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Astrid of Sweden (Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden; 17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold III.
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Princess Astrid of Sweden was born in Stockholm on 17 November 1905. She was the niece of King Gustav V of Sweden, since she was the youngest daughter of the king's brother, Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland, and his wife, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Astrid's paternal grandfather was King Oscar II of Sweden and her maternal grandfather was King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Astrid's sister, Princess Märtha, married the future King Olav V of Norway. Her eldest sister, Princess Margaretha of Sweden married Prince Axel of Denmark, while her only brother Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland, married morganatically.
In Stockholm, on 4 November 1926 civilly and religiously in Brussels on 10 November, Princess Astrid married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, the son of King Albert I of Belgium and his wife, Queen Elisabeth, born Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. It was a happy and devoted marriage. Astrid was enthusiastically adopted by the Belgians. She was widely loved for her beauty, charm and simplicity. In 1927, Leopold and Astrid had a daughter, Princess Josephine-Charlotte, and in 1930, their first son, Prince Baudouin (who eventually succeeded his father as King of the Belgians).
Raised as a Lutheran, Astrid converted to Catholicism after marrying Prince Leopold. She had initially considered converting to Catholicism, simply because it was the religion of Belgium, but the priest she consulted told her not to do so until she genuinely believed it was the true religion (See More Joy Than Pain, 1991, by Lars Rooth pp. 84–85) Astrid learned more about Catholicism and, several years later, in 1930, converted from genuine conviction. Her decision made her happy, and she confided to a close childhood friend: “My soul has found peace"(quoted by Anna Sparre in Astrid mon amie, 2005, p. 128) Her father-in-law, King Albert, who was very devout himself, repeated, on the day of Astrid's conversion: "I am glad, very glad. Now all the family is united in the same religion" (quoted by Charles d'Ydewalle in Albert and the Belgians: Portrait of a King, 2005, p. 259).
On February 17, 1934, King Albert died in a mountain-climbing accident in Marche-les-Dames, Belgium. Leopold and Astrid became the new King and Queen of the Belgians. Later that year, the third child of Leopold and Astrid was born. He was named Albert after his grandfather, and would eventually succeed his brother Baudouin as King of the Belgians.
As Queen, Astrid dedicated her time to raising her family and promoting social causes. She was very concerned with the situation of women, children, and the disadvantaged. During an economic crisis in Belgium in 1935, she organized a collection of clothing and food for the poor. She did this through an open letter, which was published as the “Queen’s Appeal”.
| Styles of Queen Astrid of the Belgians as consort |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
In August 1935, the King and Queen went incognito to Switzerland on holiday. Prince Albert remained in Brussels. Aged only 1, he was considered too young to travel that far. Joséphine-Charlotte and Baudouin had travelled with their parents to their holiday home, Villa Haslihorn in Horw, Switzerland. The children were sent back to Belgium with their nannies on 28 August. On 29 August 1935, the King and Queen decided to go for a last hike in the mountains before returning home. Their chauffeur was sitting in the back of the Packard One-Twenty convertible, the King was driving and the Queen looking at a map. As the Queen pointed out something to her husband the car went off the road, down a steep slope, slammed into a pear tree. Queen Astrid had opened her door to try to get out, but she was thrown out upon impact. Her body collided with the trunk of the tree, while the car slammed into a second tree. King Leopold was thrown out of the car as well, but he was only lightly injured. The car went on, only to stop in a lake. The chauffeur remained uninjured. It was 9.30 am on 29 August 1935. The Queen died at the age of 29 in the car accident in the mountains, at Küssnacht am Rigi, near Lake Lucerne, Schwyz, Switzerland.
She was deeply mourned by her husband, King Leopold, by the Belgians, and by the Swedes. Belgium issued a postage stamp showing her portrait in black, known as the Astrid Mourning issue. A commemorative chapel was built in Switzerland at the site of the crash. The chapel has become a destination for Swedish and Belgian tourists. A museum nearby holds images and memorabilia of the event, including a shard from the windscreen and the log of the pear tree. The tree itself was downed by a storm in 1992. The car was sunk at the deepest past of the Vierwaldstättersee on the request of the king.[1]
Queen Astrid is interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, Brussels, beside her husband, King Leopold III of the Belgians, and his second wife, Princess Lilian of Belgium.
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Astrid of Sweden
Born: 17 November 1905 Died: 29 August 1935 |
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| Belgian royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Elisabeth of Bavaria |
Queen consort of the Belgians 1934–1935 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Fabiola de Mora y Aragón |
| Royal titles | ||
| Vacant
Title last held by
Marie Henriette of Austria |
Duchess of Brabant 1926–1934 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Mathilde |
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