"Belgian Royal Question" - the Abdication Crisis of King Leopold III of the Belgians

[Ennyllorac]

"Belgian Royal Question" - the Abdication Crisis of King Leopold III of the Belgians

by Marengo

The crisis known as the "Belgian Royal Question" shook the foundations of the Belgian monarchy after World War II and would split the country in two. Some even feared that a civil war would result. The core of the crisis was the conduct of Leopold III during World War II: was he a collaborator or not? And then there was his secret marriage to Lilian Baels, which did not sit well with the image of a grieving widower locked up in his castle and sharing the same fate as his troops. Walloons, Flemish, Catholics, Liberals, Socialists, and even Belgium's French and British allies all had different opinions about Leopold's conduct.

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