Eerste Internationale
Postzegelsfoor
Oostende 14 - 17 Augustus 1937
Première Foire Philatélique Internationale
Ostende 14 - 17 Août 1937
Astrid Sophie Louise Thyra Bernadotte,
princesse de Suède, née le 17 novembre 1905 à
Stockholm et décédée dans un accident de voiture le
29 août 1935 à Küssnacht am Rigi (Suisse),
est la quatrième reine des Belges, du 23 février
1934 jusqu’à sa mort.
Née à Stockholm le 17 novembre 1905, seconde fille
du prince Carl de Suède et de la princesse Ingeborg de Danemark,
nièce du roi Gustave V de Suède, sœur de la
princesse royale Martha de Norvège, elle épouse, le 10
novembre 1926, Léopold, prince de Belgique et duc de
Brabant, le futur Léopold III.
De cette union naîtront :
À la suite de la mort tragique du roi Albert Ier, le 17 février
1934, Léopold, sous le nom de Léopold III, et Astrid deviennent roi
et reine des Belges.
Préoccupée par les questions sociales, elle organise en
1935, au palais royal de Bruxelles, une grande collecte de
vêtements et de vivres.
L´accident de voiture qui causa le décès
d´Astrid1,2,
survenu le 29 août 1935 à Küssnacht am Rigi, en Suisse,
cause une grande émotion en Belgique (émotion d´autant plus vive
que des clichés pris de l´accident et de la mise en bière de la
reine sont publiés dans la presse3)
et en Europe, où son souvenir demeure jusqu´à
aujourd´hui.
Elle est inhumée, comme tous les rois et reines de
Belgique, dans la crypte royale de l´église Notre-Dame de
Laeken, à Bruxelles.
Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden (17 November
1905 – 29 August 1935) was Queen consort of the Belgians as
the wife of King Leopold III. By birth she was a
princess of the Sweden´s royal House of Bernadotte. Her grandsons are
King Philippe of Belgium and Henri, Grand Duke of
Luxembourg.
Astrid was born at her parents´ home of Arvfurstens Palats in Stockholm on 17 November 1905, the third daughter
of Prince Carl, Duke of
Västergötland, and his wife Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.
Her father was the younger brother of King Gustav V of Sweden, and her mother was the
sister of King Christian X of Denmark and of King
Haakon VII of Norway.
As an eligible princess, Astrid was mentioned as a
potential bride for a number of princes including the future Edward
VIII of Great Britain and the future Olav V of Norway. Astrid´s
successful suitor was Crown Prince Leopold of
Belgium.
In September 1926, their engagement was announced. King
Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium invited the press to the
royal palace in Brussels. "The Queen and I," declared Albert,
"would like to announce to you the impending marriage between
Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant and the Princess Astrid of Sweden.
We are convinced that the princess will bring joy and happiness to
our son. Leopold and Astrid have decided to join their lives
without any pressures or reasons of state. Theirs is a true union
among people with the same inclinations." Queen Elisabeth,
incorrigible romantic that she was, insisted in saying "It is a
marriage of love... tell it to our people. Nothing was arranged.
Not a single political consideration prevailed in our son´s
decision."
In Stockholm on 4 November 1926 civilly and in
Cathedral of St.
Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels on 10 November religiously,
Princess Astrid married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, the son of
King Albert I of Belgium and his wife,
Queen Elisabeth,
born Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. The couple travelled separately
to Antwerp after their civil marriage, to be reunited in
Belgium.
For the religious marriage, the couple were attended by a
large wedding party of young friends and relatives: Princess Feodora of Denmark,
Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium,
Princess Martha of Sweden,
Princess Ingrid of Sweden,
Alfhild Ekelund,
Prince Carl of Sweden[disambiguation needed],
Prince Gustav
Adolf of Sweden, Crown Prince Olav of Norway, Margareta Stähl,
Count Claes
Sparre, Anna Adelswärd,
Prince Charles of Belgium,
Count Folke Bernadotte, Baron Sigvard Beck-Friis, Anne Marie von
Essen, and Baron Carl
Strömfelt.[1]
Princess Astrid was given a tiara as a wedding gift from
the Belgian government, created by Belgian jeweler Van Bever, the
original version of the diadem is a flexible diamond bandeau in a
stylized Greek key motif topped with 11 large diamonds on spikes.
