7th son or 7th daughter God Children Belgian Royal Family

[JimandDonna]

In researching it appears my husbands grandfather was a 7th son & such was a Royal God child.Are there records kept on who these children are.

[Pranter]

Your husbands grandfather must of been Catholic if he was a Godchild of a Belgian Royal..in that case there would be parish records listing the godparents of the person in question.


LaRae

[JimandDonna]

my understanding is if they are the 7th child the parents can apply to have the King or Queen as godparents.There are requirements which I'm sure were met as far as I know they're Roman Catholic but I'm not positive of that.We know very little about his history was hoping this would be a lead

[Pranter]

You would need to do some some digging in geneology files. The Catholic Church has parishes registered from centuries ago. You just need to find out where he lived when born and figure out what parish/Church was in the area ...copy of parents marriage license could help if they lived in Belgium when married...could give a location to start with.


Also there's this:

The King and the Queen are traditionally godfather or godmother of the seventh son or seventh daughter in a family, provided that this succession of boys or girls born is uninterrupted. The royal couple may be godparents of the seventh consecutive son or daughter to a common family who have lived in Belgium for a sufficiently long period of time. It revolves around royal favour. There is therefore no automatic bestowal, as we can read on the website monarchie.be (http://monarchie.be).

[JimandDonna]

Thanks for your help yes it appears he is the 7th in succession we are looking for more information on his parents.Thanks again for your help

[Pranter]

Ancestry . com can be very helpful, however you do have to pay a separate fee to be able to access their European records.

Welcome!


LaRae

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Pranter

Your husbands grandfather must of been Catholic if he was a Godchild of a Belgian Royal..in that case there would be parish records listing the godparents of the person in question.


LaRae

Actually it seems you don't have to be Catholic. Or even live in Belgium. As long as you are a seventh consecutive son or daughter, and from a Belgian family.

This little goddaughter of Paola was born in New York to an orthodox family

Royal Treatment – The Forward

But yes, you have to apply. Bring your attention. It seems one or two a year now a days. Not surprising considering how families have shrunk.

[Pranter]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Actually it seems you don't have to be Catholic. Or even live in Belgium. As long as you are a seventh consecutive son or daughter, and from a Belgian family.

This little goddaughter of Paola was born in New York to an orthodox family

Royal Treatment – The Forward

But yes, you have to apply. Bring your attention. It seems one or two a year now a days. Not surprising considering how families have shrunk.

Well they weren't actually Godparents to the little girl according to the article, not all faiths have these.

Interesting tradition though.

Yeah the birth rates in Europe are very low, with the exception of immigrant groups...I heard Belgium was very very low.


LaRae

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Pranter

Well they weren't actually Godparents to the little girl according to the article, not all faiths have these.

Interesting tradition though.

Yeah the birth rates in Europe are very low, with the exception of immigrant groups...I heard Belgium was very very low.


LaRae

Yes, but she is an honorary godchild. She gets the same privileges. The trips to the castle, the free education, the gift from the queen. Paola simply has a different title. The point being, you don't have to be Catholic to qualify to apply. In a country that has plenty of Protestants it would likely not be popular if a Protestant child who meets the qualifications was denied. They are monarchs of not only the Catholics.

[JimandDonna]

It's odd that they don't live in Belgium, my understanding is they must live in Belgium but maybe they are less strict with this now.It's all very interesting..It is believed my husbands family has other links to the then Royal family I'm yet to find those though.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by JimandDonna

It's odd that they don't live in Belgium, my understanding is they must live in Belgium but maybe they are less strict with this now.It's all very interesting..It is believed my husbands family has other links to the then Royal family I'm yet to find those though.

They have to be a Belgian family. The little girls parents are. They simply live and run a jewel business in the US. Since both parents are Belgian, the little girl likely can claim duel citizenship.

[Pranter]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Yes, but she is an honorary godchild. She gets the same privileges. The trips to the castle, the free education, the gift from the queen. Paola simply has a different title. The point being, you don't have to be Catholic to qualify to apply. In a country that has plenty of Protestants it would likely not be popular if a Protestant child who meets the qualifications was denied. They are monarchs of not only the Catholics.

Oh right honorary, yes.


LaRae

[JimandDonna]

The stipulations are that the child be the seventh in an unbroken line of seven children of the same gender and coming from the same marriage. The seven children must all be living and the parents must be of good moral character. Regarding those parents of foreign origin, it is desired that they live the entire time in Belgium and that the majority of their children are born in Belgium. All these conditions apply equally for the Queen to be godmother of the seventh daughter. This is on Roots Web

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by JimandDonna

The stipulations are that the child be the seventh in an unbroken line of seven children of the same gender and coming from the same marriage. The seven children must all be living and the parents must be of good moral character. Regarding those parents of foreign origin, it is desired that they live the entire time in Belgium and that the majority of their children are born in Belgium. All these conditions apply equally for the Queen to be godmother of the seventh daughter. This is on Roots Web

According to the official website of the Belgian family (most official source)

The child must as well as seventh consecutive

Born to a Belgian family

Or

Born to a family who has lived in Belgium a sufficient time.

There is no requirement, if the family is legally Belgian, for them to reside in Belgium.

[JimandDonna]

So back to my original question do they keep a record of these children?

[Lee-Z]

Originally Posted by JimandDonna

So back to my original question do they keep a record of these children?

I doubt there is an official list available for the public...there were a few times this occured in recent years (king or queen becoming godparents for a boy or girl respectively) which led to short articles in media but there was never a reference to a "list of the other godchildren"
probably the RF *has* a list for keeping in touch, but not officially published..

[Marengo]

I suppose the best way would be to contact the palace in Brussels. They should have an archive where such matters are recorded.

Lee-Z is correct, only in April Queen Mathilde became godmother of Zaineb, the seventh daughter in a row for a couple from Gent. She has another goddaughter who is the 7th daughter as well. The king has two godsons who are the seventh in a row. The last one was Haroun Moudani from Anderlecht.

Article in Dutch;
Koningin Mathilde is meter van Zaineb: hoe gaat dat in zijn werk?

[maria-olivia]

Queen Fabiola invited her Godchildren to Kinepolis where they had with their godmother lunch and cinema.

[JR76]

Originally Posted by Pranter

Well they weren't actually Godparents to the little girl according to the article, not all faiths have these.

Interesting tradition though.

Yeah the birth rates in Europe are very low, with the exception of immigrant groups...I heard Belgium was very very low.


LaRae

Not all immigrants and not only immigrants. For example the Orthodox Jews, of which there are many in Belgium, has a high birthrate.

[Pranter]

That's good to know.


LaRae