Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,794
King or not king? The Belgians decide.
On March 12, 1950, the Belgians had to decide in a referendum whether King Leopold III, who is living in exile in Switzerland may ascend the throne again ...:
Leopold III. comes from the German noble family Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha and was controversial because of its unclear attitude towards the German occupiers during the Second World War.
On September 4, 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, King Leopold took over command of the Belgian army, with Belgium remaining neutral during the war.
The offer formulated by him together with the Queen of the Netherlands in November 1939 to mediate peace to the heads of state of Great Britain, France and Germany was rejected by Great Britain and France.
During the attack by Germany on May 10, 1940, the positions of the Belgian army were overrun within a few days.
Soon there were serious differences of opinion between King Leopold and the Belgian government under Hubert Pierlot about the attitude towards the 3rd Reich ...:
This urged the king to continue the fight against the "Third Reich" if necessary, following the example of Queen Wilhelmina from abroad.
In view of the great difficulties facing the Allies and the foreseeable collapse of the French lines, however, Leopold did not believe in a victory against Germany and decided to remain at the head of his troops.
Although the monarch had no authority to take political action on his own due to the Belgian constitution, Leopold pleaded that the Belgian government was incapable of acting after it had fled to France, and surrendered on May 28th.
On the same day King Leopold was declared "prevented from exercising his office" by the Pierlot government; the government temporarily took over the monarch's official powers in corpore.
Leopold considered himself a “prisoner of war”; he and his family were placed under house arrest by the Germans in the residence at Schloss Laeken near Brussels.
At first, the majority of the Belgian population approved of his behavior.
A rapid change in mood set in at the end of 1941 when his wedding to Lilian Baels became known on December 7th:
This meant that the fiction of the "prisoner of war" could no longer be upheld. Since the German occupation proved to be more and more oppressive and Leopold evidently did nothing to alleviate the lot of the population, more and more circles turned away from the king.
After the liberation of parts of Belgium in 1944 (Brussels was liberated on September 3), Parliament declared him incapable of governing and appointed his brother, Prince Karl (1903-1983), as regent ...
So now the people have to decide:
With a clear majority - 57.6% - the Belgians are in favor of Leopold III. may become king and head of state again.
But the return of the king to Belgium on July 22, 1950 was accompanied by strikes and protests. Most of the Flemings are for Leopold; on the other hand, the Walloon population demanded his abdication.
In order to “maintain the unity of his country and maintain the monarchy”, King Leopold abdicated on July 16, 1951 in favor of his son Baudouin.
On March 12, 1950, the Belgians had to decide in a referendum whether King Leopold III, who is living in exile in Switzerland may ascend the throne again ...:
Leopold III. comes from the German noble family Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha and was controversial because of its unclear attitude towards the German occupiers during the Second World War.
On September 4, 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, King Leopold took over command of the Belgian army, with Belgium remaining neutral during the war.
The offer formulated by him together with the Queen of the Netherlands in November 1939 to mediate peace to the heads of state of Great Britain, France and Germany was rejected by Great Britain and France.
During the attack by Germany on May 10, 1940, the positions of the Belgian army were overrun within a few days.
Soon there were serious differences of opinion between King Leopold and the Belgian government under Hubert Pierlot about the attitude towards the 3rd Reich ...:
This urged the king to continue the fight against the "Third Reich" if necessary, following the example of Queen Wilhelmina from abroad.
In view of the great difficulties facing the Allies and the foreseeable collapse of the French lines, however, Leopold did not believe in a victory against Germany and decided to remain at the head of his troops.
Although the monarch had no authority to take political action on his own due to the Belgian constitution, Leopold pleaded that the Belgian government was incapable of acting after it had fled to France, and surrendered on May 28th.
On the same day King Leopold was declared "prevented from exercising his office" by the Pierlot government; the government temporarily took over the monarch's official powers in corpore.
Leopold considered himself a “prisoner of war”; he and his family were placed under house arrest by the Germans in the residence at Schloss Laeken near Brussels.
At first, the majority of the Belgian population approved of his behavior.
A rapid change in mood set in at the end of 1941 when his wedding to Lilian Baels became known on December 7th:
This meant that the fiction of the "prisoner of war" could no longer be upheld. Since the German occupation proved to be more and more oppressive and Leopold evidently did nothing to alleviate the lot of the population, more and more circles turned away from the king.
After the liberation of parts of Belgium in 1944 (Brussels was liberated on September 3), Parliament declared him incapable of governing and appointed his brother, Prince Karl (1903-1983), as regent ...
So now the people have to decide:
With a clear majority - 57.6% - the Belgians are in favor of Leopold III. may become king and head of state again.
But the return of the king to Belgium on July 22, 1950 was accompanied by strikes and protests. Most of the Flemings are for Leopold; on the other hand, the Walloon population demanded his abdication.
In order to “maintain the unity of his country and maintain the monarchy”, King Leopold abdicated on July 16, 1951 in favor of his son Baudouin.