These large stones, totaling around 100 carats on their own,
symbolize the nine provinces of Belgium and the (now former)
Belgian colony of the Congo. She later added a set of diamond arches
to enclose each of the 11 independent stones. After Astrid’s
death the tiara was in the possession of King Leopold, and his
second wife Princess Lilian wore parts of the tiara but not the
full gem (Lilian never held the title of Queen). Leopold abdicated
the throne in favor of his son Baudouin; when Baudouin married,
Leopold gave the tiara to the new queen. Fabiola, Belgium’s first queen
since Astrid, wore it on her wedding day. She handed the jewel over
after Baudouin’s death to be worn by Queen Paola who, after the abdication
pf her husband Albert, gave it to Mathilde new Queen of the
Belgians.
Astrid was enthusiastically adopted by the Belgians. She
was widely loved for her beauty, charm and simplicity. Her public
and official engagements radiated enthusiasm. Leopold was her most
fervent admirer. The love shared by the young couple was evident to
all. On more than one occasion people could see them holding hands,
even during official engagements. In 1927, Leopold and Astrid had a
daughter, Princess
Joséphine-Charlotte. In 1930, the Belgian press gave extensive
coverage to the birth of the long awaited royal heir. Leopold was
on his way to visit some areas away from Brussels when the Duchess
of Brabant went into labor. The royal palace immediately sent him a
telegram that reached Leopold at a stop during his journey. The
royal palace´s message announced the impending birth of the
couple´s second child. Without thinking twice about the day´s
engagements, Leopold returned to Brussels immediately. Prince
Leopold and King Albert walked anxiously in the garden at
Stuyvenberg Palace while the Duchess of Brabant began her labor.
Next to Astrid were her mother, Ingeborg of Denmark, duchess of
Västergötland, and her mother-in-law Queen Elisabeth. At 4:15 pm
the royal physicians proudly announced the healthy birth of a
little prince. The sound of a cannon silenced the general happiness
expressed by the people of Brussels. Their first son, Prince Baudouin eventually succeeded his
father as King of the Belgians. He was given the
name of Baudouin in memory of his deceased great-uncle who was supposed to
have become king.
At Stuyvenberg, not far away from the Royal Palace of Laeken, the young
Duchess of Brabant, raised in the simplicity of the Scandinavian
courts, joyfully raised her growing family. At a small villa in the
palace grounds, Astrid cooked for her family. And every time she
could, Astrid would stroll along the Avenue Louise with her children. The Court
Marshall vehemently protested against these promenades. "They break
protocol," he would say. Yet in her simplicity, Astrid would retort
by saying "But I´m just another mother, am I not?" She even went as
far as joining the crowds during a military revue in an effort to
see her promenading husband at the head of his regiment.
On February 17, 1934, King Albert died in a mountain-climbing accident in
Marche-les-Dames, Belgium. Leopold and Astrid became the new King
and Queen of the Belgians with the style of Majesty. Later that year, the third child of
Leopold and Astrid was born. He was named Albert after his grandfather, and would
eventually succeed his brother Baudouin as King of the Belgians.
As Queen, Astrid dedicated her time to raising her family
and promoting social causes. She was very concerned with the
situation of women, children, and the disadvantaged. During an
economic crisis in Belgium in 1935, she organized a collection of
clothing and food for the poor. She did this through an open
letter, which was published as the "Queen’s
Appeal".
