belonged to the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège

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Credit – Door SMYRKINNE – Eigen werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16769142

The current Belgian royal family has used the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula for weddings and funerals but not for burials. All the monarchs, all the consorts, and some other members of the Belgian royal family have been buried at the neo-gothic Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium. The church was built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, wife of Belgium’s first monarch King Leopold I. Since the reign of Albert I, King of the Belgians, most royal baptisms have been held at the Church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg in Brussels. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld stood on the steps Church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg when he took the oath that made him Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above: Statues of Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Gudula in the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula; Credit – Wikipedia

The patron saints of the church, Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, are also the patron saints of the City of Brussels. Saint Michael is the familiar Saint Michael the Archangel. A local female saint, Saint Gudula of Brabant, was born circa 646 in Brabant in present-day Belgium and died between 680 and 714. The cathedral stands on what was Treurenberg Hill in Brussels where there was a crossroads of two important old roads – Flanders to Cologne and Antwerp to Brussels. A chapel to St. Michael was built on Treurenberg Hill in the ninth century and was replaced by a Romanesque church in the eleventh century. In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Louvain and his wife Oda of Verdun founded a canon, a community of non-monastic clergy, in honor of Saint Gudula. Lambert arranged for the relics of St. Gudula to be transferred from another church in Brussels. From that time, the church became known as the Collegiate Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula.

Interior of the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula; Photo © Susan Flantzer

In 1200, under Henri I, Duke of Brabant, the church was restored and enlarged. However, in 1226, Henri II, Duke of Brabant decided to build a new Gothic-style church. The choir was constructed between 1226 – 1276. The nave and transept date from the 14th and 16th centuries. The façade and the two towers were built from 1470 – 1485. The new church was completed in 1519. Several chapels were added in the 16th and 17th centuries. Restoration work was carried out in the 19th century and further restoration occurred from 1983 – 1999.

Detail of the painting Pastoral Instruction, showing the church with the north tower still incomplete, c. 1480; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 6, 1579, the church was pillaged by the Protestant Geuzen, a group of Calvinist Dutch nobles, and Saint Gudula’s relics were scattered and lost. In February 1962, the church was given cathedral status, and since then it has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.

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Please note, the lists below may not be complete.

Royal Baptisms

The baptism of Louis-Philippe of Belgium, son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

  • 1480: Margaret of Austria – daughter of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right (daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy) and Maximilian of Austria, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
  • 1498: Eleanor of Austria – daughter of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy (son of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy and Maximilian of Austria, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor) and Juana I, Queen of Castile, Queen of Aragon
  • 1833: Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium – son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, died before his first birthday

Royal Weddings

Wedding of the future Albert II, King of the Belgians and Paola Ruffo di Calabri

Royal Funerals

The royal families of Belgium and Luxembourg pray during the funeral mass for Baudouin, King of the Belgians. From left to right: Prince Laurent of Belgium, Prince Philippe of Belgium, Queen Paola of the Belgians, Baudouin’s brother King Albert II of the Belgians, Baudouin’s widow Queen Fabiola in white, Baudouin’s sister Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Princess Astrid of Belgium

Royal Burials

Tomb of Archduke Ernst of Austria; Credit – By PMRMaeyaert – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17308156

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Cathedralisbruxellensis.be. 2021. Brussels Cathedral | Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. [online] Available at: <https://www.cathedralisbruxellensis.be/en/> [Accessed 17 July 2021].
  • Commons.wikimedia.org. 2021. Category:Tombs in the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula – Wikimedia Commons. [online] Available at: <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tombs_in_the_Cathedral_of_St._Michael_and_St._Gudula> [Accessed 17 July 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_St._Michael_and_St._Gudula> [Accessed 17 July 2021].
  • Findagrave.com. 2021. Memorials in Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula – Find A Grave. [online] Available at: <https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/639544/memorial-search?page=1#sr-19231> [Accessed 17 July 2021].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2021. Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule de Bruxelles — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3%A9drale_Saints-Michel-et-Gudule_de_Bruxelles> [Accessed 17 July 2021].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2021. Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathedraal_van_Sint-Michiel_en_Sint-Goedele> [Accessed 17 July 2021].

Ancestors of Philippe, King of the Belgians

compiled by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Credit – Wikipedia

Philippe, King of the Belgians has the typical royal pedigree from his father’s side of the family. From his mother’s side, there is a lot of Italian nobility with a smattering of Belgian and French ancestors.

