Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant
Encyclopedia
Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant, Count of Hainaut (born Léopold Ferdinand Élie Victor Albert Marie (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) or Leopold Ferdinand Elias Victor Albert Marie (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) on 12 June 1859 in Laeken – died 22 January 1869 in Laeken or Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
), was the second child and only son and heir-apparent of Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
and his wife, Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria.
Leopold was named for his grandfather, and for his father's cousins, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
and Prince Albert, the Prince Consort.
Early life
At birth, Leopold was styled Count of Hainaut, as the eldest son of the then crown prince. At the time of his birth, his grandfather, Leopold I of BelgiumLeopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, formerly a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the reigning king of Belgium.
Leopold was preceded in birth by one sister, Louise-Marie
Princess Louise-Marie of Belgium
Louise Marie of Belgium , princess of Belgium, was the eldest daughter of Leopold II, king of the Belgians, and his wife Marie Henriette, archduchess of Austria.-Marriage and issue:...
, and followed by two more sisters, Stéphanie
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium
Stéphanie was a Belgium princess by birth, and then made Crown Princess of Austria through her marriage to the heir of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduke Rudolf...
, and Clémentine
Princess Clementine of Belgium
align="right"|Clementine of Belgium was a member of the Belgian Royal Family and the wife of Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France.-Early life:Princess Clémentine was born at the Royal Castle of Laeken in...
, who was born after Leopold's death, their parents' last hope for another son.
Duke of Brabant
Upon the death of his grandfather and the ascension of his father to the throne in 1865, young Leopold became Duke of BrabantDuke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
, the title for the heir-apparent to the Belgian throne. As heir-apparent, he was expected to eventually succeed his father as King Leopold III of the Belgians.
Death
Leopold died at Laeken or BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on 22 January 1869 from pneumonia, after falling into a pond. At his son's funeral, Leopold II, for the only time in his life, "broke down in public, collapsing to his knees beside the coffin and sobbing uncontrollably." Leopold's body was interred at the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken
Church of Our Lady of Laeken
The Church of Our Lady of Laeken is a neo-Gothic Roman Catholic church in Laeken, Brussels. It was originally built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, wife of King Leopold I to the design of architect Joseph Poelaert....
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
Leopold's premature death left his father with only two daughters remaining: Princess Louise-Marie
Princess Louise-Marie of Belgium
Louise Marie of Belgium , princess of Belgium, was the eldest daughter of Leopold II, king of the Belgians, and his wife Marie Henriette, archduchess of Austria.-Marriage and issue:...
and Princess Stéphanie
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium
Stéphanie was a Belgium princess by birth, and then made Crown Princess of Austria through her marriage to the heir of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduke Rudolf...
. After their son's death, Leopold and Marie Henriette tried to have another child, hoping for a son. After the birth of yet another daughter, Clémentine
Princess Clementine of Belgium
align="right"|Clementine of Belgium was a member of the Belgian Royal Family and the wife of Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France.-Early life:Princess Clémentine was born at the Royal Castle of Laeken in...
, in 1872, the couple abandoned all hopes of ever having another son.
Upon his death, Leopold II was succeeded by his nephew, Albert
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
, whose eldest son would later succeed him as Leopold III
Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
.
Titles
- 12 June 1859 – 10 December 1865: His Royal Highness The Count of Hainaut, Prince of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke in Saxony
- 10 December 1865 – 22 January 1869 : His Royal Highness The Duke of Brabant, Prince of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke in Saxony