Albert II (born 6 June 1934) reigned as King of the Belgians from 1993 until his abdication in 2013. He is a member of the royal house of Belgium; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He is the uncle of the current reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri.
On 3 July 2013, King Albert II attended a midday session of the Belgian cabinet. He then announced that on 21 July, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons. He was succeeded by his son Philippe on 21 July 2013. Albert II was the fourth monarch to abdicate in 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Emir Hamad bin Khalifa of Qatar.[1] In doing so, he was also the second Belgian King to abdicate following his father, King Leopold III, who abdicated in 1951, albeit under very different circumstances.
Full name
Albert's full name is Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Christian Eugène Marie in French (pronounced: ), Albert Felix Humbert Theodoor Christiaan Eugène Marie in Dutch (pronounced ), and Albrechtt Felix Humbert Theodor Christian Eugen Maria in German (pronounced ).[2]
Early years
Albert is the second son and youngest child of King Leopold III (1901–1983) and his first wife, Astrid of Sweden (1905–1935). Queen Astrid died in a car accident in August 1935 in which King Leopold was lightly injured but survived. The king later remarried Lilian Baels in 1941 which produced 3 more children. Albert ascended the throne in 1993, following the death of his older brother, King Baudouin, who died without issue. His godparents were Felix of Bourbon-Parma and his paternal grandmother, Elisabeth of Bavaria.[2] He is the first cousin of King Harald V, Princess Astrid, and Princess Ragnhild of Norway on his mother's side and of Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy and Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy on his father's side.
Prince Albert was born in Stuyvenberg Castle, Brussels. On 10 May 1940, at the time when Belgium was being invaded, Prince Albert, his elder sister Princess Joséphine-Charlotte and his elder brother Prince Baudouin, left the country for France and later Spain. The Prince and the Princess returned to Belgium on 2 August 1940. They continued their studies until 1944, either at Laeken, or at the Chateau of Ciergnon in the Ardennes. In June 1944, at the time of the Allied landings, King Leopold III, Princess Lilian – whom he married in 1941 – and the royal children were deported by the Germans to Hirschstein, Germany, and later to Strobl, Austria, where they were liberated by the American Army on 7 May 1945. Due to the political situation in Belgium, King Leopold and his family moved to the villa "Le Reposoir" in Pregny, Switzerland, when they left Austria in October 1945 and stayed until July 1950. During that time, Prince Albert would continue his education in a secondary school in Geneva. King Leopold III, accompanied by Prince Baudouin and Prince Albert, returned to Belgium on 22 July 1950.[2]
Marriage and family
King Albert II and Queen Paola with US President
Laura Bush at the Royal Palace in
Brussels in 2005
In 1951, The Prince Albert, Prince of Liège, went to the Vatican to witness the coronation of Pope John XXIII. At a reception at the Belgian Embassy, the prince met Italian Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria. “We were both shy, so we only talked a little,” Paola said later about their first meeting. Shy but smitten, Prince Albert proposed marriage to Paola, and she accepted. Two months after their meeting, the Prince introduced his future wife to his family, and four months later to the press. Upon arriving in Brussels for the first time before her wedding, Princess Paola won over the Belgian media immediately.
The couple, supported by both families, intended to marry at the Vatican. However, the Belgian government disagreed as they felt the Belgian people should not be denied the opportunity to celebrate a royal wedding, particularly after difficult decade post-war. The Pope, after some diplomatic pressure, refused them a marriage at the Vatican, saying he would understand if the couple would want to get married amidst their people.
On 2 July 1959 he married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (born 11 September 1937) in Brussels. She is the daughter of Fulco VIII, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda and his wife, Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano (1896–1989). Together they have three children, two sons and a daughter:
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HM King Philippe of the Belgians (born 15 April 1960). On 4 December 1999, the then Duke of Brabant married Jonkvrouwe Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (born 20 January 1973), who was created HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium a day before their marriage. She is a daughter of the late Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz and his wife, Countess Anna Maria Komorowska. The current King and Queen have four children, two sons and two daughters:
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HI&RH Princess Astrid of Belgium (born 5 June 1962). On 22 September 1984, she married HI&RH Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (born 16 December 1955), who was created a Prince of Belgium in 1995. They have five children, two sons and three daughters:
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HRH Prince Laurent of Belgium (born 19 October 1963). On 12 April 2003, He married Claire Coombs (born 18 January 1974), an Anglo-Belgian former real-estate agent. She was created HRH Princess Claire of Belgium 11 days before their marriage. They have three children, twin sons and one daughter:
Since 1999, the media have claimed that the Belgian sculptor Delphine Boël (born in 1968) is King Albert II's extramarital daughter. In June 2013, Boël summoned the then King, the then Duke of Brabant and the Archduchess of Austria-Este to appear in court. She hopes to use DNA tests to prove that she is the King's daughter. As the King enjoyed complete immunity under the law, Boël decided to summon his elder children as well.[3][4] After the King's abdication, she abandoned her first suit to introduce a second one only against the King as he is no longer protected by immunity and the first claim would have been judged according to the situation at the time of the introduction of the claim.[5]
Official role
As the younger brother of King Baudouin, Prince Albert was the heir-presumptive to the throne. However, his son Prince Philippe was groomed to be Baudoin's successor, once it became clear that the King would have no children to succeed him. Despite this, on Baudouin's death (at age 62), Albert was sworn in before parliament on 9 August 1993 as the sixth King of the Belgians.[6]
As King, Albert's duties included representing Belgium at home and abroad on state visits, trade missions, and at high level international meetings as well as taking an interest in Belgian society, culture and enterprise.[7]
In 1984, he set up the Prince Albert Foundation, to promote expertise in foreign trade.[8]
The King had a constitutional role which came into play in 2010–2011 when Belgium's parliament was unable to agree on a government. When the crisis was resolved, Albert swore in the new government.[9]
In January 2012, Albert announced that the royal family would freeze their allowances and use a greater proportion of their income to maintain the royal palaces.
