On This Day: Belgian Royal Family

[Countessmeout]

January 8, 1930 wedding of Princess Marie Jose of Belgium to Umberto II of Italy.

Marie Jose was born August 4, 1906. The 24 year old bride was the daughter of Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. She was their youngest child and only daughter. Her brothers were the future King Leopold III and Prince Charles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie...ile:Marie-Jose_of_Belgium,_Queen_of_Italy.jpg

Umberto was born September 15, 1904.The 26 year old groom was CP of Italy at the time of their wedding. He was the son of Victor Emmanuel III and and Princess Elena of Montenegro. Umberto was the 3rd of 5 children, with all sisters. His sister Giovanna would become Queen consort of Bulgaria.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_II_of_Italy#/media/File:Umberto_II,_1944.jpg

The couple were married at the Quirnal palace in Rome. Marie Jose's famous turqoise set was a gift from her parents for the wedding. She first wore them to a ball two days before her wedding.

Queen Marie-Jose's Turquoise Parure | The Court Jeweller

They were linked in the press as early as 1923. Marie Jose being a Catholic royal and one educated in Italy made her a perfect potential bride for Umberto. Their engagement had been announced October 24, 1929 (better known as Black Friday in the history books).

Guests of the wedding included

-Leopold and Astrid (brother and sister in law of the bride)
-Duke of York (future George VI)
-Manuel II of Portugal
-Sophie of Greece
-King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya of Afghanistan
-King Boris III of Bulgaria
-Princess Xenia of Montenegro (maternal aunt of the groom)
-Grand Duchess Militza of Russia (maternal aunt of the groom)
-Prince Kyril and Princess Eudoxia of Brazil
-Prince and Princess Paul of Yugoslavia
-Prince Kyril of Bulgaria
-Crown Princess Antonia of Bavaria

They had an attendance with the pope following the ceremony at the Vatican before they joined their guests at the reception.


They were queen and king of Italy for a month, in 1946 before they were forced into exile with other members of the royal family. The couple moved to Portugal but they eventually seperated with Marie Jose moving to Switzerland. They remained married until his death in 1983. Umberto died in Switzerland while unsuccessfully petitioning to be allowed home to Italy to die. Marie Jose spent some time in Mexico with her daughter and grandchildren. Unlike her husband she was allowed to return to Italy for visits after his death. She would die in Geneva in 2001 at the age of 94. She was burried with her husband in Hautecombe Abbey in Savoy. She outlived her brothers and many other members of her family.


The marriage produced four children:

-Maria Pia: Has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia with whom she had two sets of twins, three sons and one daughter. She has four grandchildren from her two younger children. Her second marriage was to Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma. She has no children with Michel. It was a second marriage for both. Michel had five children with his first wife Princess Yolande de Broglie-Revel. Both her first and second husbands died, Alexander in 2016 and Michel in 2018.

-Vittorio Emmanuele: Prince of Naples. Married to Marina Ricolfi-Doria with whom he has one son. He has been fighting with his cousin Amedeo, Duke of Aosta as to who is head of the royal family (got into a fight with him at the wedding of Felipe and Letizia).

-Maria Gabriella: married Robert Zellinger de Balkany with whom she had one daughter before they divorced in 1990. Her ex husband died in 2015.

-Maria Beatrice: she married Luis Rafael Reyna-Corvalán y Dillon. They divorced in 1998. She has three children and 2 grandchildren. Her ex was murdered in 1999 and her eldest son has died as well. It was with her that Marie Jose lived in Mexico for some time.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, January 23, 1890 ~ Demise of Prince Baudouin of Belgium, son of Philippe, Count of Flanders

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, January 23, 1890 ~ Demise of Prince Baudouin of Belgium, son of Philippe, Count of Flanders

Prince Baudouin of Belgium was only 21 when he died following a bout of influenza. The Prince is buried at Notre-Dame de Laeken which is the principal burial site of the Belgian RF.

 

[An Ard Ri]

30th of January 1384 : Death of Louis II, Count of Flanders


Louis II was Count of Flanders Nevers and Rethel from 1346 until his death and was also Count of Artois and Burgundy by his marriage to Marguerite de Brabant.
Louis died at Lille and was buried at the Collégiale Saint-Pierre but this was looted and demolished by the French in 1794 and the tomb/burial also lost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_II,_Count_of_Flanders

 

[An Ard Ri]

February 1st, 1248 : Death of Henri II ,Duke of Brabant and Count of Louvain


Henri II was Duke following the death of his father Henry I in 1235 until his own death in 1248.The duke was buried at the now ruined abbaye de Villers-en-Brabant ,the tombs were looted and destroyed by the French in 1796.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II,_Duke_of_Brabant

 

[An Ard Ri]

7th of February 1259,Death of Thomas II, Count of Flanders , Hainaut & Piedmont.


Thomas of Savoy was born c1199 the son of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva.
In 1237 he married Joan, Countess of Flanders but the marriage was childless and she died in 1244.Thomas later remarried Beatrice Fieschi in 1251 by who he had several children.


The Count is buried at Aosta Cathedral in Italy where his tomb and burial have survived.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas,_Count_of_Flanders

 

[An Ard Ri]

February 10th,1280 : Death of Marguerite II, Countess of Flanders and Countess of Hainaut.

Marguerite was born in 1202 .Following the death of her older sister Jeanne in 1244 she became Countess of Flanders and Hainaut .Marguerite was married twice by her first marriage to Bouchard of Avesnes she had 2 sons ,however this union was dissolved and in 1223, she married William II of Dampierre by whom she had several children.

