Belgian Royal Coats of Arms & Monograms


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Miguel.mateo

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Hi there,

I wonder if anyone can help me to find information about the Belgian Royal Monograms. I am in particular looking for the monograms picture and general information about them.

Thanks in advance,
Miguel
 
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Belgian monograms

King Albert II 's monogram is on the Belgian euro coins (A with a crown above). Albert I's monogram was probably the same as Albert II's.

If I am not mistaken,the Leopolds' monogram was an L, mirrored to the left side, with a crown above (so two L's, the first mirrored).
Boudewijn's monogram was probably just a B with a crown above. Maybe mirrored as well, can't remember, I was only a child when he died.

I hope this helps you somewhat. Haven't found pictures, but euro-coins you can find on Wiki. Maybe pictures of royal buildings can help, I distinctly remember seeing a Leopold monogram in greyish stone one day.
 
You can find the mirrored L on the building of the central station in Antwerp. [next to the Zoo] People told me that it is the monogram of Leopold II, I don't know if it is also the monogram of the others Kings Leopold.

Maybe you can also look and ask your questions about this subject here



http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f162/royal-monograms-842.html

There are the treads about this subject in general.
 
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Royal Standard of Queen Fabiola of Belgium


240px-Royal_Standard_of_Queen_Fabiola_of_Belgium_%281960-2014%29.svg.png


Queen Fabiola's monogram


128px-Royal_Monogram_of_Queen_Fabiola_of_Belgium.svg.png
 
Royal Monogram of King Baudouin I, King of the Belgians


108px-Royal_Monogram_of_King_Baudouin_I%2C_King_of_the_Belgians.svg.png




Royal Monagram of Princess Astrid of Belgium,Archduchess of Austria-Este


176px-Royal_Monogram_of_Princess_Astrid_of_Belgium.svg.png
 
Royal Monogram of King Albert II, King of the Belgians


175px-Royal_Monogram_of_Albert_II_of_Belgium.svg.png


Royal Standard of King Albert II of Belgium

240px-Royal_Standard_of_King_Albert_II_of_Belgium.svg.png
 
Royal Standard of Queen Paola of Belgium

200px-Royal_Standard_of_Queen_Paola_of_Belgium.svg.png


Royal Monogram of Queen Paola of Belgium

135px-Royal_Monogram_of_Queen_Paola_of_Belgium.svg.png
 
Royal Standard of King Philippe of Belgium

200px-Royal_Standard_of_King_Philippe_of_Belgium.svg.png
 
Monogram of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium

278px-Royal_Monogram_of_Queen_Elisabeth_of_Belgium.svg.png
 
The Royal family has just announced a redesigned their coat of arms to, if I understand it correctly, be more gender neutral and avoid confusion between King Phillipe and King Albert. Another noteworthy change is the reintroduction of the Saxon shield as a nod to the Royal family's Saxon roots to which The King according to the article are very attached.

https://www.lecho.be/economie-polit...r-apparition-a-la-maison-royale/10147055.html

I didn't know were to put this so feel free to move it somewhere else.
 
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I wonder why they waiting until now and not when the King acceded to the throne,the Belgian Royal Court seems to be chasing its own tail at times.
 
I wonder why they waiting until now and not when the King acceded to the throne,the Belgian Royal Court seems to be chasing its own tail at times.
Didn't the abdication happen rather quickly so maybe they had other more important things to consider? I do agree that they seem to be chasing their own tails. Philippe and Mathilde might be doing their best, but there's always something going on in Belgium or the Royal family isn't there
 
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Well I suppose its better 6 years late than never ;)
 
The coat of arms now has two motto's under it, the first one in Dutch and the second one in French. I do not think I have seen the double-motto before.

I have no idea why the king changed the coat of arms, but the change will make the coat of arms of the king -slightly- different than the coat of arms of the country.

The gender neutral part is interesting. Queen Wilhelmina adopted the coat-of-arms of her predecessor King Willem III without changing it to round coat-of-arms which is perhaps usual for a female. I suppose the same happened for Queen Margrethe II and Queen Elizabeth but the Belgian court seems to have found different solution.
 
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Will this affect the National Coat of arms?
 