The last person on the lists below, Adrienne Jenny Florimonde de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg, one of Philippe’s great-great-great-grandmothers, is the granddaughter of Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Better known as just Lafayette in the United States, Philippe’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles. After returning to France, he was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Lafayette is known as “The Hero of the Two Worlds” for his service to both France and the United States.

Parents, Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Great-Great-Grandparents, and Great-Great-Great-Grandparents of Philippe, King of the Belgians (born April 15, 1960)

The links below are from Unofficial Royalty,  Wikipedia, Leo’s Genealogics Website, or The Peerage.

Parents

Embed from Getty Images 
Philippe with his parents

Grandparents

Philippe’s paternal grandparents Leopold III and Astrid, King and Queen of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Grandparents

Great-grandparents Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Through their daughters Märtha and Astrid, they are the ancestors of the current royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Grandparents

Great-great-grandparents King Oscar II of Sweden and Princess Sophia of Nassau; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Great-Grandparents

Great-Great-Great-Grandparents King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. They are the ancestors of six of the ten current European royal families: Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom and two former monarchies Greece and Romania; Credit – Wikipedia

Sources:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Princess Delphine of Belgium

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

HRH Princess Delphine of Belgium – formerly known as Delphine Boël – is the illegitimate daughter of King Albert II of Belgium and his longtime mistress, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps.

Delphine and her daughter in 2008; photo: By Luc Van Braekel – https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucvanbraekel/2407637011/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26839140

Delphine Boël was born in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium on February 22, 1968, the daughter of Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps and the then-Prince of Liège (the future Albert II, King of the Belgians). Sybille and Albert had begun an affair in around 1964 which reportedly continued until 1982.  At the time of Delphine’s birth, Sybille was married to Jacques Boël, who was listed on the birth certificate as the child’s father. Her parents divorced in 1978, and four years later, her mother remarried. At that time, Delphine and her mother moved to London.

Delphine’s mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, in a television interview in 2013. source: VRT News

Delphine attended the Institut le Rosey – an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland – before enrolling at the Chelsea School of Art and Design in London, graduating with a degree in Fine Arts. She has worked as an artist for many years and has had numerous exhibitions of her work in Europe.

In 2003, Delphine married James O’Hare, an American, and the couple had two children, who are now a Prince and Princess of Belgium:

  • Princess Joséphine of Belgium (born 2003)
  • Prince Oscar of Belgium (born 2008)

Having had several exhibitions of her work in Belgium already, Delphine and her family moved to Brussels in 2003. It was then that her public profile began to rise again – both because of her art and her alleged relationship to King Albert.

In 1999, in a biography of Queen Paola, the first public allegation was made of Sybille’s affair with King Albert and the subsequent birth of their daughter. The Belgian royal court quickly dismissed the report as “gossip”, but King Albert seemed to refer to the situation later that year. In his Christmas message, he spoke of a “crisis” in his marriage some thirty years earlier that they had overcome, but of which they had been recently reminded. That would be the last public statement on the matter for many years.

Albert, Prince of Liege, c1964. source: Wikipedia

In May 2005, Delphine stated in an interview that she was King Albert’s daughter, having been told this by her mother when she reached the age of 18. She said that the future King had continued his relationship with her mother until around 1982 when he abruptly ended things and cut off all contact with them. She also alleged that when she and her mother moved to England, Albert thought about divorcing his wife and joining them, but Sybille was against the idea due to the impact it would have on Albert and his future role in the monarchy.

In June 2013, Delphine filed a lawsuit to prove, through DNA testing, that she was King Albert’s biological child. The King was named in the suit, however, he had complete immunity from prosecution at the time, so she also named two of his legitimate children – Philippe and Astrid. When the King abdicated in September of that year, she withdrew the suit against Philippe and Astrid, now being able to file against the former King. In 2017, her claim was initially rejected, but that was overturned in October 2018 by the Court of Appeal. Based on DNA testing, it was proven that Jacques Boël was not her father, thus furthering her claims. The former King was instructed to provide a DNA sample, but he appealed that ruling. Again, the Court of Appeal upheld the order in May 2019 and imposed a fine of €5,000 per day until King Albert complied. Within weeks, a DNA sample was provided for testing, and in January 2020, the former King finally acknowledged that he was Delphine’s biological father, as proven by the DNA testing.

