Baudouin of Belgium

King of the Belgians from 1951 to 1993

This article is about the king of Belgium. For eldest son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, see Prince Baudouin of Belgium.

Baudouin

Servant of God

King Baudouin in 1960

King of the Belgians
Reign| 17 July 1951 – 31 July 1993
Predecessor| Leopold III
Successor| Albert II
Prime ministers|

See list

* Joseph Pholien
* Jean Van Houtte
* Achille Van Acker
* Gaston Eyskens
* Théo Lefèvre
* Pierre Harmel
* Paul Vanden Boeynants
* Edmond Leburton
* Leo Tindemans
* Wilfried Martens
* Mark Eyskens
* Jean-Luc Dehaene

Born| (1930-09-07)7 September 1930
Château of Stuyvenberg, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Died| 31 July 1993(1993-07-31) (aged 62)
Villa Astrida, Motril, Spain
Burial|

Church of Our Lady of Laeken

Spouse|

Fabiola de Mora y Aragón

(m. 1960)​

| Names

* Dutch: Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf
* French: Baudouin Albert Charles Léopold Axel Marie Gustave
* German: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav

House| Belgium
Father| Leopold III of Belgium
Mother| Astrid of Sweden
Signature|

Baudouin[a] (US: /boʊˈdwæ̃/;[1][2] 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known from 1971 to 1997 as Zaire).

Baudouin was the elder son of King Leopold III (1901–1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1905–1935). Because he and his wife, Queen Fabiola, had no children, at Baudouin's death the crown passed to his younger brother, King Albert II.

In 2024, the Holy See opened the cause for his beatification, which gave him the posthumous title "Servant of God".

## Biography

[edit]

### Childhood

[edit]

Baudouin (left) and his brother Albert, c. 1940

Prince Baudouin was born on 7 September 1930 at the Château of Stuyvenberg in Laeken, northern Brussels, the elder son and second child of Prince Leopold, then Duke of Brabant, and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden. In 1934, Baudouin's grandfather King Albert I of Belgium was killed in a rock climbing accident; Leopold became king and the three-year-old Baudouin became Duke of Brabant as heir apparent to the throne. When Baudouin was nearly five, his mother died in 1935 in Switzerland in the accident of an automobile that his father was driving.[3] Later, in 1941, his father remarried to Mary Lilian Baels (later became Princess of Réthy). This marriage produced three more children: Prince Alexandre, Princess Marie-Christine (who is also Baudouin's goddaughter) and Princess Marie-Esméralda. Baudouin and his siblings had a close relationship with their stepmother and they called her "Mother".[4][5] His education began at the age of seven, his tutors taught him half his lessons in French and half in Dutch. He frequently accompanied his father to parades and ceremonies and became well known to the public.[6]

Despite maintaining strict neutrality during the opening months of the Second World War, on 10 May 1940, Belgium was invaded by Nazi Germany. Baudouin, his elder sister Princess Josephine-Charlotte and his younger brother Prince Albert, were immediately sent to France for safety and then to Spain.[7] The Belgian Army, assisted by the French and British, conducted a defensive campaign lasting 18 days, but Leopold, who had taken personal command, surrendered unconditionally on 28 May. Although the Belgian government escaped to form a Belgian government in exile, Leopold elected to remain in Belgium, and was placed under house arrest at the Palace of Laeken, from where he attempted to reach an understanding with the Germans, especially in respect of Belgian prisoners of war who were being held in Germany.[8] The children returned to Laeken from Spain on 6 August.[7]

Leopold had established a royal Scout group at the palace for his sons, whose members were drawn from the various Belgian Scout associations. In April 1943, the wearing of uniforms was banned by the occupation forces and although Leopold was told that the royal group was exempt, insisted that the ban should apply to them too. However, Baudouin was about to be invested as a Scout and persuaded his father to delay the ban for one day so that the ceremony could take place.[9]

Immediately following the Normandy landings in June 1944, the king, his wife, and the royal children, were deported to Hirschstein in Germany and then to Strobl in Austria from where they were released in May 1945 by the United States 106th Cavalry Regiment.[7] However, the royal family were prevented from returning to Belgium by the "Royal Question" over whether Leopold had collaborated with the Nazis; the surrender in 1940, his refusal to join the government-in-exile, his fruitless visit to Adolf Hitler at the Berghof in November 1940 and his unconstitutional marriage to Lilian whose father was believed to be pro-Nazi.[10] Until a political solution could be found, the king's brother, Prince Charles, became regent and the royal family lived at the Château du Reposoir in Pregny-Chambésy, Switzerland. Baudouin continued his education at a secondary school in Geneva and visited the United States in 1948.

