Albert II of Belgium
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Albert II (Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Christian Eugène Marie (French) or Albert Felix Humbert Theodoor
Christiaan Eugène Marie (Dutch)) (born June 6, 1934) is the
current King of the Belgians and a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the
former ducal house of
Childhood
Prince Albert was sent to the Swiss private school Institut Le Rosey for his pre-university education. He succeeded his elder brother, Baudouin I, as king, taking the constitutional oath on August 9, 1993, becoming the oldest king in Belgian history to ascend to the throne (at age 59). Before his accession he was known as the Prince of Liège, a title created for him the day after his birth; he also was heir presumptive to the Belgian throne from 1951.
Marriage and family
He married, in Brussels, on July 2, 1959, Princess Donna Paola Margherita Maria Antonia Consiglia Ruffo di Calabria (born 1937). She is the daughter of Principe Don Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, Duca di Guardia Lombarda and his wife, Donna Luisa Gazelli.
He and the Queen have three children:
- Philippe Léopold Louis Marie, Duke of Brabant (born April 15, 1960). He married, on December 4,
1999, Jonkvrouwe Mathilde d'Udekem
d'Acoz, who was created HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium a day before their marriage. She is a daughter of Baron (now
Count) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz and his wife, Countess Anna Maria
Komorowska. They have three children:
- Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène, who will inherit the throne after her father, thanks to a 1991 act of succession which created full cognatic primogeniture, altering the order of succession from eldest son to eldest child.
- Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie
- Prince Emmanuel Leopold Guillaume François Marie
- Astrid Joséphine Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola
Marie (born June 5, 1962). She is the wife of His Imperial
and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este,
Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary
and Bohemia, whom she married in 1984 and who was created a Prince of
Belgium in 1995. Princess Astrid, with her own descendants, is before her brother Laurent in the order of succession to
the Belgian throne, thanks to the 1991 act of succession mentioned above. They have five children:
- Archduke Amedeo of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium
- Archduchess Maria Laura of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
- Archduke Joachim of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium
- Archduchess Luisa-Maria of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
- Archduchess Laetitia-Maria of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
- Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie (born October 19, 1963). He married Claire Coombs, an Anglo-Belgian former real-estate agent, on April 12, 2003. She was created HRH Princess Claire of Belgium 11 days before their marriage. They have one daughter and two sons:
The Belgian press considers, without formal proof, that The King also has an illegitimate daughter, Delphine Boël (born 1968). Her mother is a Belgian aristocrat, Sybille, Baroness de Selys Longchamps (ex-Madame Jacques Boël). Boël, a sculptor living in Brussels, has a daughter, Joséphine Boël, by her American companion, Jim O'Hare; the child was born October 17, 2003. See critical analysis in Delphine Boël's page.
Titles
- His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Belgium
- His Royal Highness The Prince of Liège
- His Majesty The King of the Belgians, Prince of Belgium
Ancestry
See also
- List of Succession to the Belgian Throne
- Royal Trust
- Prince Albert Fund
- Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou (private secretary)
- Frank De Coninck, (former) Marshal of the Royal Household
External links
- Official Belgian monarchy web site
- "Belgium defends king against 'assault'", BBC News, 18 September, 2001.
- The Royal Belgium Orders
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Albert II of Belgium
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
Born: 6 June 1934 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Baudouin I |
King of the
Belgians August 9, 1993 – present |
Incumbent Designated heir: Crown Prince Philippe |
| Belgian royalty | ||
| New title | Prince of Liège June 7, 1934 – August 9, 1993 |
became King Title dissolved
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| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by Prince Umberto of Bulgaria |
Line of
succession to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 22nd position |
Succeeded by Philippe, Duke of Brabant |
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