Baudouin I of Belgium
| Baudouin | |
|---|---|
| King of the Belgians | |
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| King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola | |
| Reign | 17 July 1951-31 July 1993 |
| Born | 7 September 1930 |
| Laeken, Belgium | |
| Died | 31 July 1993 (aged 62), aged 62 |
| Motril, Spain | |
| Predecessor | Leopold III |
| Successor | Albert II |
| Consort | Doña Fabiola Fernanda María de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón |
| Royal House | |
| Father | Leopold III |
| Mother | Astrid of Sweden |
Baudouin I (French: Baudouin Albert Charles Léopold Axel Marie Gustave or Dutch: Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Marie Gustaaf) (7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) reigned as Prince Royal from 1950 to 1951 and as King of the Belgians from 1951 to 1993. He was the eldest son of King Leopold III (1901-1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1905-1935). Baudouin is the French form of his name, which is also mostly used outside of Belgium; his Dutch name is Boudewijn. Only very rarely is his name anglicized as Baldwin.
Ascent to the throne
Baudouin was born in Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken in Belgium. On 1 August 1950 his father King Leopold III requested the Belgian Government and the Parliament to approve a law delegating his royal powers to his son, Prince Baudouin, who took the constitutional oath before the United Chambers of the Belgian Parliament as Prince Royal on 11 August 1950, because he had not yet reached the age of majority, his uncle Prince Charles of Belgium continued to reign as Prince Regent until he became 21 years of age. He ascended the throne and became the fifth King of the Belgians upon taking the constitutional oath on 17 July 1951, one day following his father's final abdication.
Part of Leopold III's unpopularity was the result of a second marriage in 1941 to Mary Lilian Baels, an English-born Belgian commoner, later known as Princess de Réthy. More controversial had been Leopold's decision to surrender to Nazi Germany during World War II, when Belgium was invaded in 1940; many Belgians still questioned his loyalties, though a commission of inquiry exonerated him of treason after World War II. Though reinstated in a plebiscite, the controversy surrounding Leopold led to his abdication.
Love and Marriage
On December 15, 1960, Baudouin was married in Brussels to Doña Fabiola Fernanda María de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón, a former nurse and a writer of children's stories. Queen Fabiola is immensely popular for her good cheer, personal modesty, and devotion to social causes. The Belgian royal couple had no children. This was a source of much sadness in the marriage, and would provide a partial reason why the King was so uncomfortable with the topic of abortion.
There was some concern among politicians close to the King that he might actually be in love with his stepmother, Princess Lilian, suspicions fueled by secret recordings of surprisingly intimate-sounding telephone conversations between the two. The post-wedding actions of the king's father and stepmother only increased speculation; they briskly moved out of the royal palace at Laeken and reportedly broke off relations with Baudouin for some time.
Notable events
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During Baudouin's reign the colony of Belgian Congo was given its independence, and the King personally attended the festivities - giving a speech that was widely seen as insensitive to the atrocities in the Congo which received a blistering response by Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.
In 1976, on the 25th anniversary of Baudouin's accession, the King Baudouin Foundation was formed, with the aim of improving the living conditions of the Belgian people.
Baudouin also made some visits to the Spanish leader Francisco Franco, a family friend of his wife, Fabiola.
Religious influences
Baudouin was a deeply religious Roman Catholic. It was widely thought after his accession to the throne that he wanted to abdicate, in order to become a priest. Royal advisers suggested at the time that the Belgian monarchy would probably not survive two abdications in a row. Through the influence of Belgian Cardinal Leo Suenens, Baudouin participated in the growing Catholic charismatic movement and regularly went on pilgrimages to the French shrine of Paray-le-Monial. In 1990, when a law liberalising Belgium's abortion laws was approved by Parliament, he refused to give Royal Assent, an unprecedented act in Belgium, although without much significance since Royal Assent has for long been a formality. Because of his religious convictions, Baudouin asked the Cabinet to declare him unable to reign so that he could avoid signing the measure into law ([1]). The Government complied with his request on April 4, 1990. According to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution, in the event of the King being declared unfit to reign, the Government as a whole will fulfill the role of Head of State. All members of the Government signed the bill, and the next day (April 5, 1990) the Government declared that Baudouin was capable of reigning again. (It is a point of contention whether Baudouin abdicated for two days so as not to have to approve the law, while still allowing abortions to be legalised in Belgium, or whether he was merely suspended for the day.)
Death, Succession and Legacy
He reigned for 42 years until he died of heart failure on July 31, 1993 in the Villa Astrida in Motril, in the south of Spain. His death was unexpected, and sent much of Belgium into a period of deep mourning.
He was interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady, Laeken Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium.
Baudouin was succeeded by his younger brother, who became King Albert II.
After Leopold's abdication in 1951, Baudoin had brought stability but not harmony to a country gripped by a struggle between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia. At the time of his death Belgium had begun a far-reaching federalization that made the maintenance of Belgian unity questionable. The wave of mourning over Baudoin's passing brought Flemings and Walloons together in support of the monarchy, and there was no support for a designated deputy who shouted in favour of a European republic before Albert took his oath (the call for a republic during the royal investiture, is a tradition in Belgium). It was thought by some that the rush to full separation into independent states, anticipated for early in the next century, would be halted by the new king's influence and the resurgent commitment to the dynasty.[2]
Ancestry
See also
- Royal Trust
- Herman Liebaers (Marshal of the Royal Household)
- Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou (private secretary)
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Baudouin I of Belgium
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
Born: 7 September 1930 Died: 31 July 1993 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leopold III of Belgium |
King of the
Belgians 1951-1993 |
Succeeded by Albert II |
| Royal titles | ||
| Preceded by Leopold III of Belgium |
Duke of Brabant 1934-1951 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Philippe |
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