July 31, 2009 marks the 16th anniversary of the death of King Baudouin I (1930-1993). After reigning for 42 years, he died of a heart attack, while on vacation with Queen Fabiola in Motril, Spain. A national icon, widely admired for his integrity, devotion to duty, and unassuming ways, he was deeply mourned by the Belgian people. 
I gladly accept your invitation to become patroness of the Women's Section of the American Commission for Relief in Belgium. I know that I speak for every Belgian woman and child when I say that we thank God for what you are doing. Now that the extremity of our distress is becoming known, we feel sure that the tender hearts of the women of America will respond to our cry.
Food is terribly needed by millions of my brave brother's unhappy subjects, who still remain in their native land. Before Winter is over the need will become still more desperate. In the name of the suffering women and little children of Belgium, I ask the women of America to help us.
HENRIETTE.
I have posted before on Marie-Henriette (1836-1902), unhappy consort of King Leopold II of the Belgians. Here are portraits of her parents, Archduke Joseph of Austria, Palatine of Hungary, and his third wife, Maria Dorothea of Württemberg.
A while back, I came across an intriguing blog, The Anne Boleyn Files by Claire Ridgway. The author describes herself as:...a full-time freelance writer, closet history lover, armchair historian and champion of the underdog, from England - land of the Tudors, Shakespeare, green fields and yummy fish and chips.
A portrait of Prince Charles of Belgium (1903-1983), younger brother of King Leopold III.
Here, we see HRH Princess Elisabeth of Belgium with her little sister, Princess Eleonore. Born October 25, 2001, Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène is the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium. She was named after her great-great-grandmother, the talented and heroic Queen Elisabeth, consort of King Albert I. Due to the abolition of the Salic law in 1991, she is second in line to the throne after her father, heir of the reigning monarch, King Albert II. Thus, she takes precedence over her younger brothers, Gabriel and Emmanuel. When, (God willing!), she ascends the throne, Elisabeth will be Belgium's first Queen Regnant.
Cleopatra Diane de Merode was a famous Parisian dancer of Belgian noble descent. In the rumor mill, she was romantically linked with King Leopold II of the Belgians, but the gossip was unsubstantiated. She was born in 1875. At the age of 8, she entered the Opera School of Ballet in Paris, made her professional debut at 11, and soon became a rising star. She was also a reigning beauty, pioneering a new hairstyle that rapidly became the height of fashion (Belgian King Albert I later playfully joked about it). She attracted many admirers, and gained the reputation of a courtesan. 
A lovely new blog, Et Lux In Tenebris Lucet!, has kindly provided a fascinating history of traditional French flags.
On this day in 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha swore his constitutional oath, becoming the first King of the Belgians. This anniversary has been commemorated as Belgium's national day ever since. 
Queen Elisabeth of Belgium was once described as "the most feminine female since Marie-Antoinette." Delicate and loving, devoted to home and family, she seemed a model of womanly refinement, domesticity and tenderness. Today, many portray these ideals as a way of enfeebling and enslaving women. Yet, here was a bold, independent spirit, a powerful mind, a daring horsewoman, an intrepid mountaineer and a valiant war heroine who was, nonetheless, intensely feminine, and, first and foremost, a wife and mother.
Si l'on voulait résumer chaque règne des souverains belges, on dirait que Léopold 1er personnifie la sagesse politique, Léopold II le génie créateur, Albert 1er le sens de l'honneur, Léopold III le sens du devoir.If one wanted to summarize the reigns of the Belgian sovereigns, one would say that Leopold I personifies political wisdom, Leopold II, creative genius, Albert I, the sense of honor, Leopold III, the sense of duty.
This is my favorite portrait of the first Queen of the Belgians, Louise-Marie of Orléans. I love the rich, contrasting colors and the Queen's expression; it seems to mingle gentleness, humor, intelligence and sadness.