On October 1, 2020, the Belgian Court of Appeal ruled that Delphine and her children are entitled to the style and title of HRH Prince/Princess of Belgium, and can use the former King’s surname of Saxe-Coburg. In addition, she is legally entitled to inherit one-quarter of the former King’s estate – a share equal to that of his three legitimate children. She is still considered illegitimate (born out of wedlock) and as such, Delphine and her descendants are not in the line of succession to the Belgian throne.

Princess Delphine and Philippe, King of the Belgians meet for the first time; Credit – Belgian Monarchy Facebook

On October 9, 2020, Princess Delphine met her half-brother Philippe, King of the Belgians for the first time at Laeken Castle, the king’s residence. A common message from King Philippe and Princess Delphine was posted on Facebook: “This Friday, October 9th, we met for the first time at Laeken Castle. Our meeting was warm. We had the opportunity to get to know each other during a long and rich exchange that allowed us to talk about each other’s lives and shared interests. This bond will now develop in a family setting.”

A photo made available by the Belgian Royal Palace of Queen Paola, King Albert, and Princess Delphine; Credit – Belgium Royal Palace

On October 25, 2020, King Albert and his wife Queen Paola met with Princess Delphine for the first time since she was recognized as a royal at Belvédère Castle in Brussels. A joint statement by all three was released: “On Sunday, October 25, a new chapter began, filled with emotions, appeasement, understanding and also of hope. Our meeting took place at Belvédère Castle, a meeting during which each of us was able to express our feelings and experiences serenely and with empathy. After the turmoil, suffering, and hurt, it is time for forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. Together we decided to take this new path. This will take patience and effort, but we are determined.”

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Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Mistress of King Albert II of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps was the mistress of the future King Albert II of the Belgians from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s. Their child, Delphine Boël, now Her Royal Highness Princess Delphine of Belgium, is well-known to many for having pursued legal acknowledgment of her parentage. This was finally received in early 2020.

Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps in a television interview in 2013. source: VRT News

Sybille was born on August 28, 1941, in Uccle, Belgium, the second child of Count Michel François de Selys Longchamps and Countess Pauline Cornet de Ways-Ruart. Her father had served valiantly in the Belgian military and was active in the resistance during World War II. He later served as Belgian Ambassador to numerous countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, and the United States. She had five siblings:

  • Michel (1938) – married Florence van den Perre
  • Anne-Michèle (1942) – married Barn Henry van der Straeten Waillet
  • Jean-Patrick (1944) – married Margaret de Brouwer
  • Daniel (1946) – unmarried
  • Nathalie (1951) – married Guy Verhaeghe de Naeyer

In 1962, Sybille married Jonkheer Jacques Boël, a wealthy industrialist. About four years later, Sybille first met the future King Albert (then Prince of Liège) in Athens, Greece, where her father was serving as Ambassador, and Albert and his wife were on holiday. Several months later, she was invited to a dinner and seated right next to him. Soon, the two began an affair that reportedly lasted until around 1982. In 1968, Sybille gave birth to a daughter – Delphine – who was registered as the daughter of Jacques Boël.

Albert of Belgium, c1964. source: Wikipedia

Despite their marriages, Sybille and Albert maintained their relationship for many years, and according to Delphine years later, Albert even considered divorcing his wife but Sybille talked him out of it. For reasons unknown, Albert reportedly ended their affair somewhat abruptly in 1982, ending all contact with Sybille and their daughter. By then, Sybille had divorced her first husband (in 1978), and in 1982 she remarried to the Honourable Michael-Anthony Rathbone Cayzer, a younger son of Herbert Cayzer, 1st Baron Rocherwick. Sybille and her daughter then lived in England until Cayzer’s death in 1990. Since then, she has split her time between Belgium and Provence.

In 1999, in a biography of Queen Paola, the first public allegation was made of Sybille’s affair with Albert and the subsequent birth of their daughter. The Belgian royal court quickly dismissed the report as “gossip”, but later that year, the King seemed to make reference to the situation. In his Christmas message, he spoke of a “crisis” in his marriage some 30 years earlier that they had overcome, but of which they had been recently reminded. That would be the last public statement on the matter for many years.

