Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869-1891), brother of King Albert I

[kallia17]

Hello to everyone!

There wasn't a thread about this young prince of Belgium who was going to be King, so I thought I should start one.

I'm interested in learning more things about his life and personality. Also I'm looking forward to see some photographs if any of you has any - Baudouin's photographs are some kind of rare...

I would like to know if there was any love interest or a possible future match for him. He seems to be attractive and he was an heir to the Belgian throne, so why not?

I'll see you later, then!

Thanks,
Kallia

[Tatiana Maria]

There were rumors that he would marry his cousin Princess Clementine, the daughter of King Leopold II, but there seems to be no substantiation of those rumors.

Interestingly, he was never formally a "Prince of Belgium", only a "Prince". The absence of "of Belgium" in his death certificate was what encouraged the government to issue a royal decree granting the members of the royal family the name "of Belgium". https://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/royalbelge.htm

[maria-olivia]

When Prince Leopold Duke de Brabant had his first Son his father King Albert I asked him to give the surname of Baudouin his eldest Brother who died from pneumonia he got from his Sister who survived.

[An Ard Ri]

Yes I thought that was odd that he was not 'Prince of Belgium' seeing as his father was HRH The Count of Flanders!

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

Yes I thought that was odd that he was not 'Prince of Belgium' seeing as his father was HRH The Count of Flanders!

What made it even more uncomfortable for the government and royal family was that, even though his death certificate did not give the name "of Belgium", it did give the name "of Saxony".

[maria-olivia]

The 4 Children of The Comte de Flandres : Baudouin , Henriette, Joséphine (+), Josephine and Albert were Princes et Princesses de Belgique.

[Tatiana Maria]

But not formally such before the royal decree of March 14, 1891, by which time Baudouin and the first Josephine had passed away. As described by the report published with the decree, they were called "of Belgium" when they were abroad, but in Belgium they were only called by their forenames (for example, Baudouin was always called "Prince Baudouin", not "Prince Baudouin of Belgium" when in Belgium, which is why "of Belgium" was missing from his death certificate).

https://www.heraldica.org/topics/roy...e.htm#Belgique

Dans le sein de la grande famille belge où, à tous les titres, ils sont les premiers, on ne les désigne que par leur prénom, mais à l'étranger, on qualifie nos princes et princesses du nom de la Belgique et tel est bien leur nom qui leur revient.

[Gawin]

Some information about Baudouin:

He was raised as the heir to the throne following the birth of his cousin Clementine in 1872.

His education was entrusted to the liberal Jules Bosmans, which "provoked strong opposition in the ultramontane press."

He made himself popular in Flanders by delivering a speech in Dutch and by standing for the unofficial Flemish anthem. The Flemish, who felt discriminated against, regarded him as their saviour.

At the age of 15 he was sent to the Royal Military School, where (unlike his father and uncle) he would receive a military education in close contact with the other students.

In 1889 he assumed command of the 263 men of the first regiment of the carabiniers.

In 1891 he caught a cold that rapidly developed into bronchitis, resulting in his death at 22.

"For many observers, Baudouin embodied both military duty and the fulfillment of bourgeois values. In order to attract popularity his simple lifestyle and his demonstrative solidarity with the soldiers were deliberately made visible and known to the public."

His death "mobilized socialist and Flamingant sentiments in the politically opinionated national press." Flemish papers "portrayed the deceased heir presumptive as their 'Flemish Prince' who had symbolized the end of discrimination and represented hope for the future." But francophone papers were "noticeably unkeen to recall the Flemish sympathies of the prince and neglected or minimized Baudouin's Dutch speeches in their memorial articles."

King Leopold II made all the major decisions regarding Baudouin's funeral and burial. "He clearly found it difficult that royal funerals had become increasingly national and public events. Many non-related foreign monarchs and heads of state intended to send a special mission to Baudouin's funeral, but Leopold II declined them all. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister asked Leopold to reconsider this decision, indicating that an increased sense of theatricality and national representation of monarchies had become the expected norm." At the same time, "he did not dare to refuse the delegation from the German Emperor Wilhelm II and personally and with full military honours received Prince Heinrich of Prussia, the emperor's brother, at the train station."

Queen Victoria sent her son-in-law Prince Henry of Battenberg.

"A small deputation of the Prussian regiment of which Baudouin was captain was also allowed to participate in the funeral in Brussels and Prince Albert, the new heir presumptive, walked next to Heinrich of Prussia in his uniform of the Royal Military School."

Source: Christoph De Spiegeleer, "1834-1869-1891: The Untimely Deaths of Three Heirs to the Belgian Throne," in Sons and Heirs: Succession and Political Culture in Nineteenth-Century Europe, ed. Frank Lorenz Muller and Heidi Mehrkens (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), pp. 179-195.

____________________


More detailed information including pictures of Baudouin:

http://theesotericcuriosa.blogspot.c...n-loss-of.html

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Tatiana Maria

There were rumors that he would marry his cousin Princess Clementine, the daughter of King Leopold II, but there seems to be no substantiation of those rumors.