Probably the most notable event in the years following Prince Albert's becoming Heir- Apparent was his journey to the Congo in 1909. There is no doubt that the ceaseless agitations, and the unsparing criticisms of the administration of Congo affairs, had troubled Prince Albert considerably more than they had disturbed King Leopold. There was an entire contrast between their outlook on life, for whereas Prince Albert always recognized that his first duty was to his country, King Leopold seemed, in certain actions at all events, to consider his duty to himself paramount.For several years previous to Belgium's annexation of the Congo, Prince Albert had studied with the closest attention all questions relating to the State. He was a frequent visitor to the Colonial Museum, reading everything of importance published on the subject of the Congo and its development. He lost no opportunity of meeting and conversing with all persons whose experience had put them in a position to enlighten him on any matter regarding affairs in the "Dark Continent," as it was called.Being highly conscientious in his treatment of all men, the allegations regarding the treatment of Congo natives grieved and distressed him. He knew, of course, that many of the reports of wrong-doing were exaggerated, but he felt that any doubt at all as to the matter was a slur on the fair fame of Belgium, and something in the nature of a challenge to himself as its future ruler.He had many conversations with King Leopold on the subject — one or two of them being of a very piquant nature. In these interviews the Prince spoke his mind with a freedom and courage that his uncle by no means relished. King Leopold was always impatient of criticism in any form, and, to the day of his death, he never admitted that there had been any defects in his administration of the wonderful colony which he had gained for his people.Prince Albert welcomed the appointment of M. Renkin as Colonial Minister, for the reason that he had always shown himself zealous in all manner of reforms on the Congo. M. Renkin and the Heir to the Throne held lengthy discussions as to the best means of putting these reforms into practice. M. Renkin's first Budget surprised the country, for, with great boldness and a supreme faith in the future of the Congo, he sanctioned an outlay far in excess of any sum hitherto assigned to the administration of the colony. In this Budget there was allowed for administration in Africa over 7,000,000 francs ; for health, nearly 900,000 francs ; and for justice nearly 2,000,000 francs. It may be added that M. Renkin had his reward in seeing the price of rubber rise by over fifty per cent, by which rise Belgium was saved the necessity of raising another Colonial loan. His foresight and courage were therefore rewarded financially as well as in improving the condition of the Congo.During M. Renkin's tenure of office, Prince Albert achieved what had been for several years his great ambition — he toured the Congo. Over and over again he had expressed his wish to make this visit in order that he might see for himself what truth there was in the constant charges against King Leopold's administration, and that he might consider what could be done to put matters on a more satisfactory basis. In Court circles, it was well understood that the only thing that had prevented the Prince hitherto from carrying out his desire was the attitudeof King Leopold himself.Although Prince Albert was his direct heir, the King's grasp on the reins of government was tenacious to the very hour of his death. He knew and acknowledged — not only in public speeches made for the world's ears, but in private conversations not meant to pass beyond the walls of the room in which they were held — that his nephew had in him the makings of a successful ruler. He realized that the Prince was highly popular with his future subjects, and that he had qualities which would enable him to fill the throne with dignity, firmness, and courage. At the same time King Leopold seemed determined that Prince Albert should have no added opportunities of demonstrating his fitness for the position he was destined to fill.In the end, however, the Prince had his way ; defeating his uncle's stubborn anger and mocking cynicism with unwearying persistence, he held to a firm resolve to further the ends of justice, and do what he considered his duty to his future African subjects.In the spring of 1909 he set out for the Congo.It was arranged that M. Jules Renkin should accompany him, but, in order that the survey might be thorough, it was decided that the Prince should traverse the country from east to west, while the Colonial Minister should start from the west. The Prince, accompanied by Baron de Moor, left Southampton on April 3rd, 1909, and spent the following four months travelling throughout the length and breadth of the Congo. He covered nearly 3,000 miles — partly by land, partly by river, and, in a lesser degree, by rail. Only the members of his suite can really appreciate the thoroughness of his investigations. He was not content with seeing things and asking questions. He had his staff supplied with notebooks, and saw that they used them, while he himself filled book after book with his own personal comments. These copious notes helped him greatly in the reforms which he inaugurated subsequently.On foot, in a steamer, in a train, he