Monarchy of Belgium - Wikipedia
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3/11/2021 Monarchy of Belgium - Wikipedia [ Monarchy of Belgium. (Accessed Mar. 11, 2021). Monarchy of Belgium Overview. Wikipedia. ] The Monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy of Belgium King of the Belgians whose incumbent is titled the King or Queen of the Belgians (Dutch: Koning(in) der Belgen, Koning der Belgen (Dutch) French: Roi / Reine des Belges, German: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's head of Roi des Belges (French) state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830. König der Belgier (German) The incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father. Contents Origins Belgian Royal Coat Arms Hereditary and constitutional Incumbent Leopold I, Leopold II and Albert I Leopold III and Baudouin Constitutional, political, and historical consequences List of kings of the Belgians Title Constitutional role Inviolability Traditions Popular support Royal Household Members of the Belgian royal family Other members of the royal family Other descendants of Leopold III Philippe Family tree of members since 21 July 2013 Deceased members Details Royal consorts Style His Majesty See also Heir apparent Princess Elisabeth, References Duchess of Brabant External links First monarch Leopold I Formation 21 July 1831 Origins Residence Royal Palace of Brussels Royal Castle of When the Belgians became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a constitutional monarchy as the form of government. The Congress voted on the question on 22 November 1830, Laeken supporting monarchy by 174 votes to 13. In February 1831, the Congress nominated Louis, Duke of Website The Belgian Nemours, the son of the French king Louis-Philippe, but international considerations deterred Monarchy (http://w Louis-Philippe from accepting the honour for his son. ww.monarchie.be/e n/) Following this refusal, the National Congress appointed Erasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier to be the Regent of Belgium on 25 February 1831. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was designated as King of the Belgians by the National Congress and swore allegiance to the Belgian constitution in House of Belgium front of Saint James's Church at Coudenberg Palace in Brussels on 21 July.[1] This day has since become a national holiday for Belgium and its citizens. Hereditary and constitutional As a hereditary constitutional monarchy system, the role and operation of Belgium's monarchy is governed by the Constitution. The royal office of King is designated solely for a descendant of the Belgian Royal Coat Arms first King of the Belgians, Leopold I. Parent Saxe-Coburg and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Belgium 1/11 3/11/2021 Monarchy of Belgium - Wikipedia Since he is bound by the Constitution (above all other ideological and religious considerations, house Gotha political opinions and debates and economic interests) the King is intended to act as an arbiter and Place of Belgium guardian of Belgian national unity and independence.[2] Belgium's monarchs are inaugurated in a origin purely civil swearing-in ceremony. Founded 21 July 1831 The Kingdom of Belgium was never an absolute monarchy. Nevertheless, in 1961, the historian Founder Leopold I Ramon Arango, wrote that the Belgian monarchy is not "truly constitutional".[3] Current Philippe head Leopold I, Leopold II and Albert I King Leopold I was head of Foreign Affairs "as an ancien régime monarch", the foreign ministers having the authority to act only as ministers of the king.[4] Leopold I quickly became one of the most important shareholders of the Société Générale de Belgique.[5] Leopold's son, King Leopold II is chiefly remembered for the founding and capitalization of the Congo Free State as a personal fiefdom. There was scandal when the atrocities in the Congo Free State were made public, causing the Free State to be taken over by the Belgian Government. Many Congolese were killed as a result of Leopold's policies in the Congo before the reforms of direct Belgian rule.[6][7][8] The Free State scandal is discussed at the Museum of the Congo at Tervuren in Belgium.[9] On several occasions Leopold II publicly expressed disagreement with the ruling government (e.g. on 15 August 1887 and in 1905 against Prime Minister Auguste Beernaert)[10] and was accused by Yvon Gouet of noncompliance with the country's parliamentary system.