Albert II of the Belgians
| Albert II | |||||
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| King of the Belgians | |||||
| Reign | 9 August 1993 – 21 July 2013 | ||||
| Predecessor | Baudouin | ||||
| Successor | Philippe | ||||
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| Born |
6 June 1934 Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium |
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| Spouse | Paola Ruffo di Calabria (m. 1959) |
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| House | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||
| Father | King Leopold III of Belgium | ||||
| Mother | Princess Astrid of Sweden | ||||
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Dutch: Albert Felix Humbert Theodoor Christiaan Eugène Marie French: Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Christian Eugène Marie German: Albert Felix Humbert Theodor Christian Eugen Maria |
Albert II (born 6 June 1934) reigned as the sixth King of the Belgians from 1993 until his abdication in 2013.
King Albert II is the son of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid, born princess of Sweden. He is the younger brother of the Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg and King Baudouin, whom he succeeded upon Baudouin's death in 1993. He is currently the last child of Leopold III and Astrid still alive. He married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (now Queen Paola), with whom he had three children. Albert's elder son, Philippe, is the current King of the Belgians.
On 3 July 2013, King Albert II attended a midday session of the Belgian cabinet. He then announced that, on 21 July, Belgian National Day, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons. He was succeeded by his son Philippe on 21 July 2013. Albert II was the fourth monarch to abdicate in 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Emir Hamad bin Khalifa of Qatar. In so doing, he was also the second Belgian monarch to abdicate, following his father Leopold III who abdicated in 1951, albeit under very different circumstances.
Prince Albert was born in Stuyvenberg Castle, Brussels, as the second son and youngest child of King Leopold III and his first wife, Astrid of Sweden. He was third in line to the throne at birth, and was given the title Prince of Liège. Queen Astrid died in a car accident in August 1935, in which King Leopold was lightly injured but survived. The King remarried to Lilian Baels in 1941, a union that produced three more children: Prince Alexander, Princess Marie-Christine and Princess Maria-Esmeralda.
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