passed day after day, seeing all that was to be seen. He inspected the hospital ; he attended service in the churches ; he visited the schools, and made friends with the scholars at once ; and called at several of the mission posts.Prince Albert talked with everyone with whom he came contact. Often these conversations were of the most informs character. It was useless for officials to wait upon him with written reports, expecting him to accept them without further investigation. It was more than useless to attempt to put him off with ready-made information. Prince Albert had come to make his own discoveries in his own way, and he accomplished his task.The European residents and officials were delighted with his visit for, tired though he might be, yet not so tired as certain members of his staff, he responded with characteristic courtesy to all their efforts to entertain him. Officials and their wives, many of them now retired and scattered in different parts of the country, still speak with pleasure of the tour when Prince Albert was among them, and made so gallant and gracious a figure at the receptions at which they were presented to him.But it was to the natives that Prince Albert paid the greatest attention. When it was learned — and the news spread in the amazing way peculiar to native communities — that King Leopold's heir was coming among them, the chiefs of every tribe clamoured for an audience. They besieged him with the story of wrongs which demanded to be redressed. With untiring patience, the Prince listened, questioned, investigated the truth...and promised to see that just grievances should be put right and each man have his due. These promises he redeemed with scrupulous care on his return.His fine stature and kingly bearing impressed greatly the Congolese. They conferred upon him a native title meaning "Tall Man, Breaker of Stones," There is no doubt that Prince Albert's tour of the Congo State did much to reconcile the natives to the new regime and to give them confidence in the future.The Prince who, as has been mentioned, had been greatly troubled by the reports of Congo atrocities, was determined that he would take not merely European statements on these, but would get the natives to talk freely. To the consternation of his staff, he would often disappear, and be found later in the native quarters, surrounded by a group of Congolese, all intent upon pouring their life histories into his attentive ears.On one occasion he was discovered squatting upon the ground before the hut of a native chief, vis-a-vis with his host, who, in somewhat peculiar English, was recounting his version of the history of the past decade. The Prince, with the unfailing notebook open on his knee, was endeavouring to translate the story into the kind of language that could be written down.It was this eagerness to obtain first-hand information that deepened the respect which the natives had been prepared from the first to accord to one of Royal rank. They realized that he had a brotherly nature and was anxious to help them to the best of his ability.The tour, interesting though it was, offered many discomforts and even hardships, not to mention the difficulties peculiar to tropical climates. M. Renkin's health suffered greatly from the trials of the tour, but Prince Albert faced it all unperturbed. His robust frame and excellent constitution enabled him to withstand the heat, to ward off the tropical fevers to which the white visitor succumbs so often, and to finish his tour in as good health as when he set out. Again and again he had to "rough it"...The Belgian people and the Press had welcomed the prospect of Prince Albert's travels with enthusiasm. They had had no part in whatever malpractices had occurred in the Congo, but the world's criticism had been directed against Belgium, and they felt that Prince Albert's visit would do much to remove any grounds for the campaign of bitter criticism which was being conducted not only against their Sovereign but against his people.When the date of the Prince's return was announced, Antwerp prepared a wonderful welcome for the Prince, on the occasion of his joyeuse entrée, as one Antwerp paper called it. The Congo steamer, the Bruxellesville, was due on Monday, August 16th, 1909, and from the earliest hour Antwerp was packed with sightseers from the surrounding district, anxious to greet their Prince. They desired to express their gratitude publicly for the labours he had undertaken...
On this day in 1951, Crown Prince Baudouin of Belgium swore his constitutional oath, becoming the fifth King of the Belgians. He was not yet 21 years old.
"Il faut être sage et bien travailler. Quand on fait ce qu'on doit, on sert le Bon Dieu et on est heureux dans la vie...Ici il n'y rien de nouveau. La guerre est terrible et dure longtemps. Il faut prier pour qu'elle cesse bientôt.""You must behave well and do good work. When one does one's duty, one serves the good God and one is happy in life... Here there is nothing new. The war is terrible and drags on. We must pray that it end soon."
"Prépare-toi avec soin pour ta Première Communion, c'est un grand jour de ta vie. Moi, je me rappelle toujours ma Première Communion comme un heureux événement de mon existence.""Prepare yourself with care for your First Communion, it is a great day of your life. I still remember my First Communion as a happy event in my life."