The gender neutral part is interesting. Queen Wilhelmina adopted the coat-of-arms of her predecessor King Willem III without the need for a round coat-of-arms which is perhaps usual for a female. I suppose the same happened for Queen Margrethe II and Queen Elizabeth but the Belgian court seems to have found different solution.
Could the fact that the succession in neither countries wasn't gender neutral when the three queens you mentioned ascended their thrones have something to do with that? By making the coat of arms gender neutral there's no need to change it just because the new monarch has a different sex than their predecessor.
 
The Royal family has just announced a redesigned their coat of arms to, if I understand it correctly, be more gender neutral and avoid confusion between King Phillipe and King Albert. Another noteworthy change is the reintroduction of the Saxon shield as a nod to the Royal family's Saxon roots to which The King according to the article are very attached.

https://www.lecho.be/economie-polit...r-apparition-a-la-maison-royale/10147055.html

I didn't know were to put this so feel free to move it somewhere else.

Does the return of the Saxony (Wettin) coat of arms mean that the Princes of Belgium have actually resumed the use of the titles of Duke of Saxony and Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ? In the latter case, I suppose that Laurent’s grandchildren could be princes/princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha too even though they are no longer entitled to be princes/princesses of Belgium and HRHs .
 
The two banners wirh mottos are arch-ugly. There is really no need for it. The British have a French motto (Dieu et Mon Droit), the Prince of Wales has a German motto (Ich Dien), the Spanish have a Latin motto (Plus Ultra), the Dutch and the Luxembourgers have a French motto (Je Maintiendrai). It is beyond belief that the Belgians feel they need to rape their nicely composed coat-of-arms with two strange ribbons under the side-Lions, just because of political correctness. l'Union Fait la Force. What is next? A third ribbon with Einigkeit Macht Stark to represent the German-speaking part?
 
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What is next? A third ribbon with Einigkeit Macht Stark to represent the German-speaking part?

The ribbon includes all three languages. The German is written on the right of the photograph. The photograph in the posted article unfortunately chopped off the French.


Does the return of the Saxony (Wettin) coat of arms mean that the Princes of Belgium have actually resumed the use of the titles of Duke of Saxony and Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ? In the latter case, I suppose that Laurent’s grandchildren could be princes/princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha too even though they are no longer entitled to be princes/princesses of Belgium and HRHs .

There is some interesting (for me ;)) wording included in the new decree which relates to the 2015 restructuring of the Belgian royal titles and surnames, so I will most likely write a post in the titles thread in the near future.
As with the 2015 decree, the preamble also addresses the reasons.

As regards your question: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...elgian-royal-family-38975-16.html#post2186636
 
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The ribbon includes all three languages. The German is written on the right of the photograph. The photograph in the posted article unfortunately chopped off the French.


There is some interesting (for me ;)) wording included in the new decree which relates to the 2015 restructuring of the Belgian royal titles and surnames, so I will most likely write a post in the titles thread in the near future.
As with the 2015 decree, the preamble also addresses the reasons.

As regards your question: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...elgian-royal-family-38975-16.html#post2186636


The text of the Royal Decree can be found in the link below.


Arrete Royal du 12/07/2019 determinant les armoiries de la maison royale et de ses membres


I must confess, however, that, for non-experts in heraldry, it is difficult to understand the design from the text only. It would be nice if the Palace published pictures of the new arms of the King, the Queen, the King emeritus, the Queen emerita, the Duchess of Brabant, a generic Prince and a generic Princess of Belgium who are not the heir, and a generic Prince and a generic Princess of the Royal House who are not a Prince or Princess of Belgium (art. 5).


I also have another question that the experts here might be able to answer. Does the Order of Leopold actually have a collar or is the chain in the royal coat of arms purely heraldic ?
 
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I don't believe that Order of Leopold has a chain nor does Belgium even have a physical crown so both are just simply heraldic additions.
 
What a perfect Heraldic Language.

The Order of Leopold never had a Collar or a Chain. For his wedding King Bausouin wore the Spanish Collar of isabelle la Catholique

The most used Royal monogram is he One of Queen Elisabeth. She created la Chapelle Musicale reine Elisabeth in 1939 , 80 years ago.and the world known
Concours Reine Elisabeth
 
I've never seen the coat of arms of Princess Astrid as Archduchess of Austria-Este I wonder if one exists?
 