### Reign

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

|

In a referendum in March 1950, the public narrowly voted for King Leopold III to return from Switzerland and he was recalled on 4 June 1950. However, parliamentary dissent and public protests forced Leopold to delegate his powers to Baudouin on 11 August 1950, and finally to abdicate in favour of Baudouin, who took the oath of office as King of the Belgians on 17 July 1951.[7]

Baudouin and Fabiola with US President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon in May 1969

In 1960, Baudouin declared the Belgian colony of Congo independent. During the parade following the last ceremonial inspection of the Force Publique, the royal sabre of the king was momentarily stolen by Ambroise Boimbo. The photograph, taken by Robert Lebeck, was widely published in world newspapers,[11] with some seeing the act as a humiliation for the king.[12]

#### Death of Patrice Lumumba

[edit]

During the Congolese declaration of independence, Baudouin delivered a highly contested speech in which he celebrated the acts of the first Belgian owner of the Congo, King Leopold II, whom he described as "a genius". At the same event, the first democratically elected prime minister of Congo, Patrice Lumumba, gave a blistering response with a speech that was highly critical of the Belgian regime. Lumumba cited the killings of many Congolese, as well as the insults, humiliation and the slavery they experienced.

Lumumba's speech infuriated Baudouin and generated significant conflict between the two men. After the independence of Congo, the natural resource-rich Katanga Province orchestrated a secession that received substantial military and financial support from the Belgian government, as well as from Belgian companies with business interests in Katanga. Baudouin strengthened his relationships with the Katangese politician Moise Tshombé, whom he made a Knight in the Belgian Order of Leopold. In the meantime, Belgium's government, as well as the CIA, supported or organized plots to assassinate Lumumba.

In early December 1960, Lumumba and two colleagues, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, who had planned to assist him in setting up a new government, were imprisoned in military barracks located about 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Leopoldville. They were underfed and mistreated, per Mobutu Sese Seko's orders. Lumumba registered his objections, writing directly to Indian and U.N. diplomat Rajeshwar Dayal, "in a word, we are living amid absolutely impossible conditions; moreover, they are against the law".[13] Lumumba and his associates were released in mid-January 1961. Within hours, they were again captured, transported, beaten, then executed and buried in a shallow grave by Congolese soldiers under Belgian command. Belgian police officer Gerard Soete then exhumed, dismembered Lumumba's body, and dissolved the corpse in acid.[14]

In 2001, a parliamentary investigation set up by the Belgian government concluded that Baudouin, amongst others, was informed of the assassination scheme developed by Mobutu and Tshombé. Both men had conspired with a Belgian colonel, Guy Weber, to "neutralize Lumumba, if possible physically." The king was informed of the plot, but did nothing to oppose the murder. His lack of intervention was described as "incriminating" by the parliamentary investigation, although there was no conclusive evidence found that the king ordered the specifics of the plans.[14]

#### Western engagements and later reign

[edit]

As the head of state of Belgium, Baudouin, along with French President Charles de Gaulle, were the two prominent world leaders at the state funerals of two American presidents, John F. Kennedy in November 1963 and his predecessor Dwight D. Eisenhower in March 1969. At Kennedy's funeral, Baudouin was accompanied by Paul-Henri Spaak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and former three-time Prime Minister of Belgium.[15] At Eisenhower's funeral, his next visit to the United States, he was accompanied by Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens.[16]

In 1976, on the occasion of his silver jubilee, the King Baudouin Foundation was formed, with the aim of improving the living conditions of the Belgian people.

