This date in history: December 16, 1790. Birth of King Leopold I of the Belgians.

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Emperor Franz Josef of Austria- Hungary, King Leopold I of Belgium, King Louis-Philippe of France, Kingdom of Belgium, Leopold I, Louise Marie of Orleans, Maximilian of Mexico, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Revolutions of 1948

Leopold I (December 16, 1790 – December 10, 1865) was a German prince who became the first King of the Belgians following the country’s independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865.

Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on 16 December 1790. He was the youngest son of Franz, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold was the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

King Leopold I of the Belgians

Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Russian Army and fought against Napoleon after French troops overran Saxe-Coburg during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon’s defeat, Leopold moved to the United Kingdom where he married Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was second in line to the British throne and the only legitimate child of the Prince Regent (the future King George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick daughter of Charles Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick, and Princess Augusta of Great Britain. Charlotte died after only a year of marriage, while giving birth to a stillborn son, but Leopold continued to enjoy considerable status in Britain.

Princess Charlotte of Wales

After the Greek War of Independence (1821–32), Leopold was offered the crown of Greece but turned it down, believing it to be too precarious. Instead, Leopold accepted the kingship of the newly established Kingdom of Belgium in 1831. The Belgian government offered the position to Leopold because of his diplomatic connections with royal houses across Europe, and because as the British-backed candidate, he was not affiliated with other powers, such as France, which were believed to have territorial ambitions in Belgium which might threaten the European balance of power created by the 1815 Congress of Vienna.

Leopold took his oath as King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831, an event commemorated annually as Belgian National Day.

Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans

On August 9, 1832, King Leopold I of the Belgians, married Louise-Marie of Orléans the eldest daughter of the future Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and his wife Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, the tenth of eighteen children of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria. Louise-Marie was 20 at the time of her marriage and Leopold was twenty-two years her senior. Although never faithful to Louise-Marie, Leopold respected her and their relationship was a harmonious one.

They had four children:
* Prince Louis Philippe, Crown Prince (1833 – 1834)
* King Leopold II of the Belgians (1835 – 1909)
* Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders (1837 – 1905)
* Princess Charlotte of Belgium, (1840 – 1927), consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, Archduke of Austria and younger brother of Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria.

Leopold ‘s reign was marked by attempts by the Dutch to recapture Belgium and, later, by internal political division between liberals and Catholics. As a Protestant, Leopold was considered liberal and encouraged economic modernisation, playing an important role in encouraging the creation of Belgium’s first railway in 1835 and subsequent industrialisation.

Queen Louise-Marie died of tuberculosis in the former Royal palace of Ostend on 11 October 11, 1850, aged 38, leaving Leopold a widower once again at the age of 59.

Leopold (right), with Queen Victoria and family in an early photograph of 1859

As a result of the ambiguities in the Belgian Constitution, Leopold was able to slightly expand the monarch’s powers during his reign. He also played an important role in stopping the spread of the Revolutions of 1848 into Belgium. He died in 1865 and was succeeded by his son, Leopold II.

On this day, July 21, 1831: Enthronement of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as the first King of the Belgians.

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Belgium's National Day, George IV, George IV of the United Kingdom, King Leopold I of Belgium, King of the Belgians, King Philippe of the Belgians, Kingdom of Belgium, Leopold II of Belgium, Louis-Philippe of France, Louise Marie of Orleans, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Willem I of the Netherlands

Today is Belgium’s National Day. 🇧🇪

On this day, July 21, in 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (a maternal uncle of Queen Victoria and paternal uncle of her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) was sworn in as the first King of the Belgians.

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on December 16, 1790. He was the youngest son of Franz, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

On May 2, 1816, Leopold married Princess Charlotte of Wales at Carlton House in London. Charlotte was the only legitimate child of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick, daughter of Carl-Wilhelm-Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, and Princess Augusta of Great Britain (daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach). This meant that Princess Charlotte of Wales was second in line to the British throne.

Princess Charlotte of Wales

Princess Charlotte had been engaged Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange (later King Willem II of the Netherlands). This engagement came about through pressure from her father the Prince Regent. Princess Charlotte found the Hereditary Prince of Orange distasteful but after initially accepting him, Charlotte soon broke off the intended match in favor of Leopold. This resulted in an extended contest of wills between her and her father. Though the Prince Regent was displeased, he found Leopold to be charming and possessing every quality to make his daughter happy, thus approving of their marriage. The same year Leopold received an honorary commission to the rank of Field Marshal and Knight of the Order of the Garter.

