1 Full Name
2 Biography
3 Marriage and family
4 Titles
5 Ancestry
6 Patrilineal descent
7 See also
8 Gallery
9 Belgian coinage
10 See also
11 External links

Albert II of Belgium

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Albert II

King of the Belgians
Reign 9 August 1993 – present
Predecessor Baudouin
Heir apparent Philippe, Duke of Brabant
Consort Paola Ruffo di Calabria
Issue
Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant
Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este
Prince Laurent
House House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father Leopold III of Belgium
Mother Astrid of Sweden
Born 6 June 1934 (1934-06-06) (age 75)
Stuyvenberg Castle, Brussels, Belgium
Religion Roman Catholic
Belgian Royal Family

HM The King
HM The Queen

HM Queen Fabiola
HRH Princess Léa
HRH Princess Marie-Christine
HRH Princess Marie-Esméralda

Monarchical styles of
King Albert II of the Belgians

Reference style His Majesty
Spoken style Your Majesty
Alternative style Sire

Albert II (born Stuyvenberg Castle, Brussels, 6 June 1934) is the current King of the Belgians and a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He is the second son of the late King Leopold III (1901-1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1905-1935). He ascended to the throne in 1993, upon the death of his older brother, Baudouin. His godparents were Prince Felix of Luxembourg and his paternal grandmother, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. He is the first cousin of King Harald V of Norway , Princess Astrid of Norway, and Princess Ragnhild of Norway.

Full Name

Albert's full name is Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Christian Eugène Marie in French, Albert Felix Humbert Theodoor Christiaan Eugène Marie in Dutch, and Albert Felix Humbert Theodor Christian Eugen Maria in German.

Biography

Prince Albert was sent to the Swiss private school Institut Le Rosey for his pre-university education. He succeeded his elder brother, Baudouin I, as king, taking the constitutional oath on 9 August 1993, becoming the oldest king in Belgian history to ascend to the throne (at age 59). Before his accession he was known as the Prince of Liège, a title created for him the day after his birth; he had been heir presumptive to the Belgian throne since 1951. He also served in the Belgian Navy between 1953 and 1958.

He is the 1,292nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria and the 1,191st Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain in 1994.

Marriage and family

He married, in Brussels, on 2 July 1959, Princess Donna Paola Margherita Maria Antonia Consiglia Ruffo di Calabria (born 1937). She is the daughter of Principe Don Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, Duca di Guardia Lombarda and his wife, Countess Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano (1896-1989).

He and the Queen have three children:

Philippe Léopold Louis Marie, Duke of Brabant (born 15 April 1960). He married, on 4 December 1999, Jonkvrouwe Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, who was created HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium a day before their marriage. She is a daughter of the late Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz and his wife, Countess Anna Maria Komorowska. They have four children:
- Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène, who will inherit the throne after her father, in accordance with the 1991 Act of Succession, which created full cognatic primogeniture, better known as succession by strict birth order without regard to gender.
- Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie
- Prince Emmanuel Leopold Guillaume François Marie
- Princess Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie
Astrid Joséphine Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Marie (born 5 June 1962). She is the wife of His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, whom she married in 1984 and who was created a Prince of Belgium in 1995. Princess Astrid, with her own descendants, is before her brother Laurent in the order of succession to the Belgian throne, in accordance with the 1991 Act of Succession mentioned above. They have five children:
- Archduke Amedeo of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium
- Archduchess Maria Laura of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
- Archduke Joachim of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium
- Archduchess Luisa-Maria of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
- Archduchess Laetitia-Maria of Austria-Este, Princess of Belgium
Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie (born 19 October 1963). He married Claire Coombs, an Anglo-Belgian former real-estate agent, on 12 April 2003. She was created HRH Princess Claire of Belgium 11 days before their marriage. They have one daughter and two sons:

The Belgian press considers, without formal proof, that The King also has an illegitimate daughter, Delphine Boël (born 1968). Her mother is a Belgian aristocrat, Sybille, Baroness de Selys Longchamps (ex-Madame Jacques Boël). Boël, a sculptor living in Brussels, has 2 children, Joséphine O'Hare and Oscar O'Hare, by her American companion, James O'Hare.