When King Albert I of Belgium visited Germany in 1913, he learned that the kaiser wanted to send the German army through Belgium to attack France. King Albert had no intention of going along with this plan. "Belgium is a nation, not a road," he said.
Germany invaded Belgium the following year, and Albert took personal command of his army, valiantly fighting the Germans throughout World War I. Finally, in 1918, with the help of French and British forces, Albert defeated the Germans at the Battle of Flanders and drove them out of Belgium.
King Albert was an excellent leader in peacetime, as well, helping to rebuild Belgium after the war, encouraging the expansion of Belgian industry, and improving the wretched conditions of workers in the Belgian Congo.
He and his queen, Elisabeth of Bavaria, had three children: Leopold, Charles, and Marie Jose. In 1934 Albert died in a mountaineering accident and his eldest son became King Leopold III.
The new king was in his thirties. He and his wife, Queen Astrid (formerly Princess Astrid of Sweden) were deeply in love. They had three children -- Josephine Charlotte, Baudouin, and Albert. Less than two years after Leopold assumed the throne, tragedy struck the royal family. King Leopold was driving his wife along a mountain road when he lost control of the car and veered into a ravine. Astrid was thrown from the vehicle and killed.
During World War II, Germany invaded Belgium once again. Leopold tried to resist, but eventually surrendered to the Germans, much to his people's dismay. Although he refused to fully cooperate with the enemy, he was seen as a traitor. In 1941 he married Mary Liliane Baels, a commoner to whom he later gave the title "Princess of Rethy." They had three children: Alexandre, Marie Christine, and Marie Esmerelda.
After World War II, the widespread hostility toward the king in Belgium forced him into exile in Switzerland while his brother Charles acted as regent. After a failed attempt in 1950 to reclaim his position, Leopold abdicated in favor of his son Baudouin.
Baudouin was 20 years old when he assumed the throne. Ten years later he married a Spanish woman, Queen Fabiola, who is still alive. They had no children. King Baudouin died in 1993 and was succeeded by his brother, King Albert II, who continues to reign today.
To learn more about the Belgian monarchy, visit these sites:
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