Happy National Day!

The Belgian-Greek Royal Connection

Right now, everyone in the European Union is talking about and worried about the situation in Greece and the economic situation in general but particularly about the problems in Greece. Will they enact the austerity measures? Will Greece leave the Eurozone? Will the problems in Greece cause wider problems across the European Union? Not many Belgians may be talking about Greece right now but certainly it is not far from the minds of those at the European Union government in Brussels. How to deal with the crisis? What can be done? I do not have the answers but it causes me to consider the royal connection between the Kingdom of Belgium and the early days of the Kingdom of Greece. Both countries emerged to independence in the same period and both countries looked to have a monarch who would help them gain security from the "Great Powers" of Europe at that time. If different choices had been made in Greece we Belgians might have a totally different Royal Family today. What similarities are there today with the current situation in Greece?

King Leopold I was the first King of the Belgians, and a very greatly admired and respected national leader all over the world, but the throne of Belgium was not the first kingdom he was offered to preside over. The Greeks had claimed independence to break away from the Ottoman Empire of Turkey in 1830 and were in need of a monarch. A prince from a powerful royal family or with, at least, family ties to powerful countries, was preferred to help secure Greek independence as a policy of insurance against efforts by the Turks to retake Greece. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was considered and was asked to come reign over the new Kingdom of Greece. The cause of the Greeks had been a popular one in Europe, seen by many as a great romantic adventure and there was much sympathy for the Greeks against the Turks. Prince Leopold was not unaffected by this and he considered seriously accepting the offer to become the first King of Greece or King of the Greeks.

But we know how Prince Leopold was a very thoughtful and far-thinking man. He wanted to accomplish great things but he did not want to take great risks needlessly. After reviewing the Greek situation, he did not have much confidence in their chances of success. The population seemed too divided, the situation was too unstable and there were not the resources to ensure to a reasonable degree the long-term success. Finally he decided to decline the offer of the Greek throne and he stayed in England where he was living at the time. Later, he accepted another offer to become the first King of the Belgians but Belgium was in a better position to be supported by the other powers and he required first a sufficient amount of financial support to put the new Kingdom of Belgium on a solid foundation for future growth and success. After looking back at the fate of the first Bavarian Prince Otto who became King of Greece, compared to the loyal support of the Belgians even in the year of crisis, certainly King Leopold I never had regrets for his decision.

King Leopold I in "Young Victoria"

In the 2009 film "The Young Victoria" the part of King Leopold I of the Belgians was played by the talented German actor Thomas Kretschmann who I have been a fan of ever since he came out in "Stalingrad" which was a powerful film. He has played parts ranging from Pope John Paul II to Adolf Eichmann. Americans may also remember him from "U-571" and he has had, I think, smaller parts in other American films. He gave, I think, a good performance in "The Young Victoria" but I think the wrote King Leopold I as being too  blunt and cold. He gave the impression of being slightly heartless when, he really just knew that there was romance and there was duty and not always do they coincide. He also maybe tried to push people in the direction he wanted but was not so harsh and blunt about it as in the movie. At least though they showed that he was a major figure in the royal circle of that time and influential in bringing Albert and Victoria together.

Our Great Kings, Part I, Introduction and Leopold I

I have always thought Belgium is fortunate to have our monarchy. We have been fortunate because all of them have been great leaders in my opinion. Belgium is fortunate, not better than anyone else, I understand, because countries with longer histories and a greater number of leaders, any country, there will be some good and some not so good but Belgium has had only six kings but we are fortunate I think that in my view all have so far been good, not causing any terrible kind of crisis or been horribly cruel or so incompetent to ruin things for the country. I think all of our kings have done a pretty good job. It is unfortunate though that some people always want to blacken the reputation of anyone in a position that is high. Who can say the reason for this? Those outside the country may be motivated by envy or jealousy, perhaps bigotry and I can say without question those inside the country are often motivated these days by selfish political ambitions, to divide the people to advance themselves at the expense of the whole country. No matter the reason, I know every king has had to endure slander and unfair criticisms. In some cases this is so much ridiculous it is difficult to even take seriously, in other cases the criticism is so intense many prefer to not talk about this and let the critics win without answering back to them. I will not do that.

