by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

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.

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.

• The Belgian Monarchy: Royal Crypt in Laeken

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Royal Burials

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.

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.

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.

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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.

• 1869: Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant – eldest son and heir of Leopold II, King of the Belgians, fell into a pond, caught pneumonia, and died at age nine
• 1871: Princess Joséphine Marie of Belgium – infant daughter of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders
• 1891: Prince Baudouin of Belgium – eldest son of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, was a potential King of the Belgians because his uncle Leopold II, King of the Belgians had no sons, died from influenza at age 21
• 1876 (buried): Louise-Marie of Orléans, Queen Consort of the Belgians – the second wife of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, died 1850, originally buried at the old Church of Our Lady of Laeken, transferred to the new church in 1876
• 1876 (buried): Leopold I, King of the Belgians – died 1865, originally buried at the old Church of Our Lady of Laeken, transferred to the new church in 1876
• 1902: Marie Henriette of Austria, Queen Consort of the Belgians – wife of Leopold II, King of the Belgians
• 1905: Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders – son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, Philippe is an ancestor of the current Belgian royal family as his son succeeded to the Belgian throne as Albert I, King of the Belgians
• 1909: Leopold II, King of the Belgians – son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians
• 1912: Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Countess of Flanders – wife of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, Marie is an ancestor of the current Belgian royal family as her son succeeded to the Belgian throne as Albert I, King of the Belgians
• 1927: Princess Charlotte of Belgium, Empress Carlota of Mexico – daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, wife of Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico
• 1934: Albert I, King of the Belgians – son of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, killed in a mountain climbing accident
• 1935: Astrid of Sweden, Queen Consort of the Belgians – first wife of King Leopold III of Belgium, killed in a car accident
• 1965: Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen Consort of the Belgians – wife of Albert I, King of the Belgians
• 1983: Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, Regent of Belgium, son of Albert I, King of the Belgians
• 1983: King Leopold III of Belgium – son of Albert I, King of the Belgians, abdicated in 1951
• 1984 – Prince Leopold of Liechtenstein (stillborn May 20, 1984) – grandson of Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg who was born a Princess of Belgium, son of Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein
• 1993 (buried): Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium – the infant son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, died before his first birthday. He was originally buried at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. In 1993, during the restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, Louis Philippe’s remains were transferred to the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the burial church of the Belgian royal family where they were buried in a side chapel of the crypt.
• 1993: Baudouin, King of the Belgians – son of King Leopold III of Belgium and his first wife Queen Astrid
• 2002: Mary Lilian Baels, Princess Lilian, Princess de Réthy – second wife of King Leopold III of Belgium
• 2009: Prince Alexandre of Belgium – son of King Leopold III of Belgium and his second wife Princess Lilian, his funeral was also at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken
• 2014: Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, Queen Consort of the Belgians – wife of Baudouin, King of the Belgians

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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].