The marriage ceremony was held May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married. The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.

On November 5, 1817, after having suffered a miscarriage, Princess Charlotte gave birth to a stillborn son. She herself died the next day following complications. Leopold was said to have been heartbroken by her death.

Following a Greek rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, Leopold was offered the throne of an independent Greece as part of the London Protocol of February 1830. Though initially showing interest in the position, Leopold eventually turned down the offer on May 17, 1830. The role would subsequently be accepted by Prince Otto of Bavaria in May of 1832 who ruled until he was finally deposed in October 1862.

At the end of August 1830, rebels in the Southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the United Netherlands rose up against Dutch rule. The rising, which began in Brussels, pushed the Dutch army back, and the rebels defended themselves against a Dutch attack. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new state.

In November 1830, a National Congress was established in Belgium to create a constitution for the new state. Fears of “mob rule” associated with republicanism after the French Revolution of 1789, as well as the example of the recent, liberal July Revolution in France, led the Congress to decide that Belgium would be a popular, constitutional monarchy.

Search for a monarch

Enthronement of King Leopold I of the Belgians

The choice of candidates for the position was one of the most controversial issues faced by the revolutionaries. The Congress refused to consider any candidate from the Dutch ruling house of Orange-Nassau. Some Orangists had hoped to offer the position to King Willem I or his son, Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange, which would bring Belgium into personal union with the Netherlands like Luxembourg. The Great Powers also worried that a candidate from another state could risk destabilizing the international balance of power and lobbied for a neutral candidate.

Eventually the Congress was able to draw up a shortlist. The three viable possibilities were felt to be Eugène de Beauharnais, a French nobleman and stepson of Napoleon; Auguste of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugene; and Louis, Duke of Nemours who was the son of the French King Louis-Philippe. All the candidates were French and the choice between them was principally between choosing the Bonapartism of Beauharnais or Leuchtenberg and supporting the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe. Louis-Philippe realized that the choice of either of the Bonapartists could be first stage of a coup against him, but that his son would also be unacceptable to other European powers suspicious of French intentions. Therefore Louis, Duke of Nemours refused the offer. With no definitive choice in sight, Catholics and Liberals united to elect Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier, a minor Belgian nobleman, as regent to buy more time for a definitive decision in February 1831.

Leopold of Saxe-Coburg had been proposed at an early stage, but had been dropped because of French opposition. The problems caused by the French candidates and the increased international pressure for a solution led to his reconsideration. On April 22, he was finally approached by a Belgian delegation at Marlborough House to officially offer him the throne. Leopold, however, was reluctant to accept at first.

Accession

On July 17, 1831, Leopold travelled from Calais to Belgium, entering the country at De Panne. Traveling to Brussels, he was greeted with patriotic enthusiasm along his route. The accession ceremony took place on July 21, on the Place Royale in Brussels. A stand had been erected on the steps of the church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, surrounded by the names of revolutionaries fallen during the fighting in 1830.

King Leopold I of the Belgians

After a ceremony of resignation by the regent, Leopold, dressed in the uniform of a Belgian lieutenant-general, swore loyalty to the constitution and became king. The enthronement is generally used to mark the end of the revolution and the start of the Kingdom of Belgium and is celebrated each year as the Belgian national holiday.

Second marriage

Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans

On August 9, 1832 King Leopold I of the Belgians married Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, who was twenty-two years younger than the King, she was the eldest daughter of the future Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and of his wife Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies.

Louise and Leopold had four children, including Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico. Although never faithful to Louise, Leopold respected her and their relationship was a harmonious one.

Prince Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium (July 24, 1833 – May 16, 1834)
King Leopold II of the Belgians (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909)
Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders (March 24, 1837 – November 17, 1905)
Princess Charlotte of Belgium, (June 7, 1840 – January 19, 1927), consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.

Sadly, Queen Louise-Marie died of tuberculosis in the former Royal palace of Ostend on October 11, 1850 at the age of 38. Leopold was again a widower at the age of 59. The Queen’s body was brought to Laeken, and a memorial was erected in Oostende. She is buried beside her husband in Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

Photo of King Leopold later in life.

