Belgian Royal family

Thereafter the dynasty, while being French-speaking, will continue to be primarily Germanic and always catholic (majority religion of the Belgians). Léopold II marries the Austrian archduchess Marie-Henriette, but with its death Léopold II does not have a direct male heir (his/her son Léopold Ferdinand is deceased in 1869). It is thus Albert, his nephew, who succeeds to him in 1909: king Albert Ier is the son of prince Philippe (brother of Léopold II) and of the German princess Marie de Hohenzollern. He married Elisabeth, a Bavarian princess . Léopold III, their oldest son, king since 1934, married the Swedish princess Astrid, become thus Reine of the Belgians. Their oldest son, Baudouin, were king of 1951 with his death in 1993, without leaving of direct heir. His/her brother, Albert, are the current sovereign, under the name of Albert II, since 1993.

The Germanic ascents thus strongly prevail in the Belgian royal family, while French is the family language since the beginnings of the dynasty.

Linguistic uses of the royal family today

• the Flemings being slightly majority in the country (to 58%), the king takes care to generally begin its national speeches (i.e. speeches addressed to all the Belgians, the Parliament or elsewhere) in Dutch, appreciated gesture because perceived like legitimate.

• Although the native tongue of the royal children is French, each prince followed, as far as possible, an education in several languages. The wire of the king - princes Philippe (heir to the throne) and Laurent - followed all the beginning of their French schooling to Brussels-Capital (primary then college Saint-Michel in Etterbeek); then they were sent in Flanders to study there in Dutch; finally they continued their studies in military academy then in university (Philippe in Oxford and Stanford, Laurent at the University of Leuwen-the-New). Before the university, Laurent also studied with the Royal Ecole of the Juniors in Laeken (Brussels), in French language.

• Recently, prince Philippe, oldest son of the king, and his wife the Mathilde princess, registered their children, the small Elisabeth princess (born in 2001) and his/her Gabriel little brother (born in 2003), in a school of language Dutchwoman (prince Emmanuel, born in 2005, is still too young): the goal is that they become gradually bilingual so that they have a real control of Dutch. This step is that of the immersion in a language second, moreover practiced in several countries (thus, in Canada, of the anglophone parents their children in French-speaking schools register as of their more young age, so that they have a command of the French language correctly). The princess Astrid, girl of the king, and her husband prince Lorenz, of Austrian origin but he so French-speaking, also registered their five children in a school of language Dutchwoman at least for the beginning of their schooling . Because of this gesture " of immersion néerlandaise" , of the observers of Belgian monarchy claimed that Philippe, oldest son of the king, and his/her Astrid sister, made concessions with the Flemish Nationalisme or more exactly than they yielded to the pressure " permanente" nationalist Flemish. Others affirmed that it was simply about a fashion.

Despite everything these efforts with regard to the language Dutchwoman, the family members royal Belgian (at least some of them) are sometimes judged severely in Flanders for their relative difficulty of expressing itself in Dutch. It is for example notorious that prince Laurent, wire junior by the king, had great difficulties in the training of this language second at the time of his school passage in Flanders, where it had to redouble three times.

In spite of the institutional and linguistic vicissitudes Belgian, the royal family remains a sure value in the country, it is very popular. One of the paradoxical aspects of its history is that it is particularly popular among the French-speaking Belgians, whereas a great part of them seemed to reject monarchy after the second world war. The French-speaking Belgians (Of Brussels and Walloon) there today are very attached. It is generally as the case among Flemings, in spite of some criticisms specific (the remark of the Flemish minister-president, for example, informant as the Flanders does not need the king ) and especially, sometimes, a certain condescension with regard to the royal function on behalf of certain politicians of the flamingant current, who consider that the King is " too much Belge" (= too French-speaking?). Some answer them sometimes that even with the Netherlands, Dutch-speaking unilingual country, French is a spoken language by the royal family into private, at least as language second (knowing that the royal family Dutchwoman is not French-speaking of native tongue).

The French currency of the royal family is also that of Belgium: UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL .

Future of the royal family in the evolution of the Belgian political context

On this assumption, which would see the birth of a Flemish Republic, much of Belgians think that the future of the royal family as a reigning family of Belgium would be compromised. However, it is to forget that, constitutionally and juridically, nothing would be opposed so that Belgium continues to exist , but with two federate Areas (Brussels and Walloon region) instead of three currently. This Belgium, which would be from now on very mainly French-speaking, would probably preserve its current name (" Belgique"), its federal system and Community (with the German-speaking Community and the probable creation of the Flemish Community of Brussels, enjoying guaranteed constitutional laws). Indeed, this institutional configuration seems to be appropriate to the French-speaking Belgians, who would be besides favorable to the maintenance of this mode and this royal family to which they hold much. Therefore, the royal family could completely continue to be the family reigning in this constitutional monarchy, whose territory would be only partly decreased since it would not include/understand any more the independent Flanders.

If the independence of the Flanders is possible long-term, on the other hand the secession of the Walloon region (or even a possible fastening in France, not very popular assumption) is considered to be utopian by the majority of the French-speaking political parties, which are attached to the maintenance of an independent Belgian State in the form of a federal union between the Walloon region and the Area of Brussels, in the event of Flemish independence, and thus favorable to the survival of even reduced Belgium. These is the relative consensus among the French-speaking people which makes it possible to suppose that the Belgian dynasty would survive an independence of the Flanders (two States would cohabit then: a republic Flemish, Dutch-speaking, and the Kingdom of Belgium, French-speaking person).

Genealogy of the royal family (since Albert Ier)

Descent dynaste of the king Albert Ier (1875 - 1934). In the facts, the Belgian royal family is limited to the current king Albert II (born in 1934), to his three children and eleven grandchildren, and to the four joint ones, like the queen Fabiola (born in 1928), widow of the king Baudouin (1930 - 1993)

The order of succession with the throne of the 14 princes and princesses entitled to succeed, and resulting from the modification of the rules of succession in 1991, is indicated in fat before the name of each prince or princess.