Wednesday, November 3, 2010

November 3, 1901: The Birth of Leopold III

"What a memory! One of the most beautiful of my life, hearing the first cry of my first child! You were so pretty, and later, so handsome! But this, you do not like people to tell you, or, at least, not too bluntly. Since then, so many joys, so many sorrows!"

~Queen Elisabeth

On this day in 1901, the future Leopold III, King of the Belgians, was born in Brussels. Named Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubert Marie Miguel, he was the first child of Prince Albert of Belgium and his bride, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. In looks and personality, Leopold would prove to be a perfect blend of both parents, mingling his father's kindness and intellect with his mother's grace and charm. His notorious great-uncle, King Leopold II, usually a cold, distant man, was overjoyed at his arrival, as no male heirs had been born in the royal family for many years. On June 7, 1902, the little prince was baptized at the Church of St. Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, where his funeral would be held in 1983. The King was his godfather.

5 comments:

BelgieRoyalist said...

Thank you for this reminder. I had no idea of it!

May said...

Thank you for linking and I like what you say in your post:-

"He would go through many trials in his life, being the joy, the inspiration, the strong leader, protector and finally sacrifice of his country."

Theresa Bruno said...

Thank you for commemorating his birth. Children are such blessings!

I have a question about the Belgian royal family. Are they just Catholic in name or do they faithfully practice the Catholic faith?

May said...

Ah, that is a huge topic! I guess it depends on what you mean by "they" and "faithfully practice the Catholic faith." Here are some past postings relating to the issue, I hope they may help:

http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2009/12/death-of-leopold-i.html

http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2009/01/piety-of-albert-i.html

http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2009/04/faith-of-leopold-iii.html

http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2010/01/perfume-of-violets.html

http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2010/04/queen-fabiola.html

The family have all been Catholic since the first king, Leopold I, who remained Protestant all his life. Since that point, the Catholic faith has been a very real presence in the lives of many members of the family, as mentioned in the articles above.

A number of the current royals are involved in the Charismatic movement.

Theresa Bruno said...

Thanks I will check the posts out!