King Leopold I is not often criticized in a very open or direct way but I have still found that he is often unfairly portrayed. This is mostly, I think, by those who are prejudiced against the very existence of Belgium and so try to demean the first King of the Belgians, holding him in some way responsible. This is absurd because Belgium was already existing when he was invited to accept the position of King. But I have often seem him portrayed unfairly as a cold, hard figure. The image given is of a man self-centered, unfeeling and rather arrogant. This is, however, totally untrue. King Leopold I was a very brilliant man, a very brave man and well respected in his time in Belgium and internationally. He was a practical man whose demands for preliminary agreements for security and financial support was not motivated by selfishness but because he realized what difficulties a new country would face and wanted to ensure the Kingdom of Belgium would be able to go through the formative period in peace and stability. He was an ambitious man but only in the way that he desired Belgium to be a great country, as any patriot would want the same. His conditions for accepting the throne show he was not ambitious personally also the way he offered to resign his position in the revolutions of 1848 if that is what the people desired but naturally no one wanted this because he had been a good king and a wise and fair national leader. We know he was not a cold-hearted man because we can see what pain in his heart he endured the difficult times in his life. We see that in his naming his daughter Charlotte after his first wife who died tragically early and even though he naturally wanted sons he transferred his affection for his late wife to the daughter with her name and Charlotte, his only daughter, was his favorite child, obvious to everyone. His deep feelings for his second wife and mother of his children can clearly be seen by anyone in the moving tribute to her after her also untimely death. Leopold I also tried to pass laws to prevent the exploitation of women and children, which he could not do on his own as a constitutional monarch but the effort shows his compassion.

Le prince Louis-Philippe de Belgique

The sadly short life of the first Prince, Louis-Philippe of Belgium

New Bio of First King

For those interested, there is released now a new biography (Dutch language) on the first King of the Belgians, King Leopold I. See it here.

First National Day

Leopold Ier becomes first King of the Belgians!

The Children of Leopold 1er

Crown Prince Louis-Philippe was the first child born to King Leopold I and Queen Louise. He was born on 24 July 1833 at Laeken. He was named after his grandfather King Louis Philippe of the French. He was the pride of his parents and the hope for the future of the new Kingdom of Belgium. The baby prince was baptized at St Michael and Gudula Cathedral in Brussels by Archbishop Engelbert Sterckx of Mechelen-Brussels. His mother nicknamed him ‘Babochon’. Sadly, Crown Prince Louis-Philippe did not live even to his first birthday. He died on May 16, 1834 of an inflammation of the mucous membranes. He was buried in a little coffin wrapped in white velvet, first in the vault of the Dukes of Brabant in Brussels but he was later moved to rest with his parents at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken. Both parents were devastated, Queen Louise writing that his death brought up the painful memories for King Leopold I of the death of his first wife Princess Charlotte.

Leopold, Duke of Brabant, the future King Leopold II was born on 9 April 1835. His birth was a welcome relief in that Belgium had an heir again but there was still sadness over the death of Louis-Philippe and Leopold would never be well liked by his parents and never have a very happy childhood. His mother thought his big nose made him look like a bird and his father referred to him as the “little tyrant”. His younger siblings were much more popular with their parents than Leopold was. Slightly crippled at birth, he was bashful and did not have great social skills. He was also always in the shadow of his father who had a rather exalted sense of himself and was widely revered around Europe as a great leader so it was hard for him to measure up to his esteemed father or his more sociable brother and sister. Visitors often described him as either cold and aloof or excessively friendly and very sly. Being treated unfairly so early in life made him unconcerned with criticism and his desire to live up to and surpass the great accomplishments of his father made him very single-minded and ambitious. He became King on 17 December 1865 with the one goal of making Belgium great.

Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, was born on 24 March, 1837. Throughout his childhood and youth Prince Philippe was known for being friendly, very outgoing and jolly. Because of this he was quite popular. He was born at Laeken palace and was made Count of Flanders on 14 December 1840. At first many would have thought he might make a better king than his brother but Prince Philippe soon became quite deaf and this hampered his abilities as a public figure. However, he cultivated his mind, he loved to read and collected a great many books. In 1867 he married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern, daughter of the Prussian prime minister and sister of the first King of Romania. They had a very happy marriage and had five children which was important because King Leopold II never had any children so the succession was secured by Prince Philippe. They were very religious, very conservative but content with a simple family life, having little time for politics or court rivalries. Philippe and Leopold did not get along very well. Philippe died in 1905 but it was his son, Albert, who would succeed his older brother as King of the Belgians four years later.

Princess Charlotte was born on 7 June 1840 at Laeken and she is probably, alongside her brother who became king, the most famous of the children of Leopold I. Her father had wanted a boy but he quickly adored Charlotte, naming her after his beloved late first wife. She was his favorite child and described as his “pet”. Throughout her life she was very studious, very curious and very energetic. She was always busy with something and devoted herself radically to whatever project she had. She was very popular in Belgium as the exceptional and beautiful young princess. In 1857 she married Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria and with him went to Lombardy-Venetia in Italy (Austrian at the time). They were both bored and idealistic when they accepted the offer to become Emperor and Empress of Mexico in 1864. The situation there was not what Charlotte had been led to believe (she used the name Carlota in Mexico) but she worked feverishly in both politics and social events in Mexico to make their empire a success. She was sad that they could not have children and was overburdened by the stress on her in Mexico. When she went to Europe to try to obtain help for the faltering empire she suffered a mental or nervous breakdown and never saw her husband or adopted country again. Continuing to suffer from mental illness she lived isolated in Belgium until 1927.

The Belgian Kings

Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, came to the throne on July 21, 1831. His reign was a crucial period and by his wisdom and close relations with the royal houses of Europe ensured that Belgium started out on a firm foundation of stability and with the support of the European community. A veteran of the Russian Imperial Army and the Napoleonic Wars he had been married to the heiress to the British throne (who died) and then married Louise-Marie de Bourbon, daughter of SM Louis-Philippe, King of the French. His astute leadership won the respect of the people and brought the diverse Belgian population together. When revolutions swept Europe in 1848 Belgium remained a safe haven of peace and stability and progress because of the appreciation the people had for his leadership. He established ties of marriage by his children with the Houses of Hapsburg and Hohenzollern and he was one of the most widely respected statesmen of his time, known as the "Nestor of Europe".


Leopold II, son of Leopold I, became King on December 17, 1865 and was determined to make Belgium a magnificent and respected country. He had a great interest in geography and philanthropy. He employed the explorer Henry Stanley to explore the Congo basin and this in time developed into the creation of the Congo Free State of which Leopold II was Sovereign King. He organized an expedition to eradicate the Arab slave trade in central Africa and another to aid in suppressing extremists in Egypt. He also allowed volunteers to go defend the Papal States from Italian nationalists. Belgium became a colonial empire thanks to Leopold II but he is best remembered for the great buildings and monuments he left behind, many of which he paid for himself. He was a man of big ideas and big aspirations. He had even bigger visions of ways to build up the country that he never got to see completed. Unfortunately all of his success aroused alot of jealousy and he was not very popular with the rest of Europe.


Albert I, nephew of Leopold II, became King of the Belgians on December 23, 1909. He was a very humble and religious man and a man with strong convictions. He was very down-to-earth but devoted to duty. In 1914 he refused to sacrifice the neutrality or sovereignty of his country and led the tiny Belgian army to war against the invading Germans. He showed great courage and leadership in the most difficult circumstances, staying with the army and leading them throughout the war, becoming a respected Allied commander and leader of an army group. He was honored all over the world because of his heroic defiance and bold leadership. He wanted to end the war peacefully but this was not possible. After the war he was merciful to his enemies, pushed for universal suffrage and for the further development of Flanders (much of which had been ruined by the war). He took a great interest in every part of his country and was also a man who loved the outdoors. This sadly led to his death in a mountain climbing accident.