It exists but she never uses it , she has no personal Foundation to put it on.
 
This link leads to a pdf from the Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur Belge and shows the various arms from page 11 onwards :

http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/mopdf/2019/07/19_2.pdf#Page8

1.
The grand coat-of-arms is used by The King (gender neutral).

2.
The grand coat-of-arms is used by the King (gender neutral) who has abdicated,.
The difference with 1 is that the helmet above is facing sideways and the shield is crossed with a golden lambel with three pendants. The coat is flanked with two national flags.

3.
The grand coat-of-arms is used by the Duchess of Brabant.
The shield is lozenge (female) and is crossed with a golden lambel with three pendants. The shield is not topped with a helmet, like in 1 and 2, but with a crown. The coat is flanked with two national flags.

4.
The grand coat-of-arms in use by the other children of the King and the children of the Duchess of Brabant. Similar to 3, but in male form. The coat is flanked by two flags of the Dukedom of Brabant

5.
The same as 4. But then in female form.

6.
The grand coat-of-arms in use by a Prince of Belgium in direct lineage to the King other than his children or the children of the Duchess of Brabant. Similar to 4. The coat is not flanked by flags and has a golden cadre.

7.
The same as 6. But then in female form.

8.
The grand coat-of-arms in use by a Prince of Belgium in not direct lineage to the King. Similar to 6. The coat is not flanked by flags and has a purple cadre.

9.
The same as 8. But then in female form.

10.
The small coat-of-arms of the Royal House

11.
The medium coat-of-arms of the Royal House (same as 1O but with the Order of Léopold).
 
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According to one source, the decision of reinstating the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha main royal arms happened after their recent visit at the ancestral Friedenstein Castle.

Royal Decree of 12 July 2019

**http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/arrete/2019/07/12/2019030777/moniteur


I am not sure it is a good idea. I know the Royal Decree of 2015 says that the Princes and Princesses can use the titles they hold "by right of ancestry". Germany, however, is now a republic and the titles they are claiming, like Duke of Saxony and Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, are no longer legally recognized.


Apparently, the Belgian government said that, by ceasing to use the Wettin arms, the Belgian Royal House was being hostile to Germany and that wouldn't make sense today 100 years after the Great War. Quite frankly, that is a very odd statement, but, irrespective of suggesting how subservient some EU countries have become to Germany, I don't see how using titles that the Federal Republic of Germany doesn't recognize would be equivalent to extending an olive branch to your neighbors.


Besides, it is also inconsistent. Princess Astrid's children are Princes and Princesses of Belgium who descend in direct female line from King Leopold I. Under Art. 4 of the Royal Decree of 2019, they will use then the new arms of the Princes or Princesses of Belgium who are not the heir, which include the Saxony arms. However, they are not members of the House of Wettin and are not entitled by ancestry to use the titles of Duke of Saxony or Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as those do not descend in female line. To be consistent with the 2015 decree , they should use the arms of the House of Austria-Este instead.


Please also note that gender equality in the 2019 Royal Decree applies only to the King or reigning Queen. For all other categories in the Royal House, including a monarch who has abdicated, the Duke of Brabant, a generic Prince of Belgium who is not the heir, and a generic Prince who is not a Prince of Belgium, there are differentiated shields for males and females in their respective coats of arms.


The best thing to come out of this Royal Decree in my opinion is that Princess Elisabeth at least got a proper coat of arms as Duchess of Brabant, differentiated from those of her siblings and cousins, which was badly needed. Besides, I personally think that all the proposed designs are quite nice.
 
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I am not sure it is a good idea. I know the Royal Decree of 2015 says that the Princes and Princesses can use the titles they hold "by right of ancestry". Germany, however, is now a republic and the titles they are claiming, like Duke of Saxony and Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, are no longer legally recognized.


Apparently, the Belgian government said that, by ceasing to use the Wettin arms, the Belgian Royal House was being hostile to Germany and that wouldn't make sense today 100 years after the Great War. Quite frankly, that is a very odd statement, but, irrespective of suggesting how subservient some EU countries have become to Germany, I don't see how using titles that the Federal Republic of Germany doesn't recognize would be equivalent to extending an olive branch to your neighbors.