Interestingly, he was never formally a "Prince of Belgium", only a "Prince". The absence of "of Belgium" in his death certificate was what encouraged the government to issue a royal decree granting the members of the royal family the name "of Belgium". https://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/royalbelge.htm

He passed away in January 1891 and King Leopold II's royal decree creating the title of Prince of Belgium was issued in March of the same year, i.e. approximately three months later !

[maria-olivia]

The sorrow for Prince Albert , later King Albert I was great . His elder brother was his model e.a. his military Education.
For King Leopold Ii , Albert had no experience he never like him.
Albert I was un unexpected King such as King Albert II .

[An Ard Ri]

The Funeral of Prince Baudouin of Belgium on the 29th of January 1891.

[maria-olivia]

Great Picture , what a sorrow after Leopold , Leopold Ii only Son. Queen Louise Marie died when she was 38 from Luceumia.
The Comtesse de Flanders wanted to marry Albert to a Princess d' Orleans but Leopold II said no , because the family is not healthy....and he married Elisabeth Princess of Baviera . His first Son has the surname of Leopold but his first Grandson Baudouin.

[Gawin]

According to one source Prince Albert wanted to marry Princess Isabelle of Orleans but King Leopold refused permission (1898) for political reasons (it might upset the French government).

Source: Christoph De Spiegeleer, "1834-1869-1891: The Untimely Deaths of Three Heirs to the Belgian Throne," in Sons and Heirs: Succession and Political Culture in Nineteenth-Century Europe, ed. Frank Lorenz Muller and Heidi Mehrkens (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), p. 188.

BTW, here is a reference to a biography about Prince Baudouin:

Damien Bilteryst, Le Prince Baudouin, Frère du Roi-Chevalier (2013).

The author also wrote a biography of his father: Philippe, Comte de Flandre, Frère du Léopold II (2014).

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Gawin

According to one source Prince Albert wanted to marry Princess Isabelle of Orleans but King Leopold refused permission (1898) for political reasons (it might upset the French government).

Source: Christoph De Spiegeleer, "1834-1869-1891: The Untimely Deaths of Three Heirs to the Belgian Throne," in Sons and Heirs: Succession and Political Culture in Nineteenth-Century Europe, ed. Frank Lorenz Muller and Heidi Mehrkens (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), p. 188.
.

If I understand it correctly, if Prince Albert had married Isabelle d'Orléans without the King's consent and been therefore disqualified from the succession under the Belgian constitution, there would be no legal heir to the throne. Under that scenario, the Belgian constitution says that the King could name a successor , who would have to be approved though by a two-third majority in both houses with at least two-thirds of the members present. That could have triggered a major constitutional crisis .

[maria-olivia]

I trust what I know from the Exhibition I guided about King Albert the first at the Royal Palace in 2009. i saw a letter of the Comtesse de Flanders to another Royal about her wish to marry Albert to Isabelle d' Orleans. Prince Albert was not in love with her and King Leopold II forbid the wedding for the reason I mentionned above.
He married Elisabeth of Bavaria it was a love wedding. , Leopold II did not like her but must have been very happy when one year after the Wedding she gave birth to a Son , the future Leopold III.

[Gawin]

I misspoke - Christoph De Spiegeleer doesn't state Albert himself wanted to marry Isabelle, only that Leopold II refused permission for political reasons.

He cites this source: Jean Stengers, Die Koningen der Belgen, Van Leopold I tot Albert II, 2nd translated ed. (Leuven, 1997), pp. 126-28.

Isabelle's Wikipedia entry backs his statement up with another source: Voir Pierre Daye, Léopold II, Fayard, 1934, p. 462.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince...878–1961)

I haven't seen either source myself but Christoph De Spiegeleer earned a PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and has written extensively on the Belgian monarchy.

Christoph De Spiegeleer | Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Academia.edu

BTW - I'm not disagreeing, just pointing out sources.

[An Ard Ri]

Had the Prince lived would he have succeeded as the next Comte de Flandres or did his father hold that title for life only?

[maria-olivia]

in January 1869 , When the little Prince Leopold died , Philippe de Flandres was the Heir of the Trone.
He died 1905. King Leopold II died in 1909 and Prince Baudouin would have been King Baudouin Ier. If he did not pass away , he would be married and have descendents.

So Prince Albert should remain Prince Albert de Belgique Duc de Saxe Cobourg Gotha and his Son Prince Leopold same tittle as his father. That means no King Albert I, King Leopold III, King Baudouin Ier , King Albert II, King Philippe.

[Marengo]

Royal decrees from 1840, 1891 and 1910 claimed and affirmed that the title count of Flanders was awarded ad personam to the second son of the king. The title was not hereditary. On 16 oktober 2001 a new royal decree decided that the title would no longer be used.

[maria-olivia]

A good idea. Queen Marie José wrote in her book that she was jalous that her Brothers were duke de Brabant and Comte de Flandres. She wanted to be Princesse du Congo!!