Astrid of Sweden

Princess Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden ( born November 17, 1905 in Stockholm; † August 29, 1935 at Küssnacht ) was a member of the House of Bernadotte and by marriage Queen of the Belgians.

Life

Astrid was the third daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland (1861-1951), son of King Oscar II of Sweden, and his wife, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (1878-1958), daughter of the Danish King Frederick VIII of the House of Schleswig -Holstein -Sonderburg- Glücksburg and his wife Louise of Sweden - Norway. Her sister Martha married into a Norwegian royal house.

On November 4, 1926 married Princess Astrid in Stockholm the Belgian Crown Prince and later King Leopold III. (1901-1983), the eldest son of King Albert I of Belgium and Princess Elisabeth Gabriele in Bavaria. From the union three children were born:

  • Joséphine -Charlotte (1927-2005) ∞ 1953 Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg
  • Baudouin (1930-1993), King of the Belgians ∞ 1960 Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragon
  • Albert II ( born 1934 ), King of the Belgians ∞ 1959 Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria

Death

→ Main article: Astrid Chapel to the happening of the accident and on the construction of the memorial

On August 29, 1935 King Leopold lost on a road in Küssnacht on the shores of Lake Lucerne, the control of his car and rushed down the steep bank. The queen was thrown from the car during the accident and hit a tree. She died in the arms of the king from a serious head injury.

At the funeral in the royal crypt of the Church of Our Lady in Laeken in Brussels, her main was laid in bandages. Leopold forbade consecutive three children, each to talk about Astrid, left her room untouched and preserved its bloodstained skirt on.

The community Küssnacht about Leopold appropriated the land on which the accident happened. The regent was there to build a memorial chapel.

The former Belgian barracks at Camp Astrid Eschweiler is also named after her.

Gallery

Tomb of King Leopold III. and his two wives

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