Albert II of Belgium

Albert II King of the Belgians Reign 9 August 1993 – present Predecessor Baudouin Heir-Apparent Philippe, Duke of Brabant Consort Paola Ruffo di Calabria Issue Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este-Este Prince Laurent of Belgium Delphine Boël Royal house House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Father Leopold III Mother Astrid of Sweden Born 6 June 1934 (1934-06-06) (age 75) Château de Stuyvenberg, Brussels, Belgium

Belgian Royal Family HM The King HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Brabant HRH The Duchess of Brabant HRH Princess Elisabeth HRH Prince Gabriel HRH Prince Emmanuel HRH Princess Eléonore HI&RH The Archduchess of Austria-Este HI&RH The Archduke of Austria-Este HI&RH Prince Amadeo HI&RH Princess Maria Laura HI&RH Prince Joachim HI&RH Princess Luisa Maria HI&RH Princess Laetitia Maria HRH Prince Laurent HRH Princess Claire HRH Princess Louise HRH Prince Nicolas HRH Prince Aymeric HM Queen Fabiola HRH Prince Alexander HRH Princess Alexander HRH Princess Marie-Christine HRH Princess Marie-Esméralda

Monarchical styles of King Albert II of the Belgians Reference style His Majesty Spoken style Your Majesty Alternative style Sire

Albert II (French: Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Christian Eugène Marie, Dutch: Albert Felix Humbert Theodoor Christiaan Eugène Marie, German: Albert Felix Humbert Theodor Christian Eugen Maria) (born Château de Stuyvenberg, Brussels, 6 June 1934) is the current King of the Belgians and a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He is the younger son of King Leopold III (1901-1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1915-1935). His godparents were Prince Felix of Luxembourg and his paternal grandmother, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium.

Life

Prince Albert was sent to the Swiss private school Institut Le Rosey for his pre-university education. He succeeded his elder brother, Baudouin I, as king, taking the constitutional oath on 9 August 1993, becoming the oldest king in Belgian history to ascend to the throne (at age 59). Before his accession he was known as the Prince of Liège, a title created for him the day after his birth; he had been heir presumptive to the Belgian throne since 1951. He also served in the Belgian Navy between 1953 and 1958.

He is the 1,292nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria and the 1,191st Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain in 1994.

Marriage and family

He married, in Brussels, on 2 July 1959, Princess Donna Paola Margherita Maria Antonia Consiglia Ruffo di Calabria (born 1937). She is the daughter of Principe Don Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, Duca di Guardia Lombarda and his wife, Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano (1896-1989).

He and the Queen have three children:

• Philippe Léopold Louis Marie, Duke of Brabant (born 15 April 1960). He married, on 4 December 1999, Jonkvrouwe Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, who was created HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium a day before their marriage. She is a daughter of Baron (now Count) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz and his wife, Countess Anna Maria Komorowska. They have four children:
  • Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène, who will inherit the throne after her father, in accordance with the 1991 Act of Succession, which created full cognatic primogeniture, better known as succession by strict birth order without regard to gender.
  • Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie
  • Prince Emmanuel Leopold Guillaume François Marie
  • Princess Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie
• Astrid Joséphine Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Marie (born 5 June 1962). She is the wife of His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, whom she married in 1984 and who was created a Prince of Belgium in 1995. Princess Astrid, with her own descendants, is before her brother Laurent in the order of succession to the Belgian throne, in accordance with the 1991 Act of Succession mentioned above. They have five children:
  • Archduke Amedeo of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium
  • Archduchess Maria Laura of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
  • Archduke Joachim of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium
  • Archduchess Luisa-Maria of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
  • Archduchess Laetitia-Maria of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
• Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie (born 19 October 1963). He married Claire Coombs, an Anglo-Belgian former real-estate agent, on 12 April 2003. She was created HRH Princess Claire of Belgium 11 days before their marriage. They have one daughter and two sons:
  • Princess Louise of Belgium
  • Prince Nicolas of Belgium
  • Prince Aymeric of Belgium

The Belgian press considers, without formal proof, that The King also has an illegitimate daughter, Delphine Boël (born 1968). Her mother is a Belgian aristocrat, Sybille, Baroness de Selys Longchamps (ex-Madame Jacques Boël). Boël, a sculptor living in Brussels, has 2 children by her American companion, Jim O'Hare.

Titles

• His Royal Highness The Prince of Liège
• His Majesty The King of the Belgians

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent

Albert's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.

Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Albert II were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Wettin, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.

Pesonal Standard of King Albert II.

House of Wettin

1. Thimo of Wettin, Count of Brehna
2. Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, maternal grandson of Otto of Nordheim, 1098 - 1157
3. Otto II, Margrave of Meissen, 1125 - 1190
4. Dietrich I, Margrave of Meissen, 1162 - 1221
5. Henry III, Margrave of Meissen, c. 1215 - 1288
6. Albert II, Margrave of Meissen, 1240 - 1314
7. Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen, 1257 - 1323
8. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen, 1310 - 1349
9. Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia, 1332 - 1381
10. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 1370 - 1428
11. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, 1412 - 1464
12. Ernest, Elector of Saxony, 1441 - 1486
13. John, Elector of Saxony, 1468 - 1532
14. John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 1503 - 1554
15. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 1530 - 1573
16. John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 1570 - 1605
17. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, 1601 - 1675
18. John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1658 - 1729
19. Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1697 - 1764
20. Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1724 - 1800
21. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1750 - 1806
22. Leopold I of Belgium, 1790 - 1865
23. Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, 1837 - 1905
24. Albert I of Belgium, 1875 - 1934
25. Leopold III of Belgium, 1901 - 1983
26. Albert II of Belgium, 1934 -

See also

• Kings of Belgium family tree

Gallery

Belgian coinage

• In Belgium, it is common that the effigy of the ruling King is minted in the coins for circulation. As a general rule, this does not happen for the commemorative and collectors' coins. However, some very high value coins have been minted with the effigy of the King in one side, such as the commemorative 100 euro gold coin minted in 2003.

See also

• List of Succession to the Belgian Throne
• Crown Council of Belgium
• Royal Trust
• Prince Albert Fund
• Michel Didisheim, former private secretary
• Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou (private secretary)
• Frank De Coninck, (former) Marshal of the Royal Household

External links

• Royal House of Belgium
• Princely House of Ruffo
• Official Belgian monarchy web site
• "Belgium defends king against 'assault'", BBC News (2001-09-18). 
• The Royal Belgium Orders

Heads of state of the European Union member states Fischer (AT) · Albert II (BE2) · Parvanov (BG) · Christofias1 (CY) · Klaus (CZ) · Margrethe II (DK2) · Ilves (EE) · Halonen (FI) · Sarkozy1 (FR) · Köhler (DE) · Papoulias (GR) · Sólyom (HU) · McAleese (IE) · Napolitano (IT) · Zatlers (LV) · Adamkus (LT) · Henri (LU2) · Fenech Adami (MT) · Beatrix (NL2) · Kaczyński (PL) · Cavaco Silva (PT) · Băsescu (RO) · Gašparovič (SK) · Türk (SI) · Juan Carlos I (ES2) · Carl XVI Gustaf (SE2) · Elizabeth II (UK2) 1 Also members of the European Council. 2 Monarchies.