Leopold III

LEOPOLD III d1983. The King of the Belgium from 23rd February 1934 until his abdication on 16th July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, he tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad. His act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet (who moved to London to form a government-in-exile) whilst Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium (where his brother Prince Charles Count of Flanders) had been declared regent. His eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war and under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin in July 1951. His first wife (Astrid of Sweden) was killed in a road accident whilst on a driving holiday in Switzerland in August 1935 and was much mourned by the public. His second marriage (to Lilian Baels) in captivity in 1941 was contrary to Belgian law. He died in Brussels aged 83 on September 25th 1983