Having spoken publicly about the matter for several years, in June 2013, Delphine filed a lawsuit asking that King Albert and two of his legitimate children provide DNA samples in order to prove her lineage. In September of that year, Sybille appeared on a television program entitled “Our Daughter is Called Delphine”, in which she detailed her relationship with the King and the birth of their child together.

Delphine Boël. photo: By Luc Van Braekel – https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucvanbraekel/2407637011/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26839140

By March 2017, the courts had dismissed Delphine’s lawsuit. But she continued to pursue the matter, and after Jacques Boël was proven to not be her father, a Belgian court instructed the now-former King Albert to provide a DNA sample. Albert appealed the ruling, unsuccessfully, and was assessed with a fine of €5,000 per day until he cooperated. Soon, he did provide a sample, and in January 2020, it was made public that the test had proven that he was, in fact, Delphine’s biological father.  In October 2020, the Belgian Court of Appeal ruled that Delphine is entitled to the title of Princess of Belgium as well as the style of Royal Highness.  This also applies to her children.  She is also entitled to inherit one-quarter of the former King’s estate – a share equal to those of his legitimate children.

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Caroline Lacroix, Mistress of King Leopold II of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Caroline Lacroix was the royal mistress of King Leopold II of the Belgians from 1900 until his death in 1909. She was just sixteen years old when their relationship began, while the King was nearly fifty years her senior.

source: Wikipedia

Blanche Zélia Joséphine Delacroix – later known as Caroline Lacroix – was born in Bucharest, Romania on May 13, 1883, the 13th child of Jules Delacroix and Catherine Josephine Sebille. By the time she was in her mid-teens, she was the mistress of a former French army officer, Antoine-Emmanuel Durrieux, who often arranged from Caroline to provide ‘company’ to other wealthy men, in order to support themselves. It was through these encounters that she caught the attention of King Leopold II of the Belgians.

King Leopold II. source: Wikipedia

The king sent a messenger to arrange a meeting with Caroline which apparently went well enough that the King asked Caroline to accompany him on a trip to Austria. Just sixteen years old at the time, Caroline was far from discreet about her new relationship with the King. It quickly became public knowledge and was discussed widely in the Belgian media. She frequently accompanied Leopold on his travels – including accompanying him to London in 1901 for the funeral of Queen Victoria. Following the death of his wife, Queen Marie Henriette in 1902, Leopold arranged for Caroline to move into Villa Van der Borght, just outside the grounds of the Royal Palace of Laeken. He even had a footbridge built so he could easily visit her there on a regular basis.  The couple had two sons together:

  • Lucien Philippe Marie Antoine ( 1906 –1984), Duke of Tervuren
  • Philippe Henri Marie François (1907 – 1914), Count of Ravenstein

At the time of Lucien’s birth, Leopold granted Caroline the title Baroness de Vaughan, and both sons were given courtesy titles as well. However, these were never formally granted by royal decree, making them strictly honorary titles. Both sons’ births were registered in France with only Caroline’s name.

Caroline with her two sons, c1908. source: Wikipedia

During their relationship, the King lavished Caroline with gifts – including several residences. In addition to Villa Van der Borght in Laeken, he also purchased the Villa Les Cédres in Cap Ferrat 1904 for Caroline to use, and in 1908 he bought and gifted her the Château de Balincourt in northern France. In addition to these, she also had use of Villa Leopolda, a sprawling villa that Leopold had built on the French Riviera in 1902.

In addition to these various homes, Caroline also received gifts of clothes and jewels and amassed a significant fortune. And Caroline was known to boast about her newfound wealth, often claiming that her sons would be more wealthy than the richest men in England.

Sensing his impending death, on December 12, 1909, the King and Caroline were married in a religious ceremony at the Palace of Laeken. However, no civil ceremony was held – a requirement under Belgian law – and the marriage was not deemed legal. Five days later, King Leopold died, with Caroline and their two sons by his side.

Château de Balincourt. photo: by Chatsam – personal work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38501219

Knowing she would no longer be welcome within the Belgian royal family, Caroline quickly moved on with her life. Just seven months after Leopold’s death, she married her former lover, Antoine-Emmanuel Durrieux, who helped her negotiate through the financial arrangements left for her by the King. Durrieux adopted her two sons, but the marriage soon ended.

She then lived a more quiet life – often in the company of her elder son, and spending time at her various homes around Europe. In 1937, she published her memoirs, and on February 12, 1948, she died in Cambo-les-Bains, France. She is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.

