Home > Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II, King of the Belgians (Louis Philippe Marie Victor) ( April 9, 1835 - December 17, 1909), succeeded his father, Leopold I of Belgium, to the Belgian throne in 1865 and remained king until his death. Outside of Belgium, however, he is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a secret private enterprise scheme to extract rubber and ivory which was responsible for the death of an estimated 5-15 million Africans.1 Biography
Leopold was born in Brussels to Leopold I and Princesse Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d'Orléans. At an early age he entered the Belgian army, and in Brussels, on August 22, 1853, he was married to Marie Henriette Anne von Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduchess of Austria, born at Pest, Austria-Hungary (now BudapestSee Budapest (band) for the british melancholic post-grunge band. Danube in foreground, looking south from Margit Bridge Budapest (pronounced BOO-dah-pesht, X-SAMPA: /budapESt/), the capital city of Hungary and the country's principal political, industria, HungaryThe Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars or Magyarorszag''. Magyar Koztarsasag ( In Detail) ( Full s) on August 23August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. Events 1328 Battle of Kassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers 1566 Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands 1614 The, 1836Events January Book by Maria Monk claims that she was sexually exploited in a Canadian convent February 3 United States Whig Party holds its first convention in Albany, New York. February 23 The siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas. February 24, and who died at SpaSpa is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liege. It is situated in a romantic valley amid hills which form part of the Ardennes chain, 27 miles southeast of Liege, and 22 miles southwest of Aix-la-Chapelle. As of January 1st, 2004, Spa had, Liège, Belgium on September 20September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). There are 102 days remaining. Events 451 Atilla, king of the Huns, invades Gaul, but is defeated by Aetius with the help of Roman Foederati in the Battle of Chalons 1378 Papal Schism: Unhapp, 1902. She was the daughter of Joseph, Archduke of Austria ( 1776 - 1847) who was son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor ( 1747 - 1792).
Leopold II and Marie Henriette Anne's children were:
- Louise-Marie Amélie, born Brussels February 18, 1858 and died at Wiesbaden March 1, 1924. She married Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
- Leopold Ferdinand Elie Victor Albert Marie, Count of Hainaut (as eldest son of the heir apparent), Duke of Brabant (as heir apparent), born at Laeken on June 12, 1859 and died at Laeken on January 22, 1869 from pneumonia, after falling into a pond.
- Clémentine Albertine Marie Léopoldine, born at Laeken on July 30, 1872 and died at Nice, France on March 8, 1955. She married Prince Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte (1862 - 1926), head of the Bonaparte family.
Leopold II was also the father of two sons, Lucien Philippe Marie Antoine (1906-1984) and Philippe Henri Marie François (1907-1914), born out of wedlock. Their mother was Blanche Zélia Joséphine Delacroix (1883-1948), aka Caroline Lacroix, a prostitute who married the king on December 12, 1909, in a religious ceremony with no validity under Belgian law, at the Pavilion of Palms, Château de Laeken , five days before his death. These sons were adopted in 1910 by Lacroix's second husband, Antoine Durrieux. Though Lacroix is said to have been created Baroness de Vaughan, Lucien the Duke of Tervuren, and Philippe the Count of Ravenstein, no such royal decrees were ever issued.
On November 15, 1902, Italian anarchist Genarro Rubino (or Rubin) unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate King Leopold.
In Belgian domestic politics Leopold emphasized military defense as the basis of neutrality, but he was unable to obtain a universal conscription law until on his death bed.
King Leopold II died on December 17, 1909 and was interred in the Royal vault at the Church of Our Lady, Laeken Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium.