Leopold died in Laeken near Brussels on December 10, 1865, aged 74. His funeral was held on 16 December. He is interred in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Notre-Dame de Laeken, next to Louise-Marie. He was succeeded by his son, Leopold II, aged 30, who ruled until 1909.

The current King of the Belgians, Philippe, is Leopold I’s great-great-great-grandson.

Creation of The United Kingdom of the Netherlands

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Congress of Vienna, French Revolution, House of Orange-Nassau, Kingdom of Belgium, Kingdom of the Belgians, Prince of Orange, Willem I of the Netherlands, Willem-Frederik

On this date in History, March 16, 1815, the creation of The United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The name of the state was the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories that had historically belonged to the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The polity became a constitutional monarchy, ruled by Willem I of the House of Orange-Nassau. Until 1806, Willem was formally known as Willem VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, and between 1806 and 1813 he was also known as Willem-Fredrik Prince of Orange.

Kingdom of the United Netherlands.

Prior to the French Revolution (1792-1802), the Low Countries were a patchwork of different polities created by the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648). The Dutch Republic in the north was independent, while the Southern Netherlands was split between the House of Habsburg as the Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The former was part of Habsburg Austria and both were member states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the War of the First Coalition broke out in 1792 and France was invaded by Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire. After two years of fighting, the Austrian Netherlands and Liège were captured by the French in 1794 and annexed into France. The Dutch Republic collapsed in 1795 and became a French client state.

Creation of the United Netherlands

In 1813, the Netherlands was liberated from French rule by Prussian and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars. It was taken for granted that any new regime would have to be headed by Prince Willem-Frederick of Orange-Nassau, the son of the last Dutch stadhouder. A provisional government was formed, most of whose members had helped drive out the House of Orange 18 years earlier. However, they realised that it would be better in the long term to offer leadership of the new government to Willem-Frederik themselves rather than have him imposed by the allies. Accordingly, Willem-Frederik was installed as the “sovereign prince” of a new Principality of the United Netherlands. The future of the Southern Netherlands, however, was less clear. In June 1814, the Great Powers secretly agreed to the Eight Articles of London which allocated the region to the Dutch as Willem had advocated.

That August, Willem-Frederik was made Governor-General of the Southern Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège–comprising almost all of what is now modern Belgium. For all intents and purposes, Willem-Frederik had completed his family’s three-century dream of uniting the Low Countries under a single rule.

Discussions on the future of the region were still ongoing at the Congress of Vienna when Napoleon attempted to return to power in the “Hundred Days.” Willem-Frederik used the occasion to declare himself king on March 16, 1815 as Willem I.

King Willem I of the United Netherlands

In exchange for the Southern Netherlands, Willem agreed to cede the Principality of Orange-Nassau and parts of the Liège to Prussia on May 13, 1815. In exchange, Willem also gained control over the Duchy of Luxembourg, which was elevated to a grand duchy and placed in personal and political union with the Netherlands, though it remained part of the German Confederation. This ceding of the Principality of Orange-Nassau to Prussia is why the Prussian claimant to the thrones of Prussia and Imperial Germany claim the title “Prince of Orange.”

Constitution and government

Though the United Netherlands was a constitutional monarchy, the king retained significant control as head of state and head of government. Beneath the king was a bicameral legislature known as the States General with a Senate and House of Representatives. From the start, the administrative system proved controversial. Representation in the 110-seat House of Representatives, for example, was divided equally between south and north, although the former had a larger population. This was resented in the south, which believed that the government was dominated by northerners.

Differences between Southern and Northern Netherlands were never totally effaced. The two were divided by the issue of religion because the south was strongly Roman Catholic and the north largely Dutch Reformed. The Catholic Church in Belgium resented the state’s encroachment on its traditional privileges, especially in education. In French-speaking parts of the south, attempts to enforce the use of Dutch language were particularly resented among the elite. Many Belgians believed that the United Netherlands’ constitution discriminated against them. Though they represented 62 percent of the population, they were only allocated 50 percent of the seats in the House and less in the Senate while the state extracted money from the richer south to subsidise the north. By the mid-1820s, a union of opposition had formed in Belgium, uniting liberals and Catholic conservatives against Dutch rule.