Besides, it is also inconsistent. Princess Astrid's children are Princes and Princesses of Belgium who descend in direct female line from King Leopold I. Under Art. 4 of the Royal Decree of 2019, they will use then the new arms of the Princes or Princesses of Belgium who are not the heir, which includes the Saxony arms. However, they are not members of the House of Wettin and are not entitled by ancestry to use the titles of Duke of Saxony or Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as those do not descend in female line. To be consistent with the 2015 decree , they should use the arms of the House of Austria-Este instead.


Please also note that gender equality in the 2019 Royal Decree applies only to the King or reigning Queen. For all other categories in the Royal House, including a monarch who has abdicated, the Duke of Brabant, a generic Prince of Belgium who is not the heir, and a generic Prince who is not a Prince of Belgium, there are differentiated shields for males and females in their respective coats of arms.


The best thing to come out of this Royal Decree in my opinion is that Princess Elisabeth at least got a proper coat of arms as Duchess of Brabant, differentiated from those of her siblings and cousins, which was badly needed. Besides, I personally think that all the proposed designs are quite nice.

Well, it is not the coat-of-arms of the House of Saxony, it is the coat-of-arms of the House of Belgium (with an element of Saxony indeed). As the House of Belgium has a gender-neutral titulature, I can understand the use of Arms corresponding with these titles, even while Amedeo is factually an Archduke of Austria, he is still a Prince of Belgium.

The titles of the House Sachsen-Coburg indeed do not exist anymore in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, but these were part of the official titulature of the princes of the Royal House of Belgium. King Albert's own father Léopold III, his uncle Charles and his aunt Marie-José were all prins (prinses) van België, prins (prinses) van Saksen-Coburg en Gotha, hertog (hertogin) van Saksen. That after WWI King Albert I did interrupt the use of this style, of course does not mean that in 2019 King Philippe, grandson of Léopold III, can not decide to re-use these titles.
 
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Thank you for the descriptions, Duc. A few corrections (mainly: all Princes of Belgium and Princesses of Belgium respectively who are descended from Leopold I, apart from the Duchess or Duke of Brabant, use the same arms, and the arms of an abdicated Queen differ from the arms of an abdicated King):


Page 10.
The grand coat of arms used by the King or Queen who is reigning (Article 1).

Page 11.
The grand coat of arms used by the King who has abdicated (Article 2).

Page 12.
The grand coat of arms used by the Queen who has abdicated (Article 2).

Page 13.
The grand coat of arms used by the Duke of Brabant (Article 3).

Page 14.
The grand coat of arms used by the Duchess of Brabant (Article 3).

Page 15.
The grand coat of arms used by a Prince of Belgium (Article 4).

Page 16.
The grand coat of arms used by a Princess of Belgium (Article 4).

Page 17.
The grand coat of arms used by a Prince of the Royal House who is not a Prince of Belgium (Article 5).

Page 18.
The grand coat of arms used by a Princess of the Royal House who is not a Princess of Belgium (Article 5).

Page 19.
The small coat of arms of the Royal House (Article 6).

Page 20.
The medium coat of arms of the Royal House (Article 7).



Articles 1-7 read:


Article 1.

Our arms are [a description of his coat of arms].

Art. 2.

The King or Queen who has abdicated uses [a description of his or her coat of arms].

Art. 3.

The Duke or Duchess of Brabant uses [a description of his or her coat of arms].

Art. 4.

The other Princes or Princesses of Belgium of the male-line and female-line descendance in direct line from His Majesty Leopold I use [a description of their coat of arms].

Art. 5.

The Princes or Princesses of Our Royal House who are not covered by article 4 use [a description of their coat of arms].

Art. 6.

The small coat of arms of Our Royal House is [a description of its coat of arms].

Art. 7.

The middle coat of arms of Our Royal House is [a description of its coat of arms].


Apparently, the Belgian government said that, by ceasing to use the Wettin arms, the Belgian Royal House was being hostile to Germany and that wouldn't make sense today 100 years after the Great War. Quite frankly, that is a very odd statement, but, irrespective of suggesting how subservient some EU countries have become to Germany, I don't see how using titles that the Federal Republic of Germany doesn't recognize would be equivalent to extending an olive branch to your neighbors.

Interesting. Do you have the link to the government's statement?
 
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