Leopold I of Belgium

Leopold I Georg Christian Friedrich of Belgium ( born December 16, 1790 Schloss Ehrenburg in Coburg, † December 10, 1865 in Laeken ) was a prince of Saxe- Coburg -Saalfeld ( since 1826 Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ) and from 1831 to 1865 the first King of the Belgians.

Life

Prince of Saxe- Coburg

Leopold was the youngest son of Duke Francis Frederick of Saxe- Coburg -Saalfeld (1750-1806), from his marriage to Auguste (1757-1831), daughter of Count Heinrich XXIV Reuss to Ebersdorf. His eldest brother Ernst 1806 followed his father as Duke of Saxe- Coburg -Saalfeld. Together with this, he tried in 1807 to obtain from Napoleon compensation for war damage that had been done in the neutral Duchy.

Due to his sister's wedding Juliane with the Russian Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, he received in 1795 at the age of five years, the nominal rank of captain in a Russian Guards Regiment and in 1801 appointed to the Supreme in the Russian army. When the Duchy of Saxe -Coburg -Saalfeld was conquered in 1806 by Napoleon's troops, he went to Paris. There the position of adjutant to him by Napoleon was offered, but he refused. In 1812 he joined the Russian army and was assigned to the staff of his brother Constantine. In 1816 he reached the rank of a Russian lieutenant general.

Leopold took part in the Congress of Vienna, where Prince Metternich made ​​a deep impression on him. In the wake of the Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Leopold held in the summer of 1814 in London, where he met his future wife. In January 1816, he became engaged and was on 2 May 1816 in Carlton House, the wedding to the British throne contender Princess Charlotte Augusta ( 1796-1817 ), daughter of the future King George IV instead. Witnesses judged the marriage as very happy.

On November 5, 1817 Charlotte suffered a stillbirth and died the next day. This raises the question of the British and Hanoverian succession was completely open again and the younger brothers of the Prince of Wales began hastily to seek wives. Leopold arranged the marriage of his sister Viktoria with Eduard August, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, this marriage brought the future Queen Victoria forth. Had his wife survived, Leopold had accrued to the role that his nephew Albert took later as Prince Consort. Leopold remained in an advisory capacity to the British court. He supported his sister Viktoria financially and was one of the educators of his niece Victoria, for which he developed a very close relationship. Victoria described him in letters always as beloved uncle and father. Leopold arranged for 1840, the marriage between his niece and nephew.

On July 2, 1829 Leopold married actress Karoline Bauer, a cousin of his adviser Christian Friedrich von Stockmar. The wedding was, however, committed without religious or public ceremony, and is therefore doubtful. This marriage ended according to records 1831st

1830 Leopold should be given to the Greek crown after local war of independence. Although this project was supported by the Whigs and Leopold already corresponded on this issue with Ioannis Kapodistrias and Karl Wilhelm von Heideck, he refused in May 1830. The offer of the Belgian crown appeared Leopold lucrative.

King of the Belgians

After Belgium on October 4, 1830 proclaimed the independence of the Netherlands, Leopold was asked by the Belgian National Congress, whether he wanted to be King of the Belgians. The original candidate Louis d' Orléans, duc de Nemours was dropped after London had intervened violently.

On the beach of De Panne Leopold entered then on July 17, 1831 the land that was to be his future kingdom. An impressive monument commemorates this event. On July 21, 1831 Leopold put the oath to the Constitution; Since 1890, this date is the Belgian national holiday. Barely two weeks later raided Dutch troops Belgium, followed by eight combat- rich years before in 1839 the Belgian independence of the two countries was contractually agreed.

Leopold was a Protestant, his wife Louise d' Orléans, whom he had married in 1832, but was like the vast majority of Belgian Catholic, which is why the children were brought up in the Catholic faith. The very liberal Belgian Constitution felt the Metternich trailers