In August 1935, the King and Queen went incognito to Switzerland on holiday. Prince Albert
remained in Brussels. Only one year old, he was considered too
young for the journey. Joséphine-Charlotte and Baudouin had
travelled with their parents to their holiday home, Villa
Haslihorn in Horw, Switzerland. The children were sent back to
Belgium with their nannies on 28 August. On 29 August 1935, the
King and Queen decided to go for a last hike in
the mountains before returning home. Their chauffeur was sitting in
the back of the Packard One-Twenty convertible, the King
was driving and the Queen looking at a map. As the Queen pointed
out something to her husband the car went off the road, down a
steep slope, and slammed into a pear tree. Queen Astrid had opened
her door to try to get out, but she was thrown out upon impact. Her
body collided with the trunk of the tree, while the car slammed
into a second tree. King Leopold was thrown out of the car as well,
but he was only lightly injured. The car went on, only to stop in a
lake. It was 9:30 am on 29 August 1935. The Queen died from her
injuries at the scene of the accident at Küssnacht am Rigi, near Lake Lucerne, Schwyz,
Switzerland.
Queen Astrid is interred in the royal vault at the
Church of Our Lady of
Laeken, Brussels, beside her husband, King Leopold III of the
Belgians, and his second wife, Princess Lilian of
Belgium.
Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra (Stockholm, 17
november 1905 – Küssnacht am Rigi, 29
augustus 1935), hertogin van Brabant, prinses van België, prinses van
Zweden, vrouw van Koning Leopold III, was de vierde Koningin
der Belgen en de moeder van prinses (latere groothertogin) Josephine-Charlotte,
Koning Boudewijn en Koning Albert II.
De Belgische monarchie ontstond in 1831 toen
België, na de op Nederland bevochten onafhankelijkheid, een eigen
koninkrijk vormde. De koningstitel werd toebedacht aan prins Leopold van Saksen-Coburg en
Gotha, die – naar het idee van de volksmonarchie – Koning der
Belgen werd. Na hem regeerden Leopold II, Albert I, Leopold III, Boudewijn, Albert II en Filip. Met uitzondering van Leopold I, die
luthers bleef, zijn de Belgische vorsten
rooms-katholiek.
The monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, popular and hereditary monarchy whose incumbent is titled the King
or Queen of the Belgians (Dutch: Koning/in der
Belgen, French: Roi/Reine des
Belges, German: König/in der
Belgier) and serves as the country´s head of state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since
independence in 1830.
The incumbent, Philippe, became monarch
on 21 July 2013.
When Belgium became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a
constitutional monarchy as the
form of government. The Congress voted on
the question on 22 November 1830, supporting monarchy by 174 votes
to 13. In February 1831, the Congress nominated Louis, Duke of Nemours,
the son of the French king Louis-Philippe, but international
considerations deterred Louis-Philippe from accepting the honour
for his son.
Following this refusal, the National Congress appointed
Erasme-Louis, Baron Surlet
de Chokier to be the Regent of
Belgium on 25 February 1831. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was
designated as King of the Belgians by the National Congress
[1] and swore allegiance to the
Belgian constitution in front of Saint Jacob´s Church at Coudenberg Palace in Brussels on 21 July. This day has since become a
national holiday for Belgium and its
citizens.
King Leopold I was head of Foreign
Affairs "as an ancien régime monarch", the foreign
ministers having the authority to act only as ministers of the
king.[4]
Leopold I quickly became one of the most important shareholders of
the Société Générale de
Belgique
[5]
Leopold´s son, King Leopold II is chiefly remembered
for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State which caused global public
outrage when human rights abuses were made public.
Millions of Congolese were killed as a result of Leopold´s policies
in the Congo.[6]
On several occasions Leopold II publicly expressed
disagreement with ruling government (e.g. on 15 August 1887 and in
1905 against Prime Minister Auguste Beernaert)[7]
and was accused by Yvon Gouet of
noncompliance with the country´s parliamentary system.[8]
In a similar manner, Albert I of Belgium would later state
that he was in command of the Belgian army contrary to his Prime Minister Charles de Broqueville, also against
the Belgian Constitution.