The Belgian Revolution broke out on August 25, 1830, inspired by the recent July Revolution in France. A military intervention in September failed to defeat the rebels in Brussels, radicalising the movement. Belgium was declared an independent state on 4 October 1830. A constitutional monarchy was established under Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Elected King of The Belgians, Leopold was initially married to Princess Charlotte of Wales (daughter of George IV) until her death in childbirth in 1817. Leopold I of the Belgians was the Maternal Uncle to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Paternal Uncle her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Leopold I, King of the Belgians.

Willem I refused to accept the secession of Belgium. In August 1831, he launched the Ten Days’ Campaign, a major military offensive into Belgium. Though initially successful, the French intervened to support the Belgians and the invasion had to be abandoned. After a period of tension, a settlement was agreed at the Treaty of London in 1839. The Dutch recognised Belgian independence, in exchange for territorial concessions. The frontier between the two countries was finally fixed by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. Luxembourg became an autonomous state in personal union with the Dutch, though ceding some territory to Belgium.

On this date in History: February 23,1934. Leopold III of the Belgians takes Oath.

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Abdication, Constitution, King Albert I of the Belgians, King Leopold III of Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium, Kingdom of the Belgians, Oath

On this date in History: February 23, 1934. Death of King Albert I of the Belgians and succession of his son as King Leopold III of the Belgians.

Also on this date King Leopold III of the Belgians takes the constitutional oath before a joint session of parliament.

Seated on his left: Queen Astrid, Prince Baudouin (the future King) and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte (the future Grand Duchess of Luxembourg).

Leopold III was born in Brussels and succeeded to the throne of Belgium on February 23, 1934, following the death of his father King Albert I.

Albert I, King of the Belgians

Leopold III reigned as the King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the heir apparent, his son Baudouin. From 1944 until 1950, Leopold’s brother, Charles, served as prince regent while Leopold was declared unable to reign. Leopold’s controversial actions during the Second World War resulted in a political crisis known as the Royal Question.

Leopold III, King of the Belgians.

In 1950, the debate about whether Leopold could resume his royal functions escalated. Following a referendum, Leopold was allowed to return from exile to Belgium, but the continuing political instability pressured him to abdicate in 1951. Leopold III died September 25, 1983, aged 81.

Marriage of Charlotte of Wales & Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

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George IV, George IV of the United Kingdom, Kingdom of Belgium, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Leopold I, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

I’m taking a break from my series on James I of Scotland, which I will finish within the next few days.

Today is the 3rd birthday of HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge! Today is also the anniversary of the marriage between Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on May 2, 1816.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (January 7, 1796 – November 6, 1817) was the only child of King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, who was still Prince of Wales (and also the Prince Regent) during her lifetime, and Caroline of Brunswick. If she had outlived both her grandfather King George III and her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died following childbirth at the age of 21.

Charlotte’s parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage and soon separated. The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte’s care to governesses and servants, but only allowed her limited contact with Caroline, who eventually left the country. George IV, at the time the Prince Regent, had been raised under strict conditions, which he had rebelled against. Despite this, he attempted to put his daughter, who had the appearance of a grown woman at age 15, under even stricter conditions. He gave her a clothing allowance insufficient for an adult princess, and insisted that if she attended the opera, she was to sit in the rear of the box and leave before the end.

With the Prince Regent busy with affairs of state, Charlotte was required to spend most of her time at Windsor with her maiden aunts. Bored, she soon became infatuated with her first cousin, George FitzClarence, illegitimate son of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (future King William IV). FitzClarence was, shortly thereafter, called to Brighton to join his regiment, and Charlotte’s gaze fell on Lieutenant Charles Hesse of the Light Dragoons, reputedly the illegitimate son of Charlotte’s uncle, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Hesse and Charlotte had a number of clandestine meetings.

Lady de Clifford feared the Prince Regent’s rage should they be found out, but Princess Caroline was delighted by her daughter’s passion. She did everything that she could to encourage the relationship, even allowing them time alone in a room in her apartments. These meetings ended when Hesse left to join the British forces in Spain. Most of the Royal Family, except the Prince Regent, were aware of these meetings, but did nothing to interfere, disapproving of the way George was treating his daughter.