## Death and funeral

[edit]

Baudouin died from a heart attack on 31 July 1993, while on holiday at the Villa Astrida in the southern Spanish town of Motril, after a 42-year reign.[17][18] Although in March 1992 the king had been operated on for a mitral valve prolapse in Paris, his death still came unexpectedly, and sent much of Belgium into a period of deep mourning. His death notably stopped the 1993 24 Hours of Spa sportscar race, which had reached the 15-hour mark when the news broke.[19]

Within hours, the gates and enclosure of the royal palace were covered with flowers that people brought spontaneously. A viewing of the body was held at the Royal Palace in central Brussels; 500,000 people (5% of the population) came to pay their respects. Many waited in line up to 14 hours in sweltering heat to see their king one last time. The funeral service was attended by all other European monarchs – including Queen Elizabeth II (the only international state funeral she attended in person as monarch) – alongside Emperor Akihito of Japan. Non-royal guests at the funeral included more than twenty presidents and leaders. Only two reigning heads of state of sovereign states at the time were not invited: Saddam Hussein, and Mobutu, the first due to the Gulf War, the latter due to him being declared persona non grata partly thanks to Mobutu exposing information about Baudouin's brother and sister-in-law. The presidents and leaders who did attend the funeral included UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, European Commission President Jacques Delors, French President François Mitterrand, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, German President Richard von Weizsäcker, Polish President Lech Wałęsa, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović, Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Canadian Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn and former US President Gerald Ford.[citation needed]

King Baudouin was interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels. He was succeeded by his younger brother, who became King Albert II.

## Personal life

[edit]

### Marriage

[edit]

Main article: Wedding of Baudouin of Belgium and Fabiola de Mora y Aragón

Baudouin and his wife, Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, during a 1964 visit to Israel

On 15 December 1960, Baudouin was married in Brussels to Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón. Fabiola was a Spanish noblewoman who was working as a nurse. The couple announced their engagement on 16 September 1960 at the Palace of Laeken.[20]

Fabiola began undertaking official engagements immediately, accompanying the king to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Brussels on 26 September 1960,[21] and remained an active queen consort and queen dowager for the remainder of her life, involved in social causes particularly those related to mental health, children's issues and women's issues.

The king and queen had no children; all of the queen's five pregnancies ended in miscarriage.[22]

### Religion

[edit]

Baudouin was a devout Catholic. Through the influence of Cardinal Leo Suenens, Baudouin participated in the growing Catholic Charismatic Renewal and regularly went on pilgrimages to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paray-le-Monial.

In 1990, when a law submitted by Roger Lallemand and Lucienne Herman-Michielsens that liberalized Belgium's abortion laws was approved by Parliament, he refused to give royal assent to the bill. This was unprecedented; although Baudouin was de jure Belgium's chief executive, royal assent has long been a formality (as is the case in most constitutional and popular monarchies). However, due to his religious convictions—the Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion—Baudouin asked the government to declare him temporarily unable to reign so that he could avoid signing the measure into law.[23] The government under Wilfried Martens complied with his request on 4 April 1990. According to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution, in the event the king is temporarily unable to reign, the government as a whole assumes the role of head of state. All government members signed the bill, and the next day (5 April 1990) the government called the bicameral legislature in a special session to approve a proposition that Baudouin was capable of reigning again.[23]

He was the 1,176th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain, which was bestowed upon him in 1960, the 927th Knight of the Order of the Garter, bestowed upon him in 1963, and also the last living knight of the Papal Supreme Order of Christ.[24][25]

## Legacy

[edit]

King Baudouin's statue in the city of Aalst

On 29 September 2024, Pope Francis announced during Mass as part of an official visit to Belgium, after visiting the Royal Crypt where Baudouin and Fabiola are buried the day before, his intention to start the procedure towards beatification of the late King.[26] On 17 December 2024, the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints officially launched the cause for the beatification and canonization of Baudouin.[27]

## Honours

[edit]

### Belgian distinctions

[edit]

Royal Monogram of King Baudouin I, King of the Belgians

* Grand Cordon on his 18th birthday, later Grand Master of the Order of Leopold[28]
* Grand Master of the Order of the African Star
* Grand Master of the Royal Order of the Lion
* Grand Master of the Order of the Crown
* Grand Master of the Order of Leopold II

### Other European distinctions

[edit]

* Grand Star in the Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
* Recipient of the Bavarian Order of Merit (West Germany)
* Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
* Knight in the Order of the Elephant (Denmark)
* Grand Cross in the Order of the White Rose of Finland
* Grand Cross in the Legion of Honour (France)
* Grand Cross in the Order of the Redeemer (Greece)
* Grand Cross in the Order of the Falcon (Iceland)
* Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
* Knight of the Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau (Luxembourg)
* Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Saint-Charles (Monaco)
* Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Netherlands Lion (Netherlands)
* Grand Cross in the Order of St. Olav (Norway)
* Grand Collar in the Order of Prince Henry (Portugal)
* Grand Cross in the Military Order of Aviz (Portugal)
* Grand Cross in the Order of Santiago (Portugal)
* Grand Cross in the Military Order of Christ (Portugal)
* Sash of the Three Orders (Portugal)
* Member 1st Class in the Order of the Star of the Socialist Republic of Romania
* Grand Cross in the Order of San Marino
* Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain)
* Knight of the Collar in the Order of Charles III (Spain)
* Knight of the Collar in the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain)
* Knight in the Order of the Seraphim (Sweden)
* Stranger Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (UK)
* Great Star of the Order of the Yugoslavian Star (Yugoslavia)[29]