Today marks the 58th anniversary of the abdication of King Leopold III of the Belgians. 
In Chapter VIII of his memoirs, Their Majesties As I Knew Them (1911), Xavier Paoli provides a fascinating portrayal of the controversial and paradoxical King Leopold II of the Belgians and his last mistress, Baroness Vaughan. A Corsican by birth, Paoli was employed for years in the French political police; his task was to guard foreign Sovereigns visiting France. Here are some excerpts from his account of Leopold II. (Interestingly, although I had always heard the King married Madame Vaughan in his last illness, Paoli suggests the secret wedding might have occurred earlier). Of all the sovereigns with whom I have been connected in the course of my career, Leopold II is perhaps the one whom I knew best... and whose thoughts and soul I was nevertheless least able to fathom, for the simple reason that his thoughts were impenetrable and his soul remained closed. Was this due to excessive egotism or supreme indifference? To both, perhaps. He was as baffling as a puzzle, carried banter occasionally to the verge of insolence and cynicism to that of cruelty; and, if, at times, he yielded to fits of noisy gaiety, if, from behind the rough exterior, there sometimes shot an impulse of unexpected kindness, these were but passing gleams. He promptly recovered his wonderful self-control; and those about him were too greatly fascinated by his intelligence to seek to understand his habit of mind or heart. And yet, though fascinating, he was as uncommunicative as it is possible to be; he possessed none of the external attractions of the intellect which captivate and charm; but, whenever he deigned to grant you the honour of an interview, however brief, you at once discovered in him a prodigious brain, a luminous perspicacity and critical powers of amazing subtlety and keenness...
His habit of icy chaff made one feel perpetually ill at ease when he happened to be in a conversational vein. One never knew if he was serious or joking. This tall, rough-hewn old man had a trick of stinging repartee under an outward appearance of innocent good-nature and, better than anyone that I have ever met, understood the delicate art of teaching a lesson to those who ventured upon an improper remark or an unseemly familiarity in his presence.
One evening, at a reception which he was giving to the authorities in his chalet at Ostende, the venerable rector of the parish came up to him with an air of concern and drawing him respectfully aside, said:
"Sir, I feel profoundly grieved. There is a rumour, I am sorry to say, that your Majesty's private life is not marked by the austerity suited to the lofty and difficult task which the Lord has laid upon the monarchs of this earth. Remember, Sir, that it behooves kings to set an example to their subjects."
And the worthy rector, taking courage from the fact that he had known Leopold II for thirty years, preached him a long sermon. The penitent, adopting an air of contrition, listened to the homily without moving a muscle. When, at last, the priest had exhausted his eloquence:
"What a funny thing, monsieur le cure!" murmured the King, fixing him with that cold glance of his, from under his wrinkled eye-lids. "Do you know, people have told me exactly the same thing about you! Only I refused to believe it, you know!"
That was a delicious sally, too, in which he indulged at the expense of a certain Brazilian minister, who was paying his first visit to court, and who appeared to be under the impression that the King was hard of hearing. At any rate, he made the most extraordinary efforts to speak loud and to pronounce his words distinctly. The King maintained an impassive countenance, but ended by interrupting him:
"Excuse me, monsieur le ministre," he said, with an exquisite smile. "I'm not deaf, you know: it's my brother!"
Picture the diplomatist's face!
Lastly, let me recall his caustic reply to one of our most uncompromising radical deputies, who was being received in audience and who, falling under the spell of King Leopold's obvious intelligence, said to him, point-blank:
"Sir, I am a republican. I do not hold with monarchies and kings. Nevertheless, I recognise your great superiority and I confess that you would make an admirable president of a republic!"
"Really?" replied the King, with his most ingenuous air. "Really? Do you know, I think I shall pay a compliment in your style to my physician, Dr. Thirier, who is coming to see me presently. I shall say, 'Thirier, you are a great doctor and I think you would make an excellent veterinary surgeon!'"...
The fact is that Leopold II looked at everything from two points of view: that of practical reality and that of his own selfishness. The King had in his veins the blood of the Coburgs mixed with that of the d'Orleans, two highly intelligent families, but utterly devoid of sentiment or sensibility; and he treated life as an equation which it was his business to solve by any methods, no matter which, so long as the result corresponded with that which he had assigned to it beforehand.