In 1813, with the tide of the Napoleonic Wars having turned firmly in Britain’s favour, George began to seriously consider the question of Charlotte’s marriage. The Prince Regent and his advisors decided on Willem Hereditary Prince of Orange, son and heir-apparent of Prince Willem VI of Orange (later Kings Willem I and King Willem II of the Netherlands respectively). Such a marriage would increase British influence in Northwest Europe. Prince Willem made a poor impression on Charlotte when she first saw him, at George’s birthday party on August 12, when he became intoxicated, as did the Prince Regent himself and many of the guests. Although no one in authority had spoken to Charlotte about the proposed marriage, she was quite familiar with the plan through palace whispers. Dr. Henry Halford was detailed to sound out Charlotte about the match; he found her reluctant, feeling that a future British queen should not marry a foreigner.

Believing that his daughter intended to marry her cousin Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the Prince Regent saw his daughter and verbally abused both her and Gloucester. According to Charlotte, “He spoke as if he had the most improper ideas of my inclinations. I see that he is compleatly [sic] poisoned against me, and that he will never come round.” She wrote to Earl Grey for advice; he suggested she play for time. The matter soon leaked to the papers, which wondered whether Charlotte would marry “the Orange or the Cheese” (a reference to Gloucester cheese), “Slender Billy” [of Orange] or “Silly Billy”.

The Prince Regent attempted a gentler approach, but failed to convince Charlotte who wrote that “I could not quit this country, as Queen of England still less” and that if they wed, the Prince of Orange would have to “visit his frogs solo”. However, on December 12, the Prince Regent arranged a meeting between Charlotte and the Prince of Orange at a dinner party, and asked Charlotte for her decision. She stated that she liked what she had seen so far, which George took as an acceptance, and quickly called in the Prince of Orange to inform him.

Negotiations over the marriage contract took several months, with Charlotte insisting that she not be required to leave Britain. The diplomats had no desire to see the two thrones united, and so the agreement stated that Britain would go to the couple’s oldest son, while the second son would inherit the Netherlands; if there was only one son, the Netherlands would pass to the German branch of the House of Orange.

On June 10, 1814, Charlotte signed the marriage contract. Charlotte had become besotted with a Prussian prince whose identity is uncertain; according to Charles Greville, it was Prince August, although historian Arthur Aspinall disagreed, thinking that her love interest was the younger Prince Friedrich. At a party at the Pulteney Hotel in London, Charlotte met a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Prince Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on December 16, 1790. He was the youngest son of Franz , Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (after the death of its last Duke, Friedrich IV of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

The Princess invited Leopold to call on her, an invitation he took up, remaining for three quarters of an hour, and writing a letter to the Prince Regent apologising for any indiscretion. This letter impressed George very much, although he did not consider the impoverished Leopold as a possible suitor for his daughter’s hand.

The Princess of Wales opposed the match between her daughter and the Prince of Orange, and had great public support: when Charlotte went out in public, crowds would urge her not to abandon her mother by marrying the Prince of Orange. Charlotte informed the Prince of Orange that if they wed, her mother would have to be welcome in their home—a condition sure to be unacceptable to the Prince Regent. When the Prince of Orange would not agree, Charlotte broke off the engagement.

Her father’s response was to order that Charlotte remain at her residence at Warwick House (adjacent to Carlton House) until she could be conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, where she would be allowed to see no one except the Queen. When told of this, Charlotte raced out into the street. A man, seeing her distress from a window, helped the inexperienced Princess find a hackney cab, in which she was conveyed to her mother’s house. Caroline was visiting friends and hastened back to her house, while Charlotte summoned Whig politicians to advise her. A number of family members also gathered, including her uncle, the Duke of York—with a warrant in his pocket to secure her return by force if need be. After lengthy arguments, the Whigs advised her to return to her father’s house, which she did the next day.

Charlotte’s personal coat of arms, 1816

The story of Charlotte’s flight and return was soon the talk of the town; Henry Brougham, a former MP and future Whig Lord Chancellor, reported “All are against the Prince”, and the Opposition press made much of the tale of the runaway Princess. Despite an emotional reconciliation with his daughter, the Prince Regent soon had her conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge, where her attendants were under orders never to let her out of their sight. She was able to smuggle a note out to her favourite uncle, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex. The Duke responded by questioning the Tory Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, in the House of Lords. He asked whether Charlotte was free to come and go, whether she was allowed to go to the seaside as doctors had recommended for her in the past, and now that she was eighteen, whether the government planned to give her a separate establishment. Liverpool evaded the questions, and the Duke was summoned to Carlton House and castigated by the Prince Regent, who never spoke with his brother again.

