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Leopold I (1790–1865) was a German prince who became the first King of the Belgians following Belgian independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865.
Born into the ruling family of the small German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Russian Army and fought against Napoleon after French troops overran Saxe-Coburg during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon′s defeat, Leopold moved to the United Kingdom where he married Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of the Prince Regent (the future King George IV).
After the Greek War of Independence (1821–32), Leopold was offered the position of King of Greece but turned it down, believing it to be too precarious. Instead, Leopold accepted the kingship of the newly established Kingdom of Belgium in 1831. His reign was marked by attempts by the Dutch to recapture Belgium. Leopold was considered liberal and encouraged economic modernisation, playing an important role in encouraging the creation of Belgium′s first railway in 1835 and subsequent industrialisation. |
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BELGIUM - LEOPOLD I, 1831-1865 - Medallic 5 Francs 1853 “Marriage Leopold & Marie Henriette”
weight 24,93 ; silver 900/1000 ; Ø 37mm.
In 1853 at the age of 18, crownprince Leopold married Marie Henriette of Austria in Brussels on August 22. Marie Henriette was a cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, and granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor through her father, Austrian archduke Joseph. Marie Henriette was lively and energetic, and endeared herself to the people by her elevated character and indefatigable benevolence, while her beauty gained for her the sobriquet of ″The Rose of Brabant″. She was also an accomplished artist and musician. A fine horsewoman, she was passionate about horseback riding to the point that she would care for her horses personally. Some joked about this ″marriage of a stableman and a nun″, the shy and withdrawn Leopold referred to as the nun. Four children were born of this marriage, three daughters and one son, also named Leopold. The younger Leopold died in 1869 at the age of nine from pneumonia after falling into a pond. His death was a source of great sorrow for King Leopold, who lost his only heir. The marriage had become unhappy and the couple lived more or less separate lives. They separated completely after a last attempt to have another son, a union which resulted in the birth of their last daughter Clementine. In 1895 Marie Henriette retreated to Spa to live out the remainder of her days. She died there in 1902.
Mintage of only 31.739 pieces. Scarce.
KM.X.M2.1 ; Morin M.2a ; Dupriez 540 ; Eeckhout 2 ;Bogaert 540A S
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BELGIUM - LEOPOLD I, 1831-1865 - Medallic 5 Francs 1853 “Marriage Leopold & Marie Henriette”
weight 24,85 ; silver 900/1000 ; Ø 37mm.
In 1853 at the age of 18, crown prince Leopold married Marie Henriette of Austria in Brussels on August 22. Marie Henriette was a cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, and granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor through her father, Austrian archduke Joseph. Marie Henriette was lively and energetic, and endeared herself to the people by her elevated character and indefatigable benevolence, while her beauty gained for her the sobriquet of ″The Rose of Brabant″. She was also an accomplished artist and musician. A fine horsewoman, she was passionate about horseback riding to the point that she would care for her horses personally. Some joked about this ″marriage of a stableman and a nun″, the shy and withdrawn Leopold referred to as the nun. Four children were born of this marriage, three daughters and one son, also named Leopold. The younger Leopold died in 1869 at the age of nine from pneumonia after falling into a pond. His death was a source of great sorrow for King Leopold, who lost his only heir. The marriage had become unhappy and the couple lived more or less separate lives. They separated completely after a last attempt to have another son, a union which resulted in the birth of their last daughter Clementine. In 1895 Marie Henriette retreated to Spa to live out the remainder of her days. She died there in 1902.
Mintage of only 31.739 pieces. Scarce.
KM.X.M2.1 ; Morin M.2a ; Dupriez 540 ; Eeckhout 2 ;Bogaert 540A S
some small edge nicks
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Leopold II (1835–1909) was the second King of the Belgians, known for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State as a private venture. Born in Brussels as the second (but eldest surviving) son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865, reigning for exactly 44 years until his death. This was the longest reign of any Belgian monarch.
Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo, initially by the collection of ivory, and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s. Under his regime millions of Congolese people died; modern estimates range from 1 million to 15 million, with a consensus growing around 10 million. Reports of deaths and abuse led to a major international scandal in the early 20th century, and Leopold was ultimately forced by the Belgian government to relinquish control of the colony to the civil administration in 1908. |
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Albert I (1875–1934) reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934. He ruled during an eventful period in the history of Belgium, which included the period of World War I (1914–1918), when 90 percent of Belgium was overrun, occupied, and ruled by the German Empire. Other crucial issues included the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, the ruling of the Belgian Congo as an overseas possession of the Kingdom of Belgium along with the League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, the reconstruction of Belgium following the war, and the first five years of the Great Depression (1929–1934). King Albert died in a mountaineering accident in eastern Belgium in 1934, at the age of 58, and he was succeeded by his son Leopold III (r. 1934–1951). He is popularly referred to as the "Knight King" (roi-chevalier or koning-ridder) or "Soldier King" (roi-soldat or koning-soldaat) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I. |
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Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (10 October 1903 – 1 June 1983) was a member of the Belgian royal family who served as regent of Belgium from 1944 until 1950, while a judicial commission investigated his elder brother, King Leopold III of Belgium, as to whether he betrayed the Allies of World War II by an allegedly premature surrender in 1940 and of collaborating with the Nazis during the occupation of Belgium. Charles′ regency ended when Leopold was allowed to return to Belgium. Shortly after returning and resuming his monarchical duties, Leopold abdicated in favour of his son, Baudouin. |
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Baudouin I (Dutch Boudewijn I) was born on 7 September 1930 at Stuyvenberg Castle, near Brussels as eldest son of Leopold III and queen Astrid. Baudouin shared his father′s internment by the Germans during World War II and his postwar exile in Switzerland. After Leopold stepped down, Baudouin acted as head of state from 11 August 1950, until 16 July 1951, and the next day he became the fifth king of the Belgians. On 15 December 1960, Baudouin married a Spanish noblewoman, Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón.
During his long reign Baudouin served effectively as a unifying force in Belgium, a country deeply divided into Dutch- and French-speaking factions, and he was respected for the impartiality with which he treated the two groups. He helped restore confidence in the monarchy after the stormy reign of King Leopold III. He recognized early the imminence of Congolese independence and made a fact-finding tour of the Belgian Congo in December 1959; he proclaimed its independence at Léopoldville (now Kinshasa, Congo) on 30 June 1960. Baudouin was criticized, however, for his 1990 decision to step down for one day rather than assent to a government bill legalizing abortion; he was reinstated by parliament after its passage. Baudouin died 31 July 1993, Motril, Spain. Because the royal couple were childless, Baudouin was succeeded by his brother, Prince Albert. |
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INDEPENDENT STATE OF CONGO (1885-1908)
Leopold II succeeded his father, Leopold I, the Belgian throne in 1865. In 1876 Leopold II organized an international association for the development of Central Africa. Three years later, under his patronage, Stanley competition French explorer Brazza to acquire rights in the Congo region. Occupation is essentially pushed the southern Nile Valley. Leopold also wishes to establish a rail network along the Congo River and its tributaries, create sources essential to the flow of business income and self-management of the conquered territory. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, representatives from 14 European countries and the United States recognize the sovereignty of Leopold the Congo Free State, it exercises sovereignty until 1908. With the resources of the colony, especially crops rubber, the king greatly enriches and many buildings or monuments are constructed Brussels. Following an international campaign by the British to denounce the brutal and inhuman treatment of the local population by the colonial, the king′s position becomes untenable and he was forced against his will to transfer the sovereignty of the Congo to the Belgian nation. The Belgian Government renames the ″Belgian Congo″ territory. |
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