King Baudouin of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Baudouin of the Belgians – photo: Wikipedia

King Baudouin of the Belgians reigned from July 1951 until July 1993, making him the longest-reigning Belgian monarch. He was born Prince Baudouin Albert Charles Léopold Axel Marie Gustave of Belgium on September 7, 1930, at Stuyvenberg Castle in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium, son of the future King Leopold III and Princess Astrid of Sweden. As the eldest son of the heir to the throne, he was given the traditional title of Count of Hainaut. He had two siblings:

Baudouin also had three half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Lilian Baels:

 

Baudouin was not yet four years old when his grandfather King Albert I was killed in a mountain climbing accident in February 1934. Baudouin’s father became King Leopold III, and Baudouin was now heir-apparent to the Belgian throne and titled Duke of Brabant. The following year, on August 29, 1935, tragedy would once again come to the Belgian royal family when Baudouin’s mother Queen Astrid was killed in a car accident in Switzerland. Soon after his mother’s death, the family moved from Stuyvenberg Castle to the Royal Palace of Laeken, where he would live for the rest of his life.

In May 1940, when the German forces were invading Belgium, Baudouin and his siblings were evacuated from Belgium, settling in France and then Spain, before returning in August of the same year. For much of the next four years, the family was under house arrest at the Palace of Laeken, where they were schooled privately. In 1944, the family was sent to Germany and then to Austria by the Germans, where they would remain until being liberated by American forces in 1945. Because of the tense political situation in Belgium, the family settled in Switzerland for several years, while King Leopold III’s brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders served as Regent. While in Switzerland, Baudouin attended the Institut Le Rosey, in Rolle. The family returned to Belgium in July 1950, however, the political situation was still very tense and many questions were raised about King Leopold’s actions relating to the war. Due to this, the following month, King Leopold III transferred much of his authority to Baudouin, creating him ‘Prince Royal’. Despite this, King Leopold III abdicated less than a year later, and Baudouin succeeded as King of the Belgians, in July 1951.

 

King Baudouin maintained a very close connection with his father, who continued to reside at the Palace of Laeken despite his abdication. This led many to fear that Leopold and his second wife Lilian would exert too much influence on the new king, and calls for the former King to move elsewhere. However, this would not happen until after Baudouin’s marriage.

 

On December 15, 1960, King Baudouin married Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón. Fabiola was from an aristocratic family in Spain and had a close relationship with the Spanish royal family. The two were married in a civil ceremony, held in the Throne Room at the Royal Palace of Brussels, followed by a religious ceremony at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels, Belgium. After their marriage, they remained at the Palace of Laeken. Baudouin’s father and stepmother soon moved to another royal property, the Château Bellevue, where they remained until their deaths.

Despite several pregnancies, Baudouin and Fabiola never had any children, which greatly affected them. Fortunately, they maintained very close relationships with the children of Baudouin’s brother, particularly the future King Philippe, who was a frequent visitor to their homes. Although Baudouin’s heir was his brother Albert, he saw Philippe as his true successor and spent much time grooming him for his future role.

 

Although King Baudouin had heart surgery in March 1992 his death from heart failure still came unexpectedly and sent much of Belgium into a period of deep mourning. On July 31, 1993, he died at Villa Astrida, the couple’s private retreat in Motril, Spain. He was succeeded by his brother King Albert II, who would reign for the next 20 years until he abdicated in favor of his son Philippe. Baudouin’s funeral was held at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels, Belgium, attended by many royals from around the world. One notable guest was Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who rarely attended royal funerals. Following the funeral, King Baudouin’s remains were entombed in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the traditional burial site of the Belgian monarchs. In December 2014, his beloved Fabiola passed away and was buried by his side.

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