### Latin-American distinctions

[edit]

* Grand Cross in the Order of the Liberator General San Martín (Argentina)
* Grand Cross in the Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil)
* Collar of the Order of Merit (Chile)
* Extraordinary Grand Cross in the Order of Boyacá (Colombia)
* Collar in the Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Rubén Dario (Nicaragua)
* Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Order of the Sun of Peru
* Collar in the Order of the Liberator (Venezuela)

### African distinctions

[edit]

* Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Karyenda (Burundi)
* Grand Cross in the Order of Merit (Cameroon)
* Grand Cross in the Order of Central African Merit
* Grand Cross in the Order of the Green Crescent of Comoros
* Grand Cordon in the National Order of the Leopard (Congo)
* Collar in the Order of the Seal of Solomon (Ethiopia)
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Equatorial Star (Gabon)
* Crand Cross of the National Order of the Ivory Coast
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Pioneers of Liberia
* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Throne (Morocco)
* Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger
* Grand Cross in the National Order (Rwanda)
* Grand Cross in the Order of the Lion (Rwanda)[30]
* Crand Cross of the National Order of Senegal
* Grand Cross in the Order of the Independence (Tunisia)
* Grand Cross in the Nationale Order (Upper-Volta)

### Asian and Middle-East distinctions

[edit]

* Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
* Badge of honour of the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipurna
* Grand Cross in the Order of Pahlavi (Iran)
* 25th Centennial Anniversary Medal Ribbon (Iran)
* Collar in the Order of the Chrysanthemum (Japan)
* Recipient of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa (South-Korea)
* Grand Cross in the Order of Merit (Lebanon)
* Collar of the Order of King Abdulaziz (Saudi Arabia)
* Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri (Thailand)
* Knight Grand Cordon in the Order of Chula Chom Klao (Thailand)

### Religious distinctions

[edit]

The Catholic and very pious Baudouin had been awarded some special honours associated with that faith.

* Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Holy See)
* Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ (Holy See)
* Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (House of Savoy)

## Ancestry

[edit]

See also: Kings of Belgium family tree and Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

Ancestors of Baudouin of Belgium

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Albert I of Belgium|

|  |  |
| 9\. Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

| 2\. Leopold III of Belgium|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Duke Karl Theodor in Bavaria

| 5\. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria|

|  |  |
| 11\. Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal

| 1\. Baudouin of Belgium|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Oscar II of Sweden

| 6\. Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland|

|  |  |
| 13\. Princess Sophia of Nassau

| 3\. Princess Astrid of Sweden|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Frederik VIII of Denmark