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Arcadie Claret, Mistress of King Leopold I of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Arcadie Claret was the mistress of King Leopold I of the Belgians from around 1842 until the King’s death in 1865.

Arcadie Claret, Baroness von Eppinghoven. source: Wikipedia

Marie Anne Arcadie Eugénie Claret was born in Brussels on May 30, 1826, one of thirteen children of Major Charles-Joseph Claret and Henriette Neetesonne. Her father was a veteran of Napoleon’s army and the treasurer of the Ministry of War’s Fund for Widows and Orphans of the Belgian Army.

Leopold I of the Belgians. source: Wikipedia

Arcadie was just in her late teens when she became the mistress of King Leopold I. The King moved her into a grand house in Saint-Josse-ten-Node near Brussels, where he visited often. Because their relationship became publicly known and widely discussed in the press, Leopold arranged a marriage between Arcadie and Ferdinand Meyer, his Master of the Stable and friend. This marriage of convenience took place in 1845, and provided some relief from the intense speculation about Arcadie and her relationship with Leopold. Arcadie and Leopold had two sons together, although both were registered as the children of her husband, and given the surname Meyer:

Georg Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven. source: Wikipedia

  • Georg Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven (November 14, 1849-February 3, 1904) – born at the monastery of Saint-Joseph des Filles de la Croix in Liège, served as an officer in the Prussian Army. He and his wife, Anna Brust (a former chambermaid of his mother’s), had three children. They lived primarily at the family farm in Langenfeld before his death in Monheim in 1904.

Arthur Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven. source: Wikipedia

  • Arthur Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven (September 25, 1852 – November 9, 1940) – born at the Château de Stuyvenberg Laken, served as Grand Marshal of the Grand Ducal Court of Coburg. He and his wife, Anna Harris, had one daughter. After the fall of the German monarchies in 1918, he returned to Belgium, formally changing his surname to von Eppinghoven, and took Belgian citizenship. He received some financial support from his half-nephew, King Albert I of the Belgians, and is buried near the Royal Crypt in the cemetery of Laeken.

The subject of intense criticism following the birth of her first child, Arcadie left Belgium in late 1850, just days before King Leopold’s wife, Queen Louise Marie, died. After living for a year in Germany, Arcadie returned to Belgium in the fall of 1851, determined to maintain a much more discreet profile. With financial help from Leopold, she purchased the Château de Stuyvenberg for 80,000 francs, just steps from the Palace of Laeken. Over the next few years, she had the Château enlarged to provide a home for her mother and several siblings as well as her own family. Here, the King would often visit each day, enjoying a quiet family life with Arcadie and their sons.

In addition to purchasing Stuyvenberg, Arcadie also received a farmhouse in Monheim, Germany, from the King in 1851. A modest residence – originally an abbey farm named Eppinghoven – Arcadie soon had a more substantial castle built in its place. Following the King’s death, she would spend the remainder of her life there.

Château de Stuyvenberg. source: Wikipedia

In 1862, a year after Arcadie and her husband formally separated, the King sought to secure the future of their sons. His attempts to have them elevated to the Belgian nobility were denied by the government, so he instead asked his nephew, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to establish noble titles within the Coburg nobility. Both George and Arthur were created Baron von Eppinghoven in 1862, and the following year, Arcadie was also elevated to Baroness von Eppinghoven. And in 1870, Arcadie purchased a farm – the Langfort Domain – in Langenfeld for her sons – once again with the help of King Leopold and his generosity.

During the relationship, which lasted over 20 years, Arcadie and King Leopold were devoted to each other. She often accompanied him on his travels and visits abroad and maintained a very peaceful and quiet home for the King when in Belgium. Stuyvenberg became a refuge for him from the stresses of his role.

Following the King’s death in December 1865, Arcadie no longer found herself no longer welcome within the royal family. Within days of his death, she and her sons left Brussels and settled at her castle in Monheim. Despite leaving, she maintained ownership of Stuyvenberg for the next 24 years before finally selling it – through an intermediary – to King Leopold II who later transferred it to the Royal Trust.

Arcadie Claret Meyer, Baroness von Eppinghoven, lived a quiet and private life in Monheim for the next 31 years before passing away there on January 13, 1897.

