King Leopold I of The Belgians (1790-1865)

[Marengo]

King Leopold II (1790-1865)

This thread is about King Leopold I The Belgians (Coburg 16 Dec 1790-Laeken 10 Dec 1865)

Parents: Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and King Leopold I of The Belgians and Princess Louise-Marie of France (Orleans)

First wife: Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales

Second wife: Princess Louise-Marie of France (Orleans)

Children: Prince Louis-Phillipe, King Leopold II of The Belgians, Prince Phillip of Belgium, Count of Flanders, Empress Charlotte (Carlota) of Mexico

Siblings: Countess Sophie of Mensdorf-Pouilly, Duchess Antoinette of Wurttemberg, Grand Duchess Juliana/Anna Feodorovna of Russia, Duke Ernst of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess Victoria of Great-Britain, Duchess of Kent, Princess Marianne and Prince Franz-Alexander of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.



Note that all images posted in this thread by me are free of copyrights, unless stated differently. The TRF policy conserning copyrights has not changed

[Marengo]

Leopold I (Leopold George Christian Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) (b. Coburg, 16 December 1790 - d. Laeken/Laken, 10 December 1865) was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. His children included Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico.

He was the youngest son of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Princess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, and later became a prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha after the territorial swap by his father in Ehrenburg Castle in the Bavarian town of Coburg. He was also the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
In 1795, as a mere child, Leopold was appointed colonel of the Izmailovski Imperial Regiment in Russia. Seven years later he became a general. When Napoleonic troops occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg in 1806 Leopold went to Paris. Napoléon offered him the position of adjutant, but he refused. Instead he took up a military career in the Imperial Russian cavalry. He campaigned against Napoléon, and distinguished himself at the Battle of Kulm at the head of his cuirassier division. In 1815 Leopold reached the rank of lieutenant-general in the Russian army.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

[Marengo]

From the website of the Belgian RF, so free of copyrights:

1790
On 16 December, in Coburg, Bavaria, birth of Leopold, Georges, Chrétien, Frédéric, son of His Ducal Highness François, reigning Duke of Saxe-Cobourg Saalfeld.

1795
Leopold was appointed by the Russian Czar as Colonel of the Ismailovski Regiment of the Imperial Guard. He became a general seven years later.

1806
The Duchy was occupied by Napoleon's troops. Leopold stayed in Paris and became a familiar figure at the Imperial Court. The Emperor wanted to make him an Aide de Camp. Leopold refused.

He would succeed his brother at the head of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg. He would then participate in the campaigns against Napoleon.

1815
Leopold acquired British nationality, was made a Field Marshal, and married Princess Charlotte, heir to the British throne. Less than a year later, she would give birth to a stillborn child, before dying herself.

1830
Leopold refused the crown of Greece.

1831
On 21 July, he took the oath as the first King of the Belgians He devoted most of his reign to consolidating the young state.

On 2 August, King William of the Netherlands invaded Belgium. The intervention of the Great Powers saved the new state. Its status was reduced, particularly by annexation of some of its territory and the obligation to pay a toll to the Netherlands for ships to sail on the Scheldt. (Treaty of the 24 Articles)

1832
On 9 August, Leopold married Louise-Marie, daughter of Louis-Philippe, King of France.

1835
Inauguration of the first railway line (Brussels-Malines) in continental Europe. This was the culmination of a project on which the King had been working since 1832.

1842
Leopold attempted to obtain legislation on the labour of women and children. But the time was not ripe.

1848
A Republican revolution removed Louis-Philippe from the throne of France. Its repercussions were felt throughout Europe, but spared Belgium, largely due to the diplomatic action of the King.

1850
On 11 October, Queen Louise-Marie died.
1865
On 10 December, death of King Leopold.

[Marengo]

Leopold first married Princess Charlotte of Wales, heir to the British throne:

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (7 January 1796 – 6 November 1817) was the only child of the ill-fated marriage between George IV (at the time Prince of Wales) and Caroline of Brunswick.

She was born at Carlton House in London, her birth being something of a miracle as George IV later claimed that he and his wife had sex no more than three times in the whole of their marriage. By the time she was a few months old, Charlotte's parents were effectively separated, and her mother's time with her was severely restricted by her father.
She grew into a headstrong and difficult teenager, and fell out with her mother when Caroline decided to go into continental exile. Following an ill-fated attempt to wed her to Prince Willem of Orange (later William II of the Netherlands) which she broke off after he made a drunken exhibition of himself at Ascot races, she spent much of her time restricted to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, Berkshire from July 1814 to January 1816 while Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld lobbied the Prince Regent and the British Parliament for the right to court.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

[Marengo]

Three paintings of Charlotte of Wales, first wife of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld:

[Marengo]

A large portrait of Leopold when he was still in England:

[Marengo]

His parents, Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Princess Augusta of Reuss:

[Marengo]

Two of the weapons Leopold I used:

[Marengo]

Leopold I married Princess Louise-Marie of France (Orleans). The couple got 3 children; Leopold (II), Phillipe and Charlotte.

Wedding of Leopold and Louise-Marie:



The couple:

[Marengo]

The family:

[Marengo]

Leopold I taking the oath as King of the Belgians:

[Marengo]

Celebrating his silver jubilee:

[Marengo]

Three portraits of a young Leopold, still married to Princess Charlotte of Wales:

[Helena]

I see that the Belgian RF website brushed out Caroline Bauer (?). Leopold was married to her, right? She was a niece of Stockmar. Did he ever aquire a divorce or was the thing hushed up like with George IV?

[PrincessKoreen]

From what I know, Leopold had an affair with Caroline after Charlotte's death. They may or may not have married, and she was Stockmar's cousin...

Belgian Royal Family

Although not mentioned in most Royal Genealogy sources Leopold married secondly and morganatically Caroline Bauer in 1829 apparently by signing a contract rather than in a religious wedding. They were divorced not long after with Caroline returning to her acting career. Caroline died in 1877 from an overdose of sleeping-pills and in 1885 a posthumous book "Memoirs" was published giving details of her life with Leopold. Caroline Bauer was a cousin to Baron Stockmar advisor to Leopold and his niece Queen Victoria of Great Britain

[mary1103]

Here a picture of Carlota and brothers.