He had an extraordinarily observant mind, was marvellously familiar with the character of his people, its weaknesses and its vanities and played upon these with the firm, yet delicate touch of a pianist who feels himself to be a perfect master of his instrument and of its effects. His cleverness as a constitutional sovereign consisted in appearing to follow the movements of public opinion, whereas, in reality, he directed and sometimes even provoked them...
He had idiosyncrasies, like most mortals. For instance, he used to have four buckets of sea-water dashed over his body every morning, by way of a bath; he expected partridges to be served at his meals all the year round; and he had his newspapers ironed like pocket-handkerchiefs before reading them: he could not endure anything like a fold or crease in them. Lastly, when addressing the servants, he always spoke of himself in the third person. Thus he would say to his chauffeur, "Wait for him," instead of, "Wait for me." Those new to his service, who had not been warned, were puzzled to know what mysterious person he referred to.
A strange eccentric, you will say. No doubt, although these oddities are difficult to understand in the case of a man who displayed the most practical mind, the most lucid intelligence and the shrewdest head for business the moment he was brought face to face with the facts of daily life. But, I repeat, to those who knew him best, he appeared in the light of a constant and bewildering puzzle; and this was shown not only in the peculiarity of his manners, but in the incongruity of his sentiments. How are we to explain why this King should feel an infinite love for children, this stern King who was so hard and sometimes so cruel in his treatment of those to whom by rights he ought never to have closed his heart nor refused his indulgence? Yet the tall old man worshipped the little tots. They were almost the only creatures whose greetings he returned; and he would go carefully out of his way, when strolling along a beach, rather than spoil their sand-castles. How are we to explain the deep-seated, intense and jealous delight which he, so insensible to the softer emotions of mankind, felt at the sight of the fragile beauty of a rare flower? How are we to explain why he reserved the kindness and gentleness which he so harshly refused to his wife and daughters for his unfortunate sister, the Empress Charlotte, whose mysterious madness had kept her for forty-two years a lonely prisoner within the high walls of the Chateau de Bouchout? And yet, every morning of those forty-two years he never failed, when at Laeken, to go alone across the park to that silent dwelling and spend two hours in solitary converse with the tragic widow. Each day, with motherly solicitude, he personally supervised the smallest details of that shattered existence.
Lastly, what an astounding contrast was offered in Leopold II, who was considered insensible to the weaknesses of the heart, by the sudden blossoming of a sentimental idyll in the evening of his life....
...(A) single and decisive love, which he preserved until his death was soon to fill his thoughts exclusively and graft upon his... heart a belated bloom of disconcerting youth. When Leopold II made the acquaintance of Mlle. Blanche Caroline Delacroix, whom he afterwards raised to the dignity of Baroness Vaughan, he had just reached his sixty-fifth year....The humbleness of her birth prevented her from raising her eyes to a throne. She was the thirteenth child of a working mechanic and was born at Bucharest, where her father had gone to seek his fortune. She was brought up, therefore, in courts which were very different from royal courts; and I need not say that her education had hardly prepared her for the brilliant destiny which her chequered life held in store for her...
To what did Blanche Caroline Delacroix owe her success with Leopold II: to her vivid conversational powers, to the dazzling youthfulness of the fair-haired divinity that she was, or to her genuine intelligence? I cannot tell; but this much is certain, that, at her first audience, she succeeded in arousing in the old man's heart a love which was manifested at first in a polite flirtation and consecrated later in a union the mystery of which was never fully solved. Both the King and Mme. de Vaughan carefully refrained from making the smallest confidence on the subject of their marriage even to those in whom they confided most readily. Nevertheless, I have always believed that a secret religious ceremony did take place, so as to regularise their situation, if not with regard to Belgian law, at least in respect to the Church and their consciences. This conviction on my part was strengthened by the pastoral letter which Mgr. Mercier, Archbishop of Mechlin addressed to the Belgian Catholics after the King's death and in which the primate declared that the sovereign had died at peace with the Church of Rome. Allowing for the legitimate susceptibilities of the royal family, it was impossible to confirm the existence of a morganatic union in a more diplomatic manner. Some have said that the marriage was celebrated at San Remo, during the time when the King and Mme. de Vaughan were staying at Ville- franche, near Nice. I cannot certify this. When I consult my recollection, I merely remember that, on a certain morning, some years before Leopold II's death, I saw the King and Mme. de Vaughan drive off together in a motor-car—a thing which they had never done before—he looking very nervous and she greatly excited. They forbade anyone to accompany them and did not return until evening, when they made no attempt to tell us where they had been. Marcel, the chauffeur, said that he had taken them to San Remo, on Italian territory; but, apart from this, he also showed a memorable discretion and we got no more out of him.
