King Albert I of The Belgians (1875-1934)


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I saw a Colonel this evening at a Visit and Cocktail at the Royal Palace. Marchesina is right : King Haakon is wearing the Belgian Sash of the Order of Leopold with his Collar and King Albert the Norvegian Sash and the Collar of the Order of Saint Olav. He wore also "les plaques " of the 2 Orders. " .
This Collar is still to see on our Army Museum ; A Norgian saw it and said this has to come back to our Order. Answer : this has to be discussed between the 2 Kings!
 
Not discussed. Everything it was grander in the past and even official visits required uniforms and orders. So, when visiting a country, the host wears the highest Order of the visiting country and the guest wears the highest Order from the country he is visiting. Nowadays it only happens for State visits or State occasions instead (big birthday celebrations, weddings or christenings).
 
Back to King Albert Ier;
Prince Philippe Comte de Flanders became Heir ot the Throne of the belgians when Leopold , Leopold II's unique Son died when he was 10 years old.
Before , He refused the throne of Greece and Roumanie in 1866 and refused to be married to isabelle daughter of Emperor Pedro of Bresil.
His eldest Son Baudouin died in 1891 , Albert was only 16 years old. He asked in 1930 to Leopold and Astrid to give to their first Son the name of Baudouin. He loved so much his elder brother that another Baudouin would be King of the Belgians

Why didn't Albert name one of his own sons Baudouin?
 
It was King Leopold II 's will .
So he asked himself Leopold to name his Son Baudouin
 
As Philippe was the first Count of Flanders in Belgium , he choiced Baudouin because they were 5 Baudouin famous Count of Flanders in the Middle Age.
 
At least Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders reintroduced the name to the history of Belgian ruling dynasties, which was a nice appeal to tradition. :flowers:

Regarding family relation, the current king is apparently descended from the ruling Counts of Flanders, but I don't know through whom.

Through his grandmother, Queen Astrid, the King is a descendant of William I, King of the Netherlands, who was our sovereign from 1815 to 1830, and from Joséphine de Beauharnais, the wife of Emperor Napoleon I, who governed our lands at the very beginning of the 19th century.

Through Queen Elisabeth and Queen Louise-Marie, the King descends in several instances from all the dynasties that reigned over our lands through the centuries until the end of the Ancien Régime (1789). His ancestors include members of the illustrious Hapsburg dynasty, such as Empress Maria Theresa (18th century) and Emperor Charles V, born in Ghent in 1500. The latter was the grandson of Mary of Burgundy (born in Brussels in 1457, died in Bruges in 1482), the heiress in particular of the Duchy of Burgundy, the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg, and the Countries of Flanders, Hainaut and Namur. Thanks to the relations by marriage of the Dukes of Burgundy, all the medieval dynasties that made the history of our country figure in the ancestry of the King of the Belgians.

https://www.monarchie.be/en/royal-family/history/origins-of-the-dynasty
 
Lee Z, if you don't believe me , write a letter to the Royal Palace and they will answer you in Dutch. I met the new Archiviste (don't know it in English) , they have a lot of documents .
 
Lee Z, if you don't believe me , write a letter to the Royal Palace and they will answer you in Dutch. I met the new Archiviste (don't know it in English) , they have a lot of documents .

I have never said i didn't believe you and have deleted my previous post
 
:previous:
The baby was his eldest son, Prince Léopold (later King Léopold III).
 
The State Funeral of King Albert I in 1934,the Belgian Monarchy used to do pomp quite well now the use ugly hearses / people carriers and armored cars at funerals.

 
Very Moving...thank you for finding and posting that !
 
When was the last time the Belgian Rf used one of those beautiful carriages ,much nicer than their favored people carrier .
 
As you know An Ard Ri , we had no King in Belgium for nearly 10 years.
I never saw carriages during King Baudouin's Reign.

Back to King Albert i , it is sad he was alone on his climbing Expedition. When the Police and Members of Justice came to Marche les Dames the Royal Body was already in Laeken.
One million people in the Street His Funerals.
The so sad situation of our Belgian Monarchy is that one year later in 1935 , one million people again were on the Street for our beloved Queen Astrid.

What should have been King Albert I's attitude for WW2 ?
 
There has been a very serious book about the subject "Le Roi tué" written by Jacques Notterman.... quite clear he did not die the official way....
 
Jacques Noterman is a bad writer et don't bellieve what he says
He did die the official way. I guided the Exhibition about King Albert I at the Royal Palace at 2009 , important Persons who were there and confirm it ?
 
Right he went to Congo beginning 1909 and was angry because ; no Hygiène no Roads, no contact with people of Congo and the belgian administration King Leopold II passed way some months later.
 
When Albert's brother Prince Baudouin died at 21, their father Prince Philippe was 54. Had Philippe renounced his claim to the throne?
 
When Albert's brother Prince Baudouin died at 21, their father Prince Philippe was 54. Had Philippe renounced his claim to the throne?

No, he hadn't, though he did decline to take up the seat in the Senate to which he had the right as heir to the throne.
 
I thought that Philippe's deafness made him de facto out of succession, even if it wasn't official? He was never treated as the heir to anything.
 
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:previous: Prinsara, I did not know that Prince Philippe was deaf.
 
He had a more happy life than his Brother , In his Palace there was love in Laeken there was hell!
They travelled a lot in their Castle aux Amerois , in The comtesse Family etc.
Fine Business Man he left 800.000 euros when he passed away !
At the end of his life he was more and more deaf and read books. His library was extrodinary.
He had wonderful silver pieces of Odiot herited by Leopold III , they were sold at an Auction
At his Funeral King Leopold II cried !
 
Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, the daughter of Crown Prince Rudolph and Crown Princess Stephanie of Austria, was considered as a possible bride for Prince Albert. King Leopold II did not give his consent.
 
Leopold II was the uncle of king Albert I not his father, as said in the article.
 
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