Louis Wodon (the chef de cabinet of Leopold III from 1934
to 1940), thought the King´s oath to the Constitution implied a
royal position "over and above the Constitution". He compared the
King to a father, the head of a family, "Regarding the moral
mission of the king," said Arango, "it is permissible to point to a
certain analogy between his role and that of a father, or more
generally, of parents in a family. The family is, of course, a
legal institution as is the state. But what would a family be where
everything was limited among those who compose it to simply legal
relationships? In a family when one considers only legal
relationships one comes very close to a breakdown in the moral ties
founded on reciprocal affection without which a family would be
like any other fragile association"[10]
According to Arango, Leopold III of Belgium shared these
views about the Belgian monarchy.
In 1991, towards the end of the reign of Baudouin, Senator Yves de Wasseige, a
former member of the Belgian Constitutional Court,
cited four points of democracy which the Belgian Constitution
lacks: 1. the King chooses the ministers, 2. the King is able to
influence the ministers when he speaks with them about bills,
projects and nominations, 3. the King promulgates bills, and, 4.
the King must agree to any change of the Constitution
The proper title of the Belgian monarch is King of the
Belgians rather than King of Belgium. The title
indicates a popular monarchy linked to the people of
Belgium (i.e., a hereditary head of state; yet ratified by popular
will), whereas King of Belgium would indicate standard
constitutional or absolute monarchy linked to territory or
state.[1]
For example, in 1830, King Louis Philippe was proclaimed
King of the French rather than King of France.
The Greek monarch was titled King of the Hellenes,
indicating a personal link with the people,
not just the state. Moreover, the Latin
translation of King of Belgium would have been Rex
Belgii, which, from 1815, was the name for the King of the Netherlands. Therefore, the
Belgian separatists (i.e. the founders of Belgium) chose Rex
Belgarum.[2]
Belgium is the only current European monarchy that does
not apply the tradition of the new monarch automatically ascending
the throne upon the death or abdication of the previous monarch.
According to Article 91 of the Belgian constitution, the monarch
accedes to the throne only upon taking a constitutional oath before
a joint session of the two Houses of Parliament.[22]
The joint session has to be held within ten days of the death of
the deceased or abdicated king. The new Belgian monarch is required
to take the Belgian constitutional oath, "I swear to observe the
Constitution and the laws of
the Belgian people, to maintain the national independence and the
integrity of the territory," which is uttered in the three official
languages: French, Dutch, and German.
Members of the Belgian Royal Family are often known by two
names: a Dutch and a French one. For example, the current monarch
is called ´Philippe´ in French
and ´Filip´ in Dutch; the fifth King of the Belgians was ´Baudouin´
in French and ´Boudewijn´ in Dutch.
In contrast to King Philippe´s title of "King of the
Belgians", Princess
Elisabeth is called "Princess of Belgium" as the title
"Prince of the Belgians" does not exist. She is also Duchess of Brabant, the traditional title
of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. This title
precedes the title "Princess of Belgium".
In the other official language of German, monarchs are
usually referred to by their French names. The same is true for
English with the exception of Leopold, where
the accent is removed for the purpose of simplicity.
Because of the First World War and the resultant strong
anti-German sentiment, the family name was changed in 1920 from
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to van België, de Belgique, or von
Belgien ("of Belgium"), depending upon which of the country´s
three official languages (Dutch, French, and German) is in use. It
is this family name which is used on the identity cards and in all
official documents by Belgium´s royalty (e.g. marriage licenses).
In addition to this change of name, the armorial bearings of Saxony
were removed from the Belgian royal coat of arms (see above). Other Coburgers from
the multi-branched Saxe-Coburg family have also changed their name,
such as George V of the United
Kingdom, who adopted the family name of Windsor after the British Royal Family’s place of
residence.