I noticed, however, that, from that day, the attitude of the couple changed: they showed themselves in public together, went openly to the theatre at Nice and to the carnival masquerade and abstained from taking the very childish and rather ridiculous precautions which the King had prescribed during the period of flirtation and "engagement" on the score of "saving appearances!"
Ridiculous and childish they were, as the reader can judge for himself. For instance, although the Baroness Vaughan shared all the King's journeys and accompanied him wherever he went, she was never to address a word to him in public or appear to know him. They took the same trains, got out at the same stations, put up at the same hotels in adjoining rooms, lunched and dined in the same dining-room, but ignored each other's existence, he with an imperturbable composure, she with a charming awkwardness...
The Baroness Vaughan was not a bad sort of woman on the whole. In the early days, she used to put up with the violent outbursts to which the King occasionally treated her: she would light a great, big cigar and think no more about it. Afterwards, when she grew accustomed to look upon herself as the King's morganatic wife, her ambition increased and she insisted on being treated with deference. She complained to me that the Princess Clementine, whom she had met on the road or in some path in a garden, had not condescended to return her bow; and she added, in a regretful tone:
"To think that, if I had lived in the days of Louis XIV, I should have had a stool at Court !"
In the absence of a stool, she managed to achieve a most luxurious existence. The King, who now never left her, had installed her, when he was in residence in Brussels, in a charming villa which communicated directly with the grounds of the Chateau de Laeken by means of a bridge that spanned the road and led into the Baroness Vaughan's garden. Every day, before paying her his visit, he sent her the choicest flowers from his hot-houses and the finest fruit in his orchard...
He was very thrifty in his personal expenditure and ended by imparting his habits of economy to his fair friend. Baroness Vaughan used to scrutinise the kitchen accounts as closely as any middle- class housewife. True, the housekeeping books sometimes took excessive liberties. I remember, one year at the Chateau de Lormois near Fontainebleau, which the King had hired for the season... there was a violent scene with the cook, who had had the temerity to charge for seventy-five eggs in six days. Mme. de Vaughan was justly annoyed, dismissed him on the spot and refused to pay him the usual wages instead of notice...
Great as was the influence which Mme. de Vaughan had gained over the King's mind, I am bound to confess that it was never exercised in political matters nor in any of Leopold's financial undertakings. The baroness knew nothing about those things and made no attempt to understand them. The King was grateful to her for this discretion, which in reality was only indifference, for he never allowed any outsider to interfere in his affairs, whether public or private. He discussed none of his schemes before they were completed or before he had drawn up his plan of execution down to the minutest details.
"It shall be so," he used to declare; and no one ever dreamt of opposing his will so plainly expressed.
It was in this way that he conducted his enormous Congo enterprise entirely by himself. The different phases of this business are too well known for me to recapitulate them here. One of them, however—the first phase—has been very seldom discussed and deserves to be recalled, for it throws a great light not only upon the king's conceptive genius, but also upon his diplomatic astuteness and his amazing cynicism.
In 1884, Leopold II, who had for years been obsessed by the longing to lay hands upon the Congo territory, promoted an international conference in order to frustrate the West African treaty which had lately been concluded between Great Britain and Portugal and which stood in the way of the realisation of his secret ambitions. The King of the Belgians now conceived the subtle and intelligent idea of inducing the congress to proclaim the Congo into an independent state, with himself as its recognised sovereign.