Leopold III, son of Albert I, became King unexpectedly on February 23, 1934. Like his father, Leopold III was very religious and very heroic. Even as a boy he had volunteered to fight in the trenches with the army as a regular soldier. He was a devoted father and a great patriot who wanted to keep his country united and neutral. When Nazi Germany invaded Belgium, like his father, he led the army in a heroic fight, holding off the Germans longer than any other of the Low Countries. Finally he was forced to surrender or see his men massacred but he did not abandon them and stayed in Belgium to endure the occupation with his people and to ease their suffering as much as possible. He hoped after such a disaster a new begining could be made with a stronger, more united Belgium with a more efficient and dutiful government. However, he was betrayed by the self-serving politicians he most opposed and he had to go to Switzerland. The people wanted him back but he would not risk conflict and abdicated the throne.


Baudouin, son of Leopold III, was thrust onto the Belgian throne on July 17, 1951 at a time of great turmoil and instability. In such a position it is no wonder King Baudouin would have rather been a priest. However, he was a dutiful king and soon won the respect of everyone by his calm and kind manner and his simple but deep religious faith. However, Belgium had changed and more changes came. King Baudouin went to Africa to give the Congo its independence, though he had misgivings about how prepared they were for total separation. The country also divided officially into Flanders and Wallonia with their own governments for each in addition to the national one. Society was also going through many changes that King Baudouin opposed and he had problems of conscience at times when doing his duty clashes with his traditional moral code. However, King Baudouin was very popular and widely respected around the world though he and his wife Queen Fabiola were sad that they could never have children.


Albert II, brother of King Baudouin, became King on August 9, 1993 and is probably the most active monarch in Europe today. As divisions in the country grew deeper the King has had to work harder and harder to hold the ship of state together. So frustrating has this become that many have said everyone is Flemish or Walloon and only the King is Belgian. Probably no other Belgian king has had to deal with what Albert II has had to deal with; social changes, growing demographic changes, the "War on Terrorism", constantly bickering parties that refuse to cooperate, the economic crisis and the growing position of the European Union. Probably no other King and Royal Family have been so heavily scrutinized in Belgian history as Albert II and his family or been so often asked to justify their position. However, through it all he has kept his good humor and continues to labor on to keep his dysfunctional family of subjects together as one country as he first swore to do.

King's Advice on Mexico Adventure

When Mexican conservatives and the court of French Emperor Napoleon first concocted the scheme to revive the Empire of Mexico under Maximilian and Charlotte the Austrian Imperial Family was very much unimpressed with the idea. Emperor Francis Joseph thought it a terrible idea and feared the Hapsburg name would be tarnished by any cooperation with the parvenu Bonaparte clan. Ultimately he even disinherited his own brother in the hope of discouraging him. However, in Belgium things were very different. King Leopold I thought it would be wonderful if his beloved daughter could become an empress. He gave the young Archduke Maximilian advice based on his own experience. He said Maximilian should accept the offer of the Mexican throne but warned him not to be romantic about it but to address the matter in a practical way, like a business deal. Establishing a new throne would be expensive and the King advised Maximilian to hold aloof until he had solid financial backing. He pointed out that France, England and Russia had offered him a guarantee of 20 million francs to take the Belgian throne which went a long way to helping him put the monarchy and the new country on a solid footing.

The King was also wise enough to know that Napoleon would not go against his own interests to keep his promises of support to the archduke. “In regard to military support, even if you were to provide your own Austrian suite, the Emperor Napoleon is quite capable of recalling his troops from Mexico if anything goes wrong, in order to exonerate himself” the King said. Because of that he advised his son-in-law to get something in writing that would be as binding as a treaty. He warned Maximilian that once undertaken the success or failure of the enterprise would fall on him and so he must be stern in holding out until the French met all of his requirements. Leopold I told him, “To sum up it is folly to let yourself be confounded by polite phrases. One must guard against illusions.” It was very good advice from one of the most experienced and pragmatic royals in Europe. However, Napoleon did go back even on his written promises and treaties and Maximilian did not guard very well against illusions. Fortunately, he had our Charlotte there to help him in that regard and she was convinced that they could help Mexico and finally lift those people out of poverty, ignorance and constant civil wars between feuding factions of potential dictators.