La « naissance » de la famille
royale belge, qui est la famille régnante aujourd´hui au
royaume de Belgique, date de 1830-1831. Léopold Ier de
Belgique (1790-1865) en est le fondateur, ce qui n´empêche pas
que ses descendants et successeurs sur le Trône de Belgique sont
demeurés des membres à part entière de la branche "Ernestine" de la
maison ducale de Saxe (Das Herzogliche Haus
Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha). C´est donc le chef de cette Maison
("Oberhaupt des Hauses") depuis 1998, Son Altesse Royale le prince
Andreas Michael Armin Siegfried Hubertus Friedrich-Hans, Herzog von
Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, né le 21 mars 1943 au château de Casel en
Basse-Lusace ("Schloss Casel, Niederlausitz"), qui préside
actuellement aux destinées de la famille d´origine des rois des
Belges (Albert II et Philippe) et de tous les autres descendant(e)s
direct(e)s en ligne masculine du roi Léopold Ier; on notera que les
souverains belges n´occupent là-bas, en Allemagne, que le rang
subalterne de "cadets de famille".
Dans la Belgique devenue indépendante vis-à-vis des Pays-Bas (le 4
octobre 1830, le
Congrès national élit d´abord comme roi des Belges, en 1830, Louis d´Orléans
(1814-1896), duc de Nemours, deuxième fils du roi des Français Louis-Philippe Ier, mais ce
dernier s´y opposa.
Le Congrès fit alors appel à un prince allemand protégé par
l´Angleterre, Léopold de Saxe-Cobourg-Saalfeld,
veuf de la princesse Charlotte Augusta de Galles, qui
accepta le trône de Belgique : il devint le roi Léopold Ier de Belgique et
fit triomphalement son entrée à Bruxelles le 21 juillet 1831, date à
laquelle il prêta serment sur la Constitution et qui marque
désormais le jour de la Fête nationale belge.
Le nouveau roi, qui utilisait le français pour langue d´usage comme de nombreux
princes de l´Europe à cette époque, épousa en août 1832 Louise-Marie d´Orléans, la fille
du roi des Français Louis-Philippe Ier (le même qui
avait refusé la couronne de Belgique à son fils Louis d´Orléans) : par
ce mariage et la naissance qui a suivi, c´est alors le véritable
commencement de la dynastie belge.
C´était aussi une façon pour le jeune royaume, par
l´intermédiaire d´un prestigieux parrainage de sang royal (celui du
roi des Français), de faire son entrée
dans la famille fermée des monarchies européennes qui comptaient.
La reine, après un fils mort au berceau, donna naissance au futur
roi Léopold II de Belgique.
Dès l´indépendance de la Belgique et après leur mariage en 1832, le couple
royal (Léopold Ier de Belgique,
prince allemand de naissance mais anglicisé suite à son long séjour en Angleterre, et
la reine Louise d´Orléans, fille du
roi des Français) élèvent et font
élever leurs enfants, dont le futur Léopold II de Belgique, en français : c´est alors à la fois la langue de
la cour et la langue officielle unique du jeune État, et c´est
aussi la langue d´usage de Léopold Ier et Louise d´Orléans.
Par la suite la dynastie, tout en étant francophone, va continuer d´être essentiellement
germanique et après le décès de Léopold Ier devenir catholique (religion majoritaire des Belges).
Léopold II épouse l´archiduchesse
autrichienne Marie-Henriette de
Habsbourg-Lorraine, mais à sa mort en 1909, Léopold II n´a plus d´héritier mâle
direct (son fils Léopold de Belgique est
décédé en 1869). C´est donc Albert, son neveu, qui lui
succède : le nouveau roi Albert Ier de Belgique est
le fils du prince Philippe de Belgique,
comte de Flandre (frère
cadet de Léopold II de Belgique) et de la
princesse allemande Marie de
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Il épousa Élisabeth de Bavière
(1876-1965), princesse bavaroise. Léopold III de Belgique, leur fils
aîné, roi en 1934, épousa la princesse suédoise Astrid de Suède, devenue ainsi reine des Belges. Leur fils aîné,
Baudouin de Belgique, fut roi de 1951 à
sa mort en 1993, sans laisser d´héritier direct. Son frère cadet,
Albert, est devenu roi sous le nom
d´Albert II, en 1993. En 2013, son fils
Philippe devient à son tour
roi.