The Countess died at Ghent in modern day Belgium. Her remains were buried beside her second husband William II of Dampierre at the now destroyed l'abbaye L'Honneur Notre-Dame de Flines .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_II,_Countess_of_Flanders

 

[An Ard Ri]

February 13th, 1457 : Birth of Mary of Burgundy.


Mary was the daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold and Isabella de Bourbon. Following her father's death at the battle of Nancy in January 1477 Mary succeeded him as Duchess Regnant. In August 1477 she married Archduke Maximilian of Austria (future Holy Roman Emperor) at Ghent.The couple had 2 surviving children

Philip the Handsome (later Duke of Burgundy and King of Castile)
The Archduchess Margaret of Austria (later Princess of Asturias , Duchess of Savoy and Regent of the Low Countries)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, March 24, 1837 ~ Birth of Philippe, Count of Flanders at the Royal Castle of Laeken

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, April 3, 1812 ~ Birth of Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians, wife of King Leopold I of the Belgians

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, April 3, 1812 ~ Birth of Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians, wife of King Leopold I of the Belgians

Princess Louise of Orléans was born in Palermo in Sicily a few years prior to the Bourbon restoration. Her father Louis Philippe was at that time Duke of Orléans and living in exile.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, April 9, 1835 ~ Birth of King Leopold II of the Belgians in Brussels, Belgium

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day 13th of April 1350 : Birth of Margaret III, Countess of Flanders

Margaret was also Countess Artois, Burgundy, and Rethel and later duchess of Burgundy by marriage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_III,_Countess_of_Flanders

 

[An Ard Ri]

27th of April 1404 : Death of Philippe le Hardi,Duke of Burgundy,Count of Charolais,Flanders & Artois.

Philippe was the 1st Valois Duke of Burgundy and reigned from 1363 until his death.
The duke died at Halle in Hainaut and his remains were taken to the Chartreuse de Champmol which became the main burial site for the dukes of Burgundy and survived up until the French Revolution.In 1791 the abbey was dissolved and the dukes coffin was moved to Dijon Cathedral and his tomb at the Charterhouse was badly mutilated by a mob in 1793 but was later repaired in the 1820's and moved to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Bold

 

[An Ard Ri]

9th of May,1315 : Death of Hugues V, Duke of Burgundy.

Hugh V was the son of Robert II of Burgundy and Agnes de France and had reigned as Duke since 1306.
Following his sudden death aged just 21 the Duke was buried beside his parents at Notre-Dame de Cîteaux.
The Abbey which had served as a burial site for the Ducal House survived until the French Revolution.In May 1790 the Cistercian Monks were evicted and worse to come in 1793 when the Ducal crypt was ransacked and the tomb monuments above were destroyed save a few.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_V,_Duke_of_Burgundy

 

[An Ard Ri]

6th of June 1251 : Death of Guillaume II, Count of Flanders, Lord of Dampierre.

Guillaume was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders and was Count of Flanders from 1247. The Count also married Béatrice de Brabant but they had no children.
The Count was buried at l'abbaye Notre-Dame de Flines which was pulled down in 1794.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II,_Count_of_Flanders

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 11, 1928 ~ Birth of Queen Fabiola of Belgium, wife of King Baudouin of Belgium

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 21, 1831 ~ Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ascended to the throne of Belgium as Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, July 21, 1831 ~ Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ascended to the throne of Belgium as Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians

Leopold had been offered the Greek throne in 1830 but declined.

How history could have changed!

 

[wartenberg7]

Leopold had been offered the Greek throne in 1830 but declined.

How history could have changed!

He might have been well advised to decline this particular throne...!

 

[An Ard Ri]

He might have been well advised to decline this particular throne...!

Yes a very wise decision by Leopold

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 25, 1876 ~ Birth of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (Elisabeth of Bavaria), wife of King Albert I of Belgium, at Possenhofen Castle in the Kingdom of Bavaria

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, July 25, 1876 ~ Birth of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (Elisabeth of Bavaria), wife of King Albert I of Belgium, at Possenhofen Castle in the Kingdom of Bavaria

Her mother was the Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal who lived a long life having been born in 1857 and died in 1943.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 30, 1872 ~ Birth of Princess Clementine of Belgium, Princess Napoleon, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, July 30, 1872 ~ Birth of Princess Clementine of Belgium, Princess Napoleon, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium

Clémentine Albertine Marie Léopoldine was baptized on the 3rd of September 1872 at Laeken .
Her godparents were her Great-aunt, Princess Clémentine of Orléans and Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen.

 

[Hendrik-Jan77]

On this day, Saturday August 7th in 1993, King Baudouin was buried. The splendor of this moving ceremony was the thing that got me interested in royalty.

 

[An Ard Ri]

And Queen Elizabeth II attended the State Funeral I believe it was the only Foreign royal funeral the queen ever attended.

 

[Stefan]

That was one of the most impressivest royal funrals. Not only because it was attended by so many royal and also Presidents (like President Mitterrand, the then german president von Weizsäcker to name a few) but also because of the new widowed Queen Fabiola.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Wouldn't king Baudouin have been the longest reigning (or near enough) European monarch at that time?

Though I'm thinking that Prince Rainier III reigned 3 years longer?

 

[Stefan]

Wouldn't king Baudouin have been the longest reigning (or near enough) European monarch at that time?

Though I'm thinking that Prince Rainier III reigned 3 years longer?

In Europe Prince Rainier was 2 years longer on the Throne then Bauoduin and worldwide of course King Bhumibol. Not sure if there were more.
And this was till now the last funeral of an european King/Queen who had been reigning at the time of his death.