Leopold III, King of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Leopold III, King of the Belgians; photo: Wikipedia

King Leopold III, King of the Belgian was born Prince Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubert Marie Miguel, on November 3, 1901, at the Palace of the Marquis d’Assche (link in French) in Brussels, Belgium. He was the eldest of three children of the future Albert I, King of the Belgians and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. His younger siblings were:

In 1909, Leopold’s father became King of the Belgians, and as heir to the throne, Leopold was given the title Duke of Brabant. He enrolled in the Belgian army at the age of 14, later attended the military academy, and served with the 1st Grenadiers.

Princess Astrid and Leopold; photo: Wikipedia

On November 4, 1926, in a civil ceremony held in the throne room of the Royal Palace of Stockholm in Sweden, Leopold married Princess Astrid of Sweden, daughter of  Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.  A religious ceremony was held on November 10, 1926, at St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels, Belgium.

The couple had three children:

King Albert I died In February 1934, and Leopold took the throne as Leopold III, King of the Belgians. With his wife and children, he was popular with the Belgian people. Sadly, in August 1935, Queen Astrid was killed in a car accident while the family was on vacation in Switzerland. While driving their convertible, with Queen Astrid at his side, and the chauffeur in the back seat, Leopold was distracted by something his wife pointed out to him and lost control of the car. Astrid was thrown from the convertible and killed. She was just 29 years old.

Following the beginning of World War II, Belgium declared its neutrality. Germany invaded in May 1940 and quickly took control of Belgium. Unlike other sovereigns, Leopold vowed to remain in the country, while the Belgian government fled. Despite the Belgian government’s pleas, Leopold refused to leave, saying he would stand with his troops, regardless of the outcome. His courageous choice would come back to haunt him. On May 27, 1940, Leopold formally surrendered to the German forces. The Belgian government in exile quickly issued statements condemning Leopold and his actions, stating that it was for them to make that decision, not the Sovereign. The government declared that by acting without their advice, Leopold had gone against the Belgian constitution. Unfortunately, the government could not assemble both chambers, necessary for them to formally declare Leopold was unable to reign and to appoint a Regent. For the next several years, they instead campaigned against Leopold and his actions, from afar.

Leopold and his family found themselves under house arrest, primarily at the Royal Palace of Laeken. Leopold attempted to assert his position as King of the Belgians, but the Germans were having no part of that, and his own Belgian government, now settled in London, was not either.

 

In September 1941, Leopold married Lilian Baels, in a religious ceremony held in the chapel of the Palace of Laeken. 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 that 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 occur before a religious one. Secondly, and perhaps most impactful, was the fact that he remarried at all. The Belgian people loved the late Queen Astrid, and perceived Lilian Baels as simply a “social climber”. 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. They had three children:

In 1944, the Nazis moved Leopold and his family to Germany, and later Austria, where they were kept under heavy guard. In May 1945, they were freed by United States forces, but due to the questions about his actions during the war, they were unable to return to Belgium. They settled in Switzerland, while Belgium began to rebuild from the war, under the leadership of Leopold’s brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders who had been named Regent in 1944. It would be six years before Leopold could return to his country and throne. After much debate within the Belgian government over the “royal question”, Leopld was cleared of any charges of treason. Following a public referendum in 1950, with 57% in favor of his return, Leopold and his family returned to Belgium, on July 20, 1951.

However, Leopold was met with a violent general strike. Within just ten days, Leopold, probably urged by the Belgian government, chose to step down from the throne. On August 1, 1950, he formally ceded many of his responsibilities to his eldest son Baudouin who was created Prince Royal. But for all intents and purposes, he was beginning the process of abdicating. King Leopold III formally abdicated on July 16, 1951. His son became King Baudouin of the Belgians.

Leopold III signing the abdication papers, Photo Credit: http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.co.uk

Following the abdication, Leopold continued to advise King Baudouin, and the two maintained a close relationship. They all continued to live at the Royal Palace of Laeken until Baudouin’s marriage in 1960. Due to the marriage and the government’s insistence that the former King move to a separate residence, Leopold and Lilian moved to another property owned by the government, Château d’Argenteuil, in Brabant. Leopold spent his remaining years exploring his interests in anthropology and entomology.

King Leopold III died on September 25, 1983, a few hours after undergoing emergency heart surgery. He was buried in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, alongside his first wife, Queen Astrid, and later his second wife, Princess Lilian, who died in 2002.

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