Les ascendances germaniques prédominent ainsi fortement dans la
famille royale belge, tandis que le français est la langue familiale depuis les débuts
de la dynastie.
Descendance dynaste du roi Albert Ier (1875-1934).
Dans les faits, la famille royale belge est aujourd´hui limitée à
l´actuel roi Albert II (né en 1934), à ses enfants
et petits-enfants, et aux conjoints, ainsi qu´à la reine Fabiola (1928-2014), veuve du
roi Baudouin (1930-1993).
L´ordre de succession au trône des 15 princes et princesses
successibles, et résultant de la modification des règles de
succession en 1991, est indiqué en gras.
Albert Ier de Belgique
(1875-1934), roi des Belges
x (1900)
Élisabeth de Bavière (1876-1965),
duchesse en Bavière,
reine des Belges
│
├──>
Léopold III de Belgique (1901-1983),
roi des Belges
│ x (1926)
Astrid de Suède (1905-1935),
princesse de Suède,
reine des Belges
│ │
│ ├──>
Joséphine-Charlotte de Belgique (1927-2005), grande-duchesse de
Luxembourg
│ │ x (1953)
Jean de Luxembourg (1921),
grand-duc de
Luxembourg
│ │ │
│ │ └──>
dont postérité non-dynaste en Belgique
│ │
│ ├──>
Baudouin de Belgique (1930-1993),
roi des Belges
│ │ x (1960)
Fabiola de Mora y Aragón (1928-2014),
reine des Belges
│ │
│ ├──>
Albert II de Belgique (1934),
roi des Belges
│ │ x (1959)
Paola Ruffo di Calabria (1937),
reine des Belges
│ │ │
│ │ ├──>
Philippe de Belgique (1960),
roi des Belges
│ │ │ x (1999)
Mathilde d´Udekem d´Acoz (1973),
reine des Belges
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[1] Élisabeth de Belgique (2001), duchesse de Brabant
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[2] Gabriel de Belgique (2003)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[3] Emmanuel de Belgique (2005)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ └──>
[4] Éléonore de Belgique (2008)
│ │ │
│ │ ├──>
[5] Astrid de Belgique (1962)
│ │ │ x (1984)
Lorenz d´Autriche-Este (1955), archiduc d´Autriche-Este,
banquier
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[6] Amedeo de Belgique (1986)
│ │ │ │ x (2014) Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein (1987)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[7] Maria Laura de Belgique (1988)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[8] Joachim de Belgique (1991)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├──>
[9] Luisa de Belgique (1995)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ └──>
[10] Laetitia de Belgique (2003)
│ │ │
│ │ └──>
[11] Laurent de Belgique (1963)
│ │ x (2003)
Claire Coombs (1974)
│ │ │
│ │ ├──>
[12] Louise de Belgique (2004)
│ │ │
│ │ ├──>
[13] Nicolas de Belgique (2005)
│ │ │
│ │ └──>
[14] Aymeric de Belgique (2005)
│ │
│ x (relation 1939) Liselotte Landbeck
│ │
│ ├──>
Ingeborg Verdun (1940)
│ │
│ x (1941)
Lilian Baels (1916-2002),
princesse de Rethy
│ │
│ ├──>
Alexandre de Belgique (1942-2009)
│ │ x (1991) Lea Wohlman (1951)
│ │
│ ├──>
Marie-Christine de Belgique (1951)
│ │ x (1981) Paul Druker dit « Paul Drake » (1938-2008), pianiste de bar
│ │ x (1989) Jean-Paul Gourgues (1941)
│ │
│ └──>
Marie-Esméralda de Belgique (1956),
journaliste
│ x (1998)
Salvador Moncada (1944),
pharmacologiste
│ │
│ └──>
dont postérité non-dynaste en
![Royalty / Belgique / Belgium / Famille Royale / Dynastie / Koningshuis / Koningin Astrid / Reine Astrid / 1937 - Luxevelletjes [LX]](https://www.delcampe.net/static/img_large/auction/000/345/086/552_001.jpg?v=1)