Prince Alexander of Belgium

Prince Alexander of Belgium ("Alexandre Emmanuel Henri Albert Marie Léopold" (French) or "Alexander Emanuel Hendrik Albert Maria Leopold" (Dutch)) (b. July 18, 1942), born in Laeken near Brussels, is the eldest child from the second marriage of King Leopold III of Belgium and Lilian, Princess of Réthy. He is the younger half-brother of the late King Baudouin I of Belgium, of King Albert II of Belgium, and of the late Grand Duchess of Luxemburg, Joséphine-Charlotte.

Background and youth

Alexander has two younger full sisters: Marie-Christine and Maria-Esmeralda. His godmother was his elder half-sister, the late Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

Held under house arrest by the Germans until 1944, upon the invasion in Normandy, Léopold, his wife, and his four children were transferred to Germany and Austria where they remained under house arrest first in a fort at Hirschstein a der Elbe in Saxony during the winter of 1944-45, and then at Strobl, near Salzburg. They were freed by the U.S. Army in May 1945. After the war the Royal family was unable to return to Belgium and was forced to spend some years in Swiss exile before finally being able to return to Belgium in 1950 after a national referendum. Alexander attempted studying medicine and after that a career in trade.

Marriage

In Debenham, Suffolk, on March 14, 1991 Alexander married Léa Inga Dora Wolman, who had been twice divorced. The marriage was kept secret until 1998 because the prince apparently feared his mother would disapprove. [cite journal|last = Séguy |first = Philippe| date = 2008-04-29| title = Léa de Belgique: Il faut en finir avec le malheur| journal = Point de Vue| pages = 18-21|language = French] The initial secrecy surrounding this marriage has parallels with his father's wedding to his mother fifty years previously, in 1941. The prince has two step-children, Laetitia Spetscinsky and Renaud Bichara, from Léa's previous marriages.

There has been some friction between the children of the "first" marriage and the "second" marriage in the past. But nowadays Alexander and "Laeken" seem to have made their peace and the Prince and his wife join the rest of the royal Family in public appearances.

Royal status

Although it has been assumed that the children of King Léopold's second marriage were barred from the Belgian throne, some constitutional scholars maintain that there is no legal ground for Alexander's exclusion. [cite web|url= http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/belgian_succ.htm#validity|title= The Belgian Succession|accessdate= 2008-05-06|last= Velde|first= François|work= Heraldica.org] Even if that is the case, Alexander's secret marriage in 1991 d Article 85 of the Belgian constitution, which deprived of the right of succession to the throne any descendant of King Leopold I who marries without the sovereign's permission. [cite web|url= http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/belgian_succ.htm#Texts|title= The Belgian Succession|accessdate= 2008-05-06|last= Velde|first= François|work= Heraldica.org]

Nonetheless, in a May 2008 interview with " [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_de_vue_%28hebdomadaire%29 Point de Vue] ", Alexander's wife notes, "...the children of the second marriage of King Leopold -- Prince Alexandre, the Princesses Maria Esmeralda and Marie-Christine -- have been raised in a certain manner: Prince and Princesses of Belgium, accorded the style of "Royal Highness", yet excluded from the succession to the throne." [cite journal|last = Séguy |first = Philippe| date = 2008-04-29| title = Léa de Belgique: Il faut en finir avec le malheur| journal = Point de Vue| pages = 18-21|language = French] She added, "Alexandre received a very solid intellectual education...He waited to assume some official responsiblities. They never came." [cite journal|last = Séguy |first = Philippe| date = 2008-04-29| title = Léa de Belgique: Il faut en finir avec le malheur| journal = Point de Vue| pages = 18-21|language = French]

Notes

External links

* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/belgium.html Royal House of Belgium]
* [http://www.vulcanhammer.org/palmbeach/alexandre-de-rethy.php A Royal Visit] (documents Prince Alexander's visit to Palm Beach in 1965, with photo of the Prince.)