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First Cousins: Philippe, King of the Belgians

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Philippe, King of the Belgians (born 1960)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

Philippe, King of the Belgians was born on April 15, 1960, at the Château du Belvédère in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium. He was the eldest of the three children and the elder of the two sons of Albert II, King of the Belgians and Paola Ruffo di Calabria. His father Albert II was the second of the two sons and the youngest of the three children of Leopold III, King of the Belgians and his first wife Princess Astrid of Sweden. His mother Paola Ruffo di Calabria came from an Italian noble family. She was the seventh and youngest child of World War I Italian flying ace Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and Countess Luisa Gazelli dei Conti de Rossana e di Sebastiano. Philippe married Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz and had two daughters and two sons. He became King of the Belgians on July 21, 2013, upon the abdication of his father King Albert II.

Philippe has 25 first cousins. He shares his first cousins with his siblings Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este and Prince Laurent of Belgium.

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King Philippe’s Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Leopold III, King of the Belgians and his first wife Princess Astrid of Sweden

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King Philippe’s Paternal Half Aunts and Uncles: Children of King Leopold III of the Belgians and his second wife Lilian Baels

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King Philippe’s Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and Countess Luisa Gazelli dei Conti de Rossana e di Sebastiano

  • Maria Cristina Ruffo di Calabria (1920–2003), married (1) Casimiro San Martino d´Aglie dei Marchesi di San Germano, had issue;  (2) Count Ernesto Rossi di Montelera, had issue
  • Laura Ruffo di Calabria (1921–1972), married Bettino, Baron Ricasoli Firidolfi, 31th Baron of Brolio, had issue
  • Fabrizio, Prince Ruffo di Calabria-Santapau, 13th Prince of Palazzolo, 14th Prince of Scilla, 7th Duke of Guardia Lombarda, 13th Marquis of Scilla and 18th Count of Sinopoli (1922–2005), married Maria Vaciago, had issue
  • Augusto Ruffo di Calabria (1925–1943), unmarried, killed in battle at sea during World War II, unmarried
  • Giovannella Ruffo di Calabria (1927–1941), unmarried
  • Antonello Ruffo di Calabria (1930–2017), married Rosa Maria Mastrogiovanni Tasca, had issue

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium and Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg

Embed from Getty Images 
Princess Marie Astrid with her husband

Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg, Archduchess of Austria (born 1954)

Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg married Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, a grandson of the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Karl I. The couple had two daughters and three daughters. Marie Astrid earned her certification as a registered nurse with a specialized certificate in tropical medicine.

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Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (born 1955)

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg has been the reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg since the abdication of his father Grand Duke Jean in 2000. Henri married Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista-Falla who was born in Havana, Cuba, and they have four sons and one daughter.

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Credit – www.zimbio.com

Prince Jean of Luxembourg (born 1957)

Prince Jean of Luxembourg is the twin brother of Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg. A year after having a child, Prince Jean and Hélène Vestur married. At the time of their child’s birth, Jean gave up his succession rights.  Jean and Hélène had a total of four children. Hélène and her children took the surname ‘de Nassau’ with no royal style or title. They were later raised to Count/Countess de Nassau. Grand Duke Henri elevated the children to Prince/Princess of Nassau, with the style of Royal Highness. However, Jean’s children do not have any succession rights. After seventeen years of marriage, Jean and Hélène divorced. Jean made a second marriage with Diane de Guerre. She holds the title of Countess de Nassau. They have no children.

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Credit – www.zimbio.com

Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, Princess of Liechtenstein (born 1957)

Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg is the twin sister of Prince Jean of Luxembourg. She married Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, the third son of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein and Countess Georgina von Wilczek, and a younger brother of the currently reigning Prince Hans-Adam II. The marriage of Margaretha and Nikolaus would be the last between two reigning royal houses in Europe. The couple had four children.

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Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (born 1963)

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg married Sibilla Weiller y Torlonia, a distant cousin. Sibilla, a descendant of Queen Victoria through her daughter Princess Beatrice, is a granddaughter of Infanta Beatriz of Spain and a second cousin to King Felipe VI of Spain. Guillaume and Sibilla had four children.