| 7\. Princess Ingeborg of Denmark|

|  |  |
| 15\. Princess Louise of Sweden

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Crown Council of Belgium
* Royal Trust
* Herman Liebaers (Marshal of the Royal Household)
* André Molitor (private secretary)
* Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou (private secretary)
* Pierre-Yves Monette (advisor)
* King Baudouin Ice Shelf, Antarctica
* List of covers of Time magazine (1950s)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ French: Baudouin Albert Charles Léopold Axel Marie Gustave, pronounced [bodwɛ̃ albɛʁ ʃaʁl leɔpɔld aksɛl maʁi ɡystav]; Dutch: Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, pronounced [ˈbʌudəʋɛin ˈɑlbərt ˈkaːrə ˈleːjoːpɔlt ˈɑksəl maːˈri ɣʏˈstaːf]; German: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Baudouin I". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
2. ^ "Baudouin". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
3. ^ "King Baudouin". Belgian Monarchy Official Website. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
4. ^ Cleeremans, Jean. Léopold III, sa famille, son peuple sous l'occupation; Keyes, Roger. Echec au Roi, Léopold III, 1940–1951
5. ^ White, Sam (3 July 1953). "Europe's Most Slandered Princess". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
6. ^ Wilsford 1995, pp. 25-26
7. ^ a b c d "King Baudouin". monarchie.be. The Belgian Monarchy. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
8. ^ Conway 2012, p. 29
9. ^ Kroonenberg, Piet (1 May 2012). "Royal Scouts". crossoflaeken.blogspot.com. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
10. ^ Wilsford 1995, pp. 26-27
11. ^ Glasenapp, Jörn (2008) '"Der Degendieb von Léopoldville. Robert Lebecks Schlüsselbild der Dekolonisation Afrikas" In Paul, Gerhard (ed.) (2008) Das Jahrhundert der Bilder: 1949 bis heute Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, pp. 242–249, ISBN 978-3-525-30012-1, in German
12. ^ "La photo du sabre du Roi Baudouin, le 30 juin 1960". Mbokamosika. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
13. ^ Sherer, Lindsey (16 January 2015). "U.S. foreign policy and its Deadly Effect on Patrice Lumumba". Washington State University. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
14. ^ a b Verslag namens de Onderzoekscommissie van de Belgische Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers van het parlementair onderzoek met het oog op het vaststellen van de precieze omstandigheden waarin Patrice Lumumba werd vermoord en van de eventuele betrokkenheid daarbij van Belgische politici, 16 November 2001
15. ^ United Press International; American Heritage (1964). Four Days. New York: American Heritage Pub. Co. pp. 140–141.
16. ^ "Partial List of Leaders From Abroad at Funeral". The New York Times. 1 April 1969. p. 32.
17. ^ Purnell, Sonia (1 August 1993). "King of Belgium dies in Spain". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 1. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
18. ^ Lyons, Richard D. (1 August 1993). "Baudouin I, King of Belgium, Dies at 62". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
19. ^ "1993 Spa 24 Hours". touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
20. ^ "Baudouin Engaged 1960". British Pathé. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
21. ^ "Dona Fabiola in Brussels". Getty Images. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
22. ^ "Koningin Fabiola had vijf miskramen". Nieuwsblad.be. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
23. ^ a b Montgomery, Paul (5 April 1990). "Belgian King, Unable to Sign Abortion Law, Takes Day Off". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
24. ^ Herold, Stephen. "Society of the Golden Fleece". Chevaliers De La Toison D'or – Toison espagnole (spanish fleece). La Confrérie Amicale. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
25. ^ Velde, François R. "List of the Knights of the Garter". Heraldica.
26. ^ Cardoen, Sandra (29 September 2024). "Paus Franciscus start procedure tot zaligverklaring van wijlen koning Boudewijn".
27. ^ "Anti-abortion king praised by Pope being considered for sainthood". Aletia. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
28. ^ "Z.M. BOUDEWIJN". moriendi.be (in Dutch). 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
29. ^ "Izmjenjena odlikovanja na intimnom ručku". Slobodna Dalmacija (7959): 12. 7 October 1970.
30. ^ "It was created as a Royal State Order of the Kingdom of Rwanda, registered with the Vatican State in 1947 (through the Foreign Missions Office in Paris), and it has been awarded to such distinguished international figures as H.H. Pope Pius XII (1950), H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (1957), H.M. King Baudouin of Belgium (1955), and H.G. Don Francisco Borbon y Escasany, 5th Duke of Seville and Grandee of Spain (2005), among others". Royal House of Rwanda - Order of the Lion

### Sources

[edit]

* Boulden, Jane (2001). Peace Enforcement: The United Nations Experience in Congo, Somalia, and Bosnia (1st ed.). Westport, Conn.: Praeger. ISBN 0275969061.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Wilsford, David, ed. (1995). Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313286230.
* Conway, Martin (2012). The Sorrows of Belgium: Liberation and Political Reconstruction, 1944-1947. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199694341.

### Other languages

[edit]

* A. Molitor, La fonction royale en Belgique, Brussels, 1979
* J.Stengers, De koningen der Belgen. Van Leopold I tot Albert II, Leuven, 1997.
* Kardinaal Suenens, Koning Boudewijn. Het getuigenis van een leven, Leuven, 1995.
* Kerstrede 18 December 1975, (ed.V.Neels), Wij Boudewijn, Koning der Belgen. Het politiek, sociaal en moreel testament van een nobel vorst, deel II, Gent, 1996.
* H. le Paige (dir.), Questions royales, Réflexions à propos de la mort d'un roi et sur la médiatisation de l'évènement, Brussels, 1994.