Despite her isolation, Charlotte found life at Cranbourne Lodge surprisingly agreeable, and slowly became reconciled to her situation. At the end of July 1814, the Prince Regent visited Charlotte in her isolation and informed her that her mother was about to leave England for an extended stay on the Continent. This upset Charlotte, but she did not feel that anything she might say could change her mother’s mind, and was further aggrieved by her mother’s casualness in the leavetaking, “for God knows how long, or what events may occur before we meet again”. Charlotte would never see her mother again.

In late August, Charlotte was permitted to go to the seaside. She had asked to go to fashionable Brighton, but the Prince Regent refused, sending her instead to Weymouth. As the Princess’s coach stopped along the way, large, friendly crowds gathered to see her; according to Holme, “her affectionate welcome shows that already people thought of her as their future Queen”. On arrival in Weymouth, there were illuminations with a centrepiece “Hail Princess Charlotte, Europe’s Hope and Britain’s Glory”. Charlotte spent time exploring nearby attractions, shopping for smuggled French silks, and from late September taking a course of heated seawater baths. She was still infatuated with her Prussian, and hoped in vain that he would declare his interest in her to the Prince Regent. If he did not do so, she wrote to a friend, she would “take the next best thing, which was a good tempered man with good sence [sic] … that man is the P of S-C” [Prince of Saxe-Coburg, i.e. Leopold].

In mid-December, shortly before leaving Weymouth, she “had a very sudden and great shock” when she received news that her Prussian had formed another attachment. In a long talk after Christmas dinner, father and daughter made up their differences.

In the early months of 1815, Charlotte fixed on Leopold (or as she termed him, “the Leo”) as a spouse. Her father refused to give up hope that Charlotte would agree to marry the Prince of Orange. However, Charlotte wrote, “No arguments, no threats, shall ever bend me to marry this detested Dutchman.”

Faced with the united opposition of the Royal Family, George finally gave in and dropped the idea of marriage to the Prince of Orange, who became engaged to Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia that summer. Charlotte contacted Leopold through intermediaries, and found him receptive, but with Napoleon renewing the conflict on the Continent, Leopold was with his regiment fighting. In July, shortly before returning to Weymouth, Charlotte formally requested her father’s permission to marry Leopold. The Prince Regent replied that with the unsettled political situation on the Continent, he could not consider such a request. To Charlotte’s frustration, Leopold did not come to Britain after the restoration of peace, even though he was stationed in Paris, which she deemed to be only a short journey from Weymouth or London.

In January 1816, the Prince Regent invited his daughter to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, and she pleaded with him to allow the marriage. On her return to Windsor, she wrote her father, “I no longer hesitate in declaring my partiality in favour of the Prince of Coburg—assuring you that no one will be more steady or consistent in this their present & last engagement than myself.” George gave in and summoned Leopold, who was in Berlin en route to Russia, to Britain. Leopold arrived in Britain in late February 1816, and went to Brighton to be interviewed by the Prince Regent.

After Charlotte was invited as well, and had dinner with Leopold and her father, she wrote:

I find him charming, and go to bed happier than I have ever done yet in my life … I am certainly a very fortunate creature, & have to bless God. A Princess never, I believe, set out in life (or married) with such prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people.

The Prince Regent was impressed by Leopold, and told his daughter that Leopold “had every qualification to make a woman happy”. Charlotte was sent back to Cranbourne on March 2, leaving Leopold with the Prince Regent. On 14 March, an announcement was made in the House of Commons to great acclaim, with both parties relieved to have the drama of the Princess’s romances at an end.

Parliament voted Leopold £50,000 per year, purchased Claremont House for the couple, and allowed them a generous single payment to set up house. Fearful of a repetition of the Orange fiasco, George limited Charlotte’s contact with Leopold; when Charlotte returned to Brighton, he allowed them to meet only at dinner, and never let them be alone together.

1818 engraving of the wedding of Charlotte and Leopold

The marriage ceremony was set for May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married. Charlotte’s wedding dress cost over ₤10,000. The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.