[11] Equestrian statue of King Leopold II in Brussels, Belgium Leopold III and Baudouin Louis Wodon (the chef de cabinet of Leopold III from 1934 to 1940), thought the King's oath to the Constitution implied a royal position "over and above the Constitution". He compared the King to a father, the head of a family, "Regarding the moral mission of the king," said Arango, "it is permissible to point to a certain analogy between his role and that of a father, or more generally, of parents in a family. The family is, of course, a legal institution as is the state. But what would a family be where everything was limited among those who compose it to simply legal relationships? In a family when one considers only legal relationships one comes very close to a breakdown in the moral ties founded on reciprocal affection without which a family would be like any other fragile association"[12] According to Arango, Leopold III of Belgium shared these views about the Belgian monarchy. In 1991, towards the end of the reign of Baudouin, Senator Yves de Wasseige, a former member of the Belgian Constitutional Court, cited four points of democracy which the Belgian Constitution lacks:[13] 1. the King chooses the ministers, 2. the King is able to influence the ministers when he speaks with them about bills, projects and nominations, 3. the King promulgates bills, and, 4. the King must agree to any change of the Constitution Constitutional, political, and historical consequences The Belgian monarchy was from the beginning a constitutional monarchy, patterned after that of the United Kingdom.[14] Raymond Fusilier wrote the Belgian regime of 1830 was also inspired by the French Constitution of the Kingdom of France (1791–1792), the United States Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the old political traditions of both Walloon and Flemish provinces.[15] "It should be observed that all monarchies have suffered periods of change as a result of which the power of the sovereign was reduced, but for the most part those periods occurred before the development of the system of constitutional monarchy and were steps leading to its establishment."[16] The characteristic evidence of this is in Great Britain where there was an evolution from the time when kings ruled through the agency of ministers to that time when ministers began to govern through the instrumentality of the Crown. Unlike the British constitutional system, in Belgium "the monarchy underwent a belated evolution" which came "after the establishment of the constitutional monarchical system"[17] because, in 1830–1831, an independent state, parliamentary system and monarchy were established simultaneously. Hans Daalder, professor of political science at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden wrote: "Did such simultaneous developments not result in a possible failure to lay down the limits of the royal prerogatives with some precision—which implied that the view of the King as the Keeper of the Nation, with rights and duties of its own, retained legitimacy?"[18] For Raymond Fusilier, the Belgian monarchy had to be placed—at least in the beginning—between the regimes where the king rules and those in which the king does not rule but only reigns. The Belgian monarchy is closer to the principle "the King does not rule",[19] but the Belgian kings were not only "at the head of the dignified part of the Constitution".[20] The Belgian monarchy is not merely symbolic, because it participates in directing affairs of state insofar as the King's will coincides with that of the ministers, who alone bear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Belgium 2/11 3/11/2021 Monarchy of Belgium - Wikipedia responsibility for the policy of government.[21] For Francis Delpérée, to reign does not only mean to preside over ceremonies but also to take a part in the running of the State.[22] The Belgian historian Jean Stengers wrote that "some foreigners believe the monarchy is indispensable to national unity. That is very naive. He is only a piece on the chessboard, but a piece which matters.[23] List of kings of the Belgians The monarchs of Belgium originally belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The family name was changed by Albert I in 1920 to the House of Belgium as a result of anti-German sentiment. This is a family tree of the Kings of the Belgians, hereditary, constitutional monarchs of Belgium as defined by the Belgian Constitution. Francis Duke of Augusta Saxe- Reuss Coburg- of Ebersdorf Saalfeld 1757–1831 1750–1806 r.1800–1806 Leopold I Charlotte King of the Louise Belgians of Wales of Orléans 1790–1865 1796–1817 1812–1850 r.1831-1865 Leopold II Philippe Maximilian King of the Marie Marie Count of I Louis Belgians of Carlota Henriette Flanders Emperor of Philippe 1835–1909 Hohenzollern- of Mexico of Austria Mexico 1833–1834 r.1865-1909 Sigmaringen 1840–1927 1836–1902 1832–1867 1845–1912 1837–1905 r.1863–1867 Albert I King of the Leopold Baudouin Philipp Belgians Duke of of of Saxe- 1875–1934 Brabant Rudolf Flanders Coburg Louise Stéphanie Elisabeth Cr. Prince of r.1909-1934 1869-1891 of Belgium of Belgium of Bavaria and Gotha Austria 1844–1921 1858–1924 1864–1945 1876–1965