Leopold III of Belgium

Leopold III
Leopold III in 1934
King of the Belgians
Reign	23 February 1934 – 16 July 1951
Predecessor	Albert I
Successor	Baudouin
Regents	Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (1944–1950) Prince Baudouin, Duke of Brabant (1950–1951)
Prime Ministers	See list Charles de Broqueville Georges Theunis Paul van Zeeland Paul-Émile Janson Paul-Henri Spaak Hubert Pierlot Achille Van Acker Camille Huysmans Gaston Eyskens Jean Duvieusart Joseph Pholien
Born	(1901-11-03)3 November 1901 Brussels, Belgium
Died	25 September 1983(1983-09-25) (aged 81) Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Brussels, Belgium
Burial	Church of Our Lady of Laeken
Spouses	Astrid of Sweden ​ ​ (m. 1926; died 1935)​ Mary Lilian Baels ​ (m. 1941)​
Issue	Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Baudouin, King of the Belgians Albert II, King of the Belgians Prince Alexandre Princess Marie-Christine Princess Marie-Esméralda, Lady Moncada
Names Dutch: Leopold Filips Karel Albert Meinrad Hubertus Maria Miguel French: Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubert Marie Michel German: Leopold Philipp Karl Albrecht Meinrad Hubert Maria Michael
House	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1920) Belgium (from 1920)
Father	Albert I of Belgium
Mother	Elisabeth of Bavaria
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Leopold III^[a] (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad.

Leopold's act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet, who moved to London to form a government-in-exile, while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, with serious calls for a secessionist republic in Wallonia. Under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin in July 1951.

Leopold's first wife, Astrid of Sweden, died in a road accident while on a driving holiday in Switzerland in August 1935, being much mourned by the public. Leopold, who was driving the vehicle when it hit a tree, was also lightly injured. His morganatic second marriage, to Lilian Baels in captivity in 1941, was contrary to Belgian law, which stipulates that the civil marriage has to occur before a religious marriage, and she was never permitted the title of queen. Although Lilian and Leopold had originally planned to postpone their civil marriage until the end of the war, Lilian was soon expecting their first child, necessitating a civil marriage, which took place on 6 December 1941.^[1]

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