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Paternal Half First Cousins: Children of Princess Marie-Esmerelda of Belgium and Salvador Moncada)

Embed from Getty Images
Princess Esmeralda of Belgium with her husband Salvador Moncada with their children Leopoldo and Alexandra
  • Alexandra Léopoldine Moncada (born 1998)
  • Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (born 2001)

Alexandra and Leopoldo’s mother Princess Marie-Esmerelda of Belgium was the daughter of Leopold III, King of the Belgians and his second wife Lilian Baels. Lilian and Leopold married in a religious ceremony held in the chapel at the Palace of Laeken in 1941. The couple planned to hold a civil ceremony after the war, but instead held it in December of the same year, after discovering that they were expecting a child. There were several issues with the marriage which further damaged Leopold’s reputation with the Belgian people. First, the order of the ceremonies went against Belgian law, which states that a civil ceremony must take place before a religious one. Secondly, many Belgians felt that the marriage sullied the memory of Leopold’s first wife, their beloved Queen Astrid who had died in a car accident at the age of 29. Following the marriage, Lilian was given the title Princess de Réthy and was not styled as Queen. It was also decided that any children would be Prince/Princess of Belgium, but without any rights of succession. Leopold and Lilian had three children.

Alexandra and Leopoldo are not in the Belgian line of succession and are not considered members of the Belgian Royal Family. They are private citizens and do not perform any royal functions. Their father Sir Salvador Moncada is a Honduran-British pharmacologist and they have lived in Belgian, Honduras and the United Kingdom.

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Children of Maria Cristina Ruffo di Calabria and Casimiro San Martino d´Aglie dei Marchesi di San Germano

  • Emanuela San Martino d’Agliè married Count Ernesto Rossi di Montelera, had four daughters
  • Antonella San Martino d’Agliè married Count Ippolito Calvi di Bergolo Rocca Saporiti, had one son
  • Giovanna San Martino d’Aglie (born 1945) married Alvaro de Orléans-Borbón y Parodi Delfino (son of Infante Alvaro de Orléans-Borbón, Duke of Galliera and Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria), divorced, had one daughter and two sons
  • Nicolo San Martino d’Aglie (born 1948) married (1) Princess Catherine Napoléon (daughter of Louis, Prince Napoléon), divorced, no children (2) Nobile Anna Maria Gazzana Priaroggia, had three sons and one daughter
  • Filippo San Martino d’Agile di San Germano (born 1953) married Cristina Maria Margherita Flesia. had two sons

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Laura Ruffo di Calabria and Bettino, Baron Ricasoli Firidolfi, 31th Baron of Brolio

  • Andrea Ricasoli Firidolfi Zanchini Marsuppini Acciaiuoli Salviati (1948 – 1982)
  • Luisa Ricasoli Firidolfi Zanchini Marsuppini Acciaiuoli Salviati (born 1950) married Carlo Lodovico Bicocchi, had three daughters
  • Maria Teresa Ricasoli Firidolfi Zanchini Marsuppini Acciaiuoli Salviati (born 1954) married Roberto Giunta, had two daughters
  • Giovanni Francesco Ricasoli Firidolfi Zanchini, (born 1956) married Eva Holmstrom, had one daughter

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Fabrizio, Prince Ruffo di Calabria-Santapau and Maria Vaciago

  • Fulco IX, Prince Ruffo di Calabria (1954), Head of the House of Ruffo di Calabria, married and divorced Melba Vincens Bello and then married for a second time to Luisa Tricarico.
  • Augusto Ruffo di Calabria (born 1955) married Princess Christiana zu Windisch-Graetz and had two daughters and one son.
  • Imara Ruffo di Calabria (born 1958) married (1) Uberto Imar Gashe, had one daughter, divorced (2) Baron Marco Tonci Ottieri della Ciaia, had one son
  • Umberto Ruffo di Calabria (born 1960) married Leontina, Marchesa Pallavicini and had one son and one daughter
  • Alessandro Ruffo di Calabria (born 1964) married (1) Princess Mafalda of Savoy-Aosta, divorced (2) Marzia Palau

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Antonello Ruffo di Calabria and Rosa Maria Mastrogiovanni Tasca

  • Covella Ruffo di Calabria (born 1962)
  • Lucio Ruffo di Calabria (born 1964)
  • Domitilla Ruffo di Calabria (born 1965) married Don Giovanni dei Baroni Porcari Li Destri and had one son and one daughter.
  • Claudia Ruffo di Calabria (born 1969) married Marcello Salom.

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Lundy, D. (2019). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2019). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
  • Wikipedia. (2019). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/.  (for biographical and genealogy information)