The couple honeymooned at Oatlands Palace, the Duke of York’s residence in Surrey. Neither was well and the house was filled with the Yorks’ dogs and the odour of animals. Nevertheless, the Princess wrote that Leopold was “the perfection of a lover”. Two days after the marriage, they were visited by the Prince Regent at Oatlands; he spent two hours describing the details of military uniforms to Leopold, which according to Charlotte “is a great mark of the most perfect good humour”. Prince Leopold and his wife returned to London for the social season, and when they attended the theatre, they were invariably treated to wild applause from the audience and the singing of “God Save the King” from the company. When she was taken ill at the Opera, there was great public concern about her condition. It was announced that she had suffered a miscarriage. On August 24, 1816, they took up residence for the first time at Claremont.

After a year and a half of happy marriage, Charlotte died after delivering a stillborn son. Charlotte’s death set off tremendous mourning among the British, who had seen her as a sign of hope and a contrast both to her unpopular father and to her grandfather, whom they deemed mad. As she had been King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, there was considerable pressure on the King’s unmarried sons to find wives. King George III’s fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fathered the eventual heir, Victoria, who was born 18 months after Charlotte’s death.

In 1831 Prince Leopold was elected the first King of the Belgians following the country’s independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865. His descendant still sits on the throne of Belgium.

King Albert II and Abdication. My thoughts.

Tags

Albert II of Belgium, King George IV of the United Kingdom, King Leopold III of Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium, Philippe Duke of Brabant, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

As I write this post it was announced that HM King Albert II of Belgium will abdicate the throne on July 21 due to health. The king is 79 years old and his 53 year old son, Prince Philippe, the Duke of Brabant will take the throne.  I wonder if the abdication by the Dutch monarch in April is what started Albert II to think of abdication?

Albert came to the throne 20 years ago in 1993 when his brother, King Baudouin died at the age of 62. Many were surprised that Albert to the throne because it has been assumed for years that Prince Philippe, the Duke of Brabant, would succeed his childless uncle, King Baudouin. Albert did become king and it has been a difficult 20 years on the throne.

Belgium has seen political crises and ethnic and cultural strife. Like all of the constitutional monarchs Albert doesn’t have any real political power and his role is mostly ceremonial, he did, at one point in his reign exercised some political authority. In 2010-2011 the Belgian Parliament was at a stalemate unable to form a government for 541 days after  elections failed to find a clear winner. The king took an advisory role with the political leaders helping to resolve the stalemate. Although it was a difficult time for him he demonstrated the positive role a neutral head of state can play in the daily running of the government.

Respect for the royal family seems to be one of the forces holding the country together. There has often been tensions between the two main language communities of Flemish and French in Belgium. This issue divisive issue has brought down several governments, creating frequent political instability.

This will be the second abdication of a Belgian monarch. Albert II was the 6th Belgian monarch since the creation of that throne in 1831. In 1830 a revolution in the Netherlands happened and the Southern Provinces separated from the Netherlands forming the state of Belgium. In 1831 they selected Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as their king. Leopold was the uncle to both Queen Victoria of Great Britain and her husband Prince Albert. For a time Prince Leopold was married to Princess Charlotte of Wales who was second in line to the British throne until her death in childbirth in 1817.

In 1951, King Leopold III abdicated shortly after his return from exile which occurred during World War II. Many in Belgium felt his actions during the war were treasonous so in an effort to avoid tearing the country apart, and to preserve the monarchy, Leopold decided on August 1, 1950 to withdraw in favour of his 20-year-old son Baudouin. The abdication went into effect on July 16, 1951.

This will be the third abdication this year following Pope Benedict XVI and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. I have softened my view on abdication. I f you look at the list of any monarchy in Europe you will see that people are living much longer than they used to. With that in mind I am beginning to see that there is no valid reason why a monarch should carry the burdens of state when their health declines. Now some may prefer that the monarch retire, keep the title, and allow the hier to take the throne as regent. This is similar to how the future George IV took over for his ailing father. This makes the regent king…or queen…in all but name.

I still like that arrangement and prefer it actually, but I do not feel so rigidly attached to it as I have in the past. I have no problem when a monarch feels the need to step down and pass the crown to the next in line.