Albert_II_of_Belgium

Albert II of Belgium

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 (1905-1935). 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 August 9, 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.

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 April 15, 1960). He married, on December 4, 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 June 5, 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 October 19, 1963). He married Claire Coombs, an Anglo-Belgian former real-estate agent, on April 12, 2003. She was created HRH Princess Claire of Belgium 11 days before their marriage. They have one daughter and two sons:

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 Albert, Prince of Liège, Prince of Belgium (1934-1993) a.k.a. H.R.H The Prince of Liège
His Majesty Albert II, King of the Belgians, Prince of Belgium (Since 1993)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Albert II of Belgium

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.

House of Wettin

Thimo of Wettin, Count of Brehna
Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, maternal grandson of Otto of Nordheim, 1098 - 1157
Otto II, Margrave of Meissen, 1125 - 1190
Dietrich I, Margrave of Meissen, 1162 - 1221
Henry III, Margrave of Meissen, c. 1215 - 1288
Albert II, Margrave of Meissen, 1240 - 1314
Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen, 1257 - 1323
Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen, 1310 - 1349
Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia, 1332 - 1381
Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 1370 - 1428
Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, 1412 - 1464
Ernest, Elector of Saxony, 1441 - 1486
John, Elector of Saxony, 1468 - 1532
John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 1503 - 1554
Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 1530 - 1573
John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 1570 - 1605
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, 1601 - 1675
John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1658 - 1729
Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1697 - 1764
Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1724 - 1800
Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1750 - 1806
Leopold I of Belgium, 1790 - 1865
Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, 1837 - 1905
Albert I of Belgium, 1875 - 1934
Leopold III of Belgium, 1901 - 1983
Albert II of Belgium, 1934 -

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.