There was only one person in Europe possessed of sufficient authority to bring about the adoption of this daring plan; and that was Bismarck. Bismarck was the necessary instrument; but how was he to be persuaded? Faced with this difficulty, Leopold II hit upon the idea of sending to Berlin a mere journalist, whom he knew to be a clever and talented man, and instructed him to capture the Iron Chancellor's confidence. Leopold coached this journalist, a gentleman of the name of Gantier, to such good purpose that, as the result of a campaign directed from Brussels by the King himself, M. Gantier managed, within a few months, to insinuate himself into Bismarck's immediate surroundings, to interest him in the Congo question and to prove to him that Germany would derive incomparable benefits from proclaiming the independence of the Congo and entrusting its administration to a neutral sovereign like the King of the Belgians.
The stratagem was successful from start to finish. The Congress of Berlin, on the motion of the chancellor, proclaimed the Congo an independent territory with Leopold II, for its sovereign. We know the result: the Congo is at this day a Belgian colony. Leopold II, in a word, had "dished" Prince Bismarck...
A painting of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield (1790-1865), later King Leopold I of the Belgians, with his beloved first wife, Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, heir to the British throne. When Charlotte died in childbirth in 1817, Leopold wrote to Sir Thomas Lawrence:...Two generations gone — gone in a moment! I have felt for myself, but I have also felt for the prince regent (her father, the later King George IV) My Charlotte is gone from the country — it has lost her. She was a good, she was an admirable woman. None could know my Charlotte as I did know her. It was my study, my duty, to know her character, but it was also my delight...
Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, is the eldest son and heir of Belgium's reigning monarchs, King Albert II and Queen Paola. He was born April 15, 1960, in Brussels. After completing secondary school (in both Belgium's national languages, French and Dutch), he attended the Royal Military Academy. He graduated in 1981, later qualifying as a fighter pilot and as a paratrooper and commando officer. In 2001, he attained the rank of Major General in the Armed Forces. He has certainly had a thorough military training, in the tradition of Belgian kings. Prince Philippe also attended university in the UK, at Trinity College, Oxford, and, in the USA, at the Stanford Graduate School. In 1985, he obtained his MA in political science. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
Blanche Zélie Josephine Delacroix (1883-1948) was a young Parisian courtesan who became the mistress and, eventually, the morganatic second wife of King Leopold II of the Belgians. She was a woman of the people, dark, handsome in a coarse way, no raving beauty, but lively and charming. Leopold, nearly 50 years her senior, met Blanche, otherwise known as "Caroline", when she was 16 years old, and fell madly in love with her. It seemed to be the first time that the King, infamous for his disastrous marriage and long series of casual affairs, had become deeply attached to a woman. 
Stephanie (1864-1945), born Princess of Belgium, as Crown Princess of Austria-Hungary.
Another painting of Stephanie.
A painting of Stephanie and her husband, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary, on a walk in the countryside.
Princess Clementine was the youngest, steadiest, and happiest daughter of King Leopold II and Queen Marie-Henriette. Her birth on July 30, 1872, was a bitter disappointment to her parents, especially her father. Following the death of their son, in 1869, they had eagerly hoped for another male heir. Nonetheless, over time, Clementine became her father's favorite. As the Queen, in her later years, increasingly withdrew from public life, Clementine assumed many of her official duties, becoming the King's valued helpmate. Despite her privileged position, however, she must have suffered severely from her father's cruelty and infidelity to her mother, and must have felt deeply humiliated by the scandal arising from his conduct. 
Here, we see Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant (1859-1869), the only son of King Leopold II of the Belgians and his wife, Queen Marie-Henriette. (I must say he looks like a sweet little boy.) A child of hope and promise, the focus of all his father's dynastic pride and ambition, he was also the cherished playmate of his sisters, Louise and Stephanie. Sadly, at age 10, he fell into a pond at Laeken Castle, and developed pneumonia and heart problems. After a long illness, he died. His parents were devastated. King Leopold, normally cold, haughty, and imperturbable, broke down completely at his son's burial. Without caring who was watching, he fell sobbing on his knees. He always remained bitterly disappointed by the loss of his heir.