Not everyone among Charlotte’s relations was proud to see her go become Empress of the Mexicans. Her grandmother, Queen Marie Amélie of the French, was shocked and frightful. She resented Princess Charlotte being part of any plan hatched by the Bonaparte who had displaced King Louis Philippe from the French throne and she feared what would happen to them, knowing Mexico only as a violent country full of bandits where governments changed by coup détat. When they visited the Queen Princess Clementine was praying her rosary and when they left the Queen lurched from her chair and shouted, “They will be murdered!” before collapsing. However, in Belgium the send-off was much happier. There were decorations everywhere, crowds of Belgians lined the streets cheering and King Leopold I, the Duke of Brabant (soon to be King Leopold II) and the Count of Flanders presided over the official ceremonies. The Duke of Brabant read out a rousing message, “The Hapsburgs, when joined with the Coburgs, find ever new opportunities to indulge their legitimate passion for doing good to the most different peoples.” As Empress of Mexico Charlotte would endeavor to do just that but who could have imagined the inveterate enemies and fair-weather friends they would have to deal with?

Founder of a Dynasty

The Cross of Laeken gives a deep look at the founding Belgian monarch King Leopold I.

King Leopold I

In honor of the recent national feast, a look at the very first King of the Belgians is appropriate. Leopold was a prince of the ducal family (German royal house of Sachsen) of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, he was uncle of the great British Queen Victoria. Prince Leopold was a star in Europe, a tough soldier, veteran of the Russian Imperial Guard in the Napoleonic wars when his native country was lost to him for a time and his godfather, Hapsburg Kaiser Franz II, was reduced to his Austrian estates only. In 1821 he was offered the throne of the Greeks, recently freed from rule by the Turks. However by 1830 he refuses this offer because, although Greece did appeal to him in a romantic way the country was still too obviously unstable, he did not wish to become Greek Orthodox and the public was not at all united on what government they really wanted.

That same year was the Belgian revolt from the Netherlands and Prince Leopold was again offered a throne. This time it was a country 'down to earth', united in their desire for independence and for a popular monarchy. The much sought-after prince had some conditions, debts would have to be settled, the politics secured, foreign recognition given and he would keep his own Protestant religion but that would not be a problem since he would marry a French Catholic princesse and raise his children as Catholics. He accepted the Belgian throne on June 26 but was not given his oath as King Leopold I of the Belgians until July 21.

There was great celebrations and everywhere King Leopold went he was warmly and cheerfully welcomed by the Belgians because the brave and accomplished prince represented their unity and their independence. For the first time in Belgian history they had a monarch of their own, not having to be shared with Netherlands, France, Austria or Spain. King Leopold I was a great monarch who worked hard to build up and strengthen his new country. When the Dutch again invaded the brave king led his troops into their path himself but, thankfully, French intervention stopped the Dutch attack and secured Belgian independence again without great conflict. Still, some fighting did continue and there was some loss of rights before the Netherlands finally conceded Belgian independence (which the rest of the world already had anyway).

King Leopold had in the past a short and tragic marriage to Princess Charlotte of Britain and recently an unofficial marriage with a beautiful actress Karoline Bauer. Breaking that off in 1832 he married Princess Louise d'Orleans, daughter of the King of the French, a very remarkable woman, by whom he had four children. The first son died young, the second would be King Leopold II, the third Prince Philippe would be father of King Albert I and the fourth was little Princesse Charlotte who would become famous as "Carlota" Empress of Mexico. He opened the first railway in Europe in his Belgium and it was King Leopold who arranged the happy and very productive marriage of Britain's Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Sachsen-Coburg. He tried to bring in more humane laws but was not always successful but because his family was so well connected to the major European monarchies he protected, peacefully and with words, Belgium from troubles with France and Prussia. He died in 1865 and was buried in the crypt at Notre Dame de Laeken.