For the 2016 film, see King of the Belgians (film).
King of the Belgians
Koning der Belgen(Dutch) Roi des Belges(French) König der Belgier(German)
Coat of arms of Belgium
Incumbent
Philippe since 21 July 2013
Details
Style
His Majesty
Heir apparent
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
First monarch
Leopold I
Formation
21 July 1831
Residence
Royal Palace of Brussels Royal Castle of Laeken
Website
The Belgian Monarchy
Kingdom of Belgium
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Belgium
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The monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy whose incumbent is titled the King or Queen of the Belgians (Dutch: Koning(in) der Belgen, French: Roi / Reine des Belges, German: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's head of state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830.
The incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father.
Contents
1Origins
2Hereditary and constitutional
2.1Leopold I, Leopold II and Albert I
2.2Leopold III and Baudouin
2.3Constitutional, political, and historical consequences
3List of kings of the Belgians
4Title
5Constitutional role
5.1Inviolability
5.2Traditions
6Popular support
7Royal Household
8Members of the Belgian royal family
8.1Other members of the royal family
8.2Other descendants of Leopold III
8.3Family tree of members
9Deceased members
10Royal consorts
11See also
12References
13External links
Origins
When Belgium became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a constitutional monarchy as the form of government. The Congress voted on the question on 22 November 1830, supporting monarchy by 174 votes to 13. In February 1831, the Congress nominated Louis, Duke of Nemours, the son of the French king Louis-Philippe, but international considerations deterred Louis-Philippe from accepting the honour for his son.
Following this refusal, the National Congress appointed Erasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier to be the Regent of Belgium on 25 February 1831. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was designated as King of the Belgians by the National Congress and swore allegiance to the Belgian constitution in front of Saint Jacob's Church at Coudenberg Palace in Brussels on 21 July.[1] This day has since become a national holiday for Belgium and its citizens.
Hereditary and constitutional
As a hereditary constitutional monarchy system, the role and operation of Belgium's monarchy is governed by the Constitution. The royal office of King is designated solely for a descendant of the first King of the Belgians, Leopold I.
Since he is bound by the Constitution (above all other ideological and religious considerations, political opinions and debates and economic interests) the King is intended to act as an arbiter and guardian of Belgian national unity and independence.[2] Belgium's monarchs are inaugurated in a purely civil swearing-in ceremony.
The Kingdom of Belgium was never an absolute monarchy. Nevertheless, in 1961, the historian Ramon Arango, wrote that the Belgian monarchy is not "truly constitutional".[3][clarification needed]
Leopold I, Leopold II and Albert I
King Leopold I was head of Foreign Affairs "as an ancien régime monarch", the foreign ministers having the authority to act only as ministers of the king.[4] Leopold I quickly became one of the most important shareholders of the Société Générale de Belgique.[5]
Leopold's son, King Leopold II is chiefly remembered for the founding and capitalization of the Congo Free State which caused public resentment when the atrocities perpetrated by the Belgians were made public. Millions of Congolese were killed as a result of Leopold's policies in the Congo.[6][7][8] Neither the Belgian monarchy nor the Belgian state have ever apologized for these atrocities.[9]
On several occasions Leopold II publicly expressed disagreement with the ruling government (e.g. on 15 August 1887 and in 1905 against Prime Minister Auguste Beernaert)[10] and was accused by Yvon Gouet of noncompliance with the country's parliamentary system.[11] In a similar manner, Albert I of Belgium would later state that he was in command of the Belgian army contrary to his Prime Minister Charles de Broqueville, also against the Belgian Constitution.[12]
Leopold III and Baudouin
Louis Wodon (the chef de cabinet of Leopold III from 1934 to 1940), thought the King's oath to the Constitution implied a royal position "over and above the Constitution". He compared the King to a father, the head of a family, "Regarding the moral mission of the king," said Arango, "it is permissible to point to a certain analogy between his role and that of a father, or more generally, of parents in a family. The family is, of course, a legal institution as is the state. But what would a family be where everything was limited among those who compose it to simply legal relationships? In a family when one considers only legal relationships one comes very close to a breakdown in the moral ties founded on reciprocal affection without which a family would be like any other fragile association"[13] According to Arango, Leopold III of Belgium shared these views about the Belgian monarchy.