Albert sparked controversy in his December 2012 Christmas speech by comparing modern "populist movements" with those of the 1930s. This was seen by several political commentators, as well as many Flemish politicians, as aimed implicitly at the large Flemish nationalist party, the N-VA.[10] Bart De Wever, the party's leader, called for the King's role in the formation of Belgian governments to be changed in the wake of this comment since he "could no longer see the monarch as playing the constitutional role of referee."[10]
Abdication
On 3 July 2013, 79-year-old King Albert II attended a midday session of the Belgian cabinet, where he revealed his intention to abdicate to Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and to the Deputy Prime Ministers. According to a letter sent by the King to the Prime Minister and dated 3 July 2013, and which was made public, the King had already broached the topic of his intention to abdicate several times with the Prime Minister, who had asked him to reconsider it.[11] At 6 PM (CET) the King announced in a recorded radio and television speech that on 21 July, Belgium's National Day, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons. He was succeeded by his son, Philippe.[1] Albert II retained the title of King after the abdication,[12] and has since been styled as His Majesty King Albert II of Belgium.
Ancestry
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Ancestors of Albert II of Belgium
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Titles and styles
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6 June 1934 – 7 June 1934: His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Belgium
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7 June 1934 – 9 August 1993: His Royal Highness The Prince of Liège
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9 August 1993 – 21 July 2013: His Majesty The King of the Belgians
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21 July 2013 – present: His Majesty King Albert II of Belgium
After his abdication on 21 July 2013 it was decided that he would be styled as His Majesty King Albert II,[13] the same form of address granted to his father, Leopold III, after his abdication.
Honours
See also : List of honours of the Belgian Royal Family by country
Belgian honours
Foreign honours
See also : List of state visits made by King Albert II of Belgium
Recipient of numerous foreign decorations, Albert II is one of the few people to be both a Knight of the Golden Fleece in Austria (awarded in 1962 by Archduke Otto von Habsburg) and Knight of the Golden Fleece in Spain (awarded in 1994 by King Juan Carlos).
The list of his honorifical decorations (to be expanded) consists of :
Honorary degrees
King Albert is Doctor Honoris Causa of the Catholic University of Leuven, the Saint Louis University, Baguio City, Ghent University, Free University of Brussels, the Catholic university of Mons and the Polytechnic Faculty of Mons.
Belgian coinage
Constitutionally, powers of coinage are vested with the King.[22] Since coins are issued in his name, his effigy is found on the obverse of coins intended for general circulation.
Exceptions are made for some commemorative or collectors' coins where his effigy is on neither side of the coin.[23]
See also
References
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^ Le Vif, "Chacun sait que le roi Albert est le père biologique de Delphine Boël"
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^ Belga Pictures, Photo of King Albert II wearing the Order's rosette at Melsbroek Airport before taking off to Greece
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^ Albert, ríkisarfi – Belgía – 16 October 1979 – Stórkross (= Albert, Heir, Belgium, 16 October 1979, Grand Cross
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^ Website
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^ Website
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^ Royauté-News, received – as Prince Albert of Liège – in 1957 during an inauguration of a monument in memory of King Albert I of the Belgians in Monaco
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^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
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^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
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^ Article 112 de la Constitution belge
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^ Belgian coinage
External links
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Official Belgian monarchy web site
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The Royal Belgium Orders
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1st generation
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2nd generation
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3rd generation
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4th generation
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5th generation
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6th generation
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*created prince of Belgium by Royal Decree of 10 November 1995
**created prince of Belgium by Royal Decree of 2 December 1991
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