## External links

[edit]

* Official biography from the Belgian Royal Family website
* Newspaper clippings about Baudouin of Belgium in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
* Archive Baudouin of Belgium, Royal museum for central Africa

Baudouin of Belgium

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Cadet branch of the House of Wettin

Born: 7 September 1930 Died: 31 July 1993

Royal titles
Preceded by

Leopold

|  Duke of Brabant
1934–1951  | Vacant

Title next held by

Philippe
Regnal titles
Preceded by

Leopold III

|  King of the Belgians
1951–1993  | Succeeded by

Albert II

* v
* t
* e

Belgian royal princes

Generations are numbered by descent from King Leopold I of Belgium.

1st generation|

* Crown Prince Louis-Philippe
* King Leopold II
* Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders

2nd generation|

* Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant
* Prince Baudouin
* King Albert I

3rd generation|

* King Leopold III
* Prince Charles, Count of Flanders

4th generation|

* King Baudouin
* King Albert II
* Prince Alexandre

5th generation|

* King Philippe
* Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este*
* Prince Laurent

6th generation|

* Prince Gabriel
* Prince Emmanuel
* Prince Amedeo*

*The  Royal Decree of 2 December 1991 gave titles to husbands and children of any Princess of Belgium by birth

* v
* t
* e

Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Forefather|

Duke Francis I*

1st generation|

* Duke Ernest I*
* Prince Ferdinand*
* King Leopold I of the Belgians*

2nd generation|

| Ducal|

* Duke Ernest II*
* Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom*

|

Koháry|

* King Ferdinand II of Portugal and the Algarves*
* Prince August*
* Prince Leopold*

Belgium|

* Crown Prince Louis Philippe
* King Leopold II
* Prince Philippe

3rd generation|

| United Kingdom|

* King Edward VII
* Duke Alfred I
* Prince Arthur
* Prince Leopold

|

Portugal|

* King Pedro V
* King Luís I
* Infante João
* Infante Fernando
* Infante Augusto

Koháry|

* Prince Philipp
* Prince Ludwig August
* Tsar Ferdinand I of the Bulgarians

Belgium|

* Prince Leopold
* Prince Baudouin
* King Albert I

4th generation|

| United Kingdom|

* Prince Albert Victor
* King George V
* Hereditary Prince Alfred
* Prince Arthur
* Duke Charles Edward I

|

Portugal|

* King Carlos I
* Infante Afonso

Koháry|

* Prince Leopold Clement
* Prince Peter August
* Prince August Leopold
* Prince Joseph Ferdinand
* Prince Ludwig Gaston

Bulgaria|

* Tsar Boris III
* Prince Kiril

Belgium|

* King Leopold III
* Prince Charles

5th generation|

| United Kingdom|

* King Edward VIII
* King George VI
* Prince Henry
* Prince George
* Prince John
* Prince Alastair

|

Ducal|

* Hereditary Prince Johann Leopold
* Prince Hubertus
* Prince Friedrich Josias

Portugal|

* Prince Luís Filipe
* King Manuel II

Koháry|

* Prince Rainer
* Prince Philipp

Bulgaria|

* Tsar Simeon II

Belgium|

* King Baudouin I
* King Albert II
* Prince Alexandre

6th generation|

| Ducal|

* Prince Ernst Leopold
* Prince Andreas

|

Bulgaria|

* Prince Kardam
* Prince Kyril

Belgium|

* King Philippe I
* Prince Laurent

7th generation|

| Ducal|

* Prince Hubertus (born 1961)
* Prince Hubertus (born 1975}

|

Bulgaria|

* Prince Boris

Belgium|

* Prince Gabriel
* Prince Emmanuel

*Titled as Princes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld before 11 February 1826

* v
* t
* e

Monarchs of Belgium

* Baron Surlet de Chokier (Regent)
* Leopold I
* Leopold II
* Albert I
* Leopold III
* Charles (Prince Regent)
* Baudouin
* Albert II
* Philippe

* v
* t
* e

Dukes and Duchesses of Brabant

* Leopold (1840–1865)
* Leopold (1865–1869)
* Leopold (1909–1934)
* Baudouin (1934–1951)
* Philippe (1993–2013)
* Elisabeth (2013–present)

Coat of arms of Duke of Brabant

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Italy
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Chile
* Sweden
* Poland
* Vatican
* Israel
* Catalonia
* Belgium

Artists|

* ULAN

People|

* Trove
* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* NARA
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
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