In 1991, towards the end of the reign of Baudouin, Senator Yves de Wasseige, a former member of the Belgian Constitutional Court, cited four points of democracy which the Belgian Constitution lacks:[14]
the King chooses the ministers,
the King is able to influence the ministers when he speaks with them about bills, projects and nominations,
the King promulgates bills, and,
the King must agree to any change of the Constitution
Constitutional, political, and historical consequences
The Belgian monarchy was from the beginning a constitutional monarchy, patterned after that of the United Kingdom.[15] Raymond Fusilier wrote the Belgian regime of 1830 was also inspired by the French Constitution of the Kingdom of France (1791–1792), the United States Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the old political traditions of both Walloon and Flemish provinces.[16] "It should be observed that all monarchies have suffered periods of change as a result of which the power of the sovereign was reduced, but for the most part those periods occurred before the development of the system of constitutional monarchy and were steps leading to its establishment."[17] The characteristic evidence of this is in Great Britain where there was an evolution from the time when kings ruled through the agency of ministers to that time when ministers began to govern through the instrumentality of the Crown.
Unlike the British constitutional system, in Belgium "the monarchy underwent a belated evolution" which came "after the establishment of the constitutional monarchical system"[18] because, in 1830–1831, an independent state, parliamentary system and monarchy were established simultaneously. Hans Daalder, professor of political science at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden wrote: "Did such simultaneous developments not result in a possible failure to lay down the limits of the royal prerogatives with some precision—which implied that the view of the King as the Keeper of the Nation, with rights and duties of its own, retained legitimacy?"[19]
For Raymond Fusilier, the Belgian monarchy had to be placed—at least in the beginning—between the regimes where the king rules and those in which the king does not rule but only reigns. The Belgian monarchy is closer to the principle "the King does not rule",[20] but the Belgian kings were not only "at the head of the dignified part of the Constitution".[21] The Belgian monarchy is not merely symbolic, because it participates in directing affairs of state insofar as the King's will coincides with that of the ministers, who alone bear responsibility for the policy of government.[22] For Francis Delpérée, to reign does not only mean to preside over ceremonies but also to take a part in the running of the State.[23] The Belgian historian Jean Stengers wrote that "some foreigners believe the monarchy is indispensable to national unity. That is very naive. He is only a piece on the chessboard, but a piece which matters.[24]
List of kings of the Belgians
Main article: List of Belgian monarchs
The monarchs of Belgium originally belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The family name was changed by Albert I in 1920 to the House of Belgium as a result of anti-German sentiment. This is a family tree of the Kings of the Belgians, hereditary, constitutional monarchs of Belgium as defined by the Belgian Constitution.
Francis Duke of Saxe- Coburg-Saalfeld 1750–1806 r.1800–1806
Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf 1757–1831
Charlotte of Wales 1796–1817
Leopold I
King of the Belgians 1790–1865 r.1831-1865
Louise of Orléans 1812–1850
Louis Philippe 1833–1834
Leopold II King of the Belgians 1835–1909 r.1865-1909
Marie Henriette of Austria 1836–1902
Philippe Count of Flanders
1837–1905 r.1840–1905
Marie of Hohenzollern- Sigmaringen 1845–1912
Carlota of Mexico 1840–1927
Maximilian I Emperor of Mexico 1832–1867 r.1863–1867
Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 1844–1921
Louise of Belgium 1858–1924
Leopold Duke of Brabant
1859-1869
Rudolf Cr. Prince of Austria 1858–1889
Stéphanie of Belgium 1864–1945
Albert I King of the Belgians 1875–1934 r.1909-1934
Elisabeth of Bavaria 1876–1965
Baudouin of Flanders 1869-1891
Astrid of Sweden 1905–1935
Leopold III King of the Belgians 1901–1983 r.1934-1951
Lilian Princess of Réthy 1916–2002
Charles of Flanders Prince Regent 1903–1983 r.1944–1950
Marie José of Belgium 1906–2001
Umberto II King of Italy 1904–1983 r.1946
Jean Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1921– r.1964–2000-
Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium 1927–2005
Fabiola de Mora y Aragón 1928–2014
Baudouin I King of the Belgians 1930–1993 r.1951-1993
Albert II
King of the Belgians 1934– r.1993–2013
Paola of Belgium 1937-
Alexander of Belgium 1942–2009
Léa of Belgium 1951-
Marie Christine of Belgium 1951-
Marie Esméralda of Belgium 1956-
Mathilde of Belgium 1973-
Philippe I King of the Belgians 1960– r.2013–present
Astrid of Belgium 1962- Archduchess of Austria-Este
Lorenz of Belgium Archduke of Austria-Este 1955-
Laurent of Belgium 1963-
Claire of Belgium 1974-
Louise of Belgium 2004-
Nicolas of Belgium 2005-
Aymeric of Belgium 2005-
Elisabeth Duchess of Brabant 2001-
Gabriel of Belgium 2003-
Emmanuel of Belgium 2005-
Eléonore of Belgium 2008-
Amedeo of Belgium Archduke of Austria-Este 1986-
Maria Laura Archduchess of Austria-Este 1988-
Joachim of Belgium Archduke of Austria-Este 1991-
Luisa Maria Archduchess of Austria-Este 1995-
Laetitia Maria Archduchess of Austria-Este 2003-
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Title
The proper title of the Belgian monarch is King of the Belgians rather than King of Belgium. The title indicates a popular monarchy linked to the people of Belgium (i.e., a hereditary head of state; yet ratified by popular will), whereas King of Belgium would indicate standard constitutional or absolute monarchy linked to territory or state.[1] For example, in 1830, King Louis Philippe was proclaimed King of the French rather than King of France. The Greek monarch was titled King of the Hellenes, indicating a personal link with the people, not just the state. Moreover, the Latin translation of King of Belgium would have been Rex Belgii, which, from 1815, was the name for the King of the Netherlands. Therefore, the Belgian separatists (i.e. the founders of Belgium) chose Rex Belgarum.[2]
Belgium is the only current European monarchy that does not apply the tradition of the new monarch automatically ascending the throne upon the death or abdication of the previous monarch. According to Article 91 of the Belgian constitution, the monarch accedes to the throne only upon taking a constitutional oath before a joint session of the two Houses of Parliament.[25] The joint session has to be held within ten days of the death of the deceased or abdicated king. The new Belgian monarch is required to take the Belgian constitutional oath, "I swear to observe the Constitution and the laws of the Belgian people, to maintain the national independence and the integrity of the territory," which is uttered in the three official languages: French, Dutch, and German.
Members of the Belgian royal family are often known by two names: a Dutch and a French one. For example, the current monarch is called 'Philippe' in French and 'Filip' in Dutch; the fifth King of the Belgians was 'Baudouin' in French and 'Boudewijn' in Dutch.
In contrast to King Philippe's title of "King of the Belgians", Princess Elisabeth is called "Princess of Belgium" as the title "Prince of the Belgians" does not exist. She is also Duchess of Brabant, the traditional title of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. This title precedes the title "Princess of Belgium".
In the other official language of German, monarchs are usually referred to by their French names. The same is true for English with the exception of Leopold, where the accent is removed for the purpose of simplicity.
Because of the First World War and the resultant strong anti-German sentiment, the family name was changed in 1920 from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to van België, de Belgique, or von Belgien ("of Belgium"), depending upon which of the country's three official languages (Dutch, French, and German) is in use. It is this family name which is used on the identity cards and in all official documents by Belgium's royalty (e.g. marriage licenses). In addition to this change of name, the armorial bearings of Saxony were removed from the Belgian royal coat of arms (see above). Other Coburgers from the multi-branched Saxe-Coburg family have also changed their name, such as George V, who adopted the family name of Windsor after the British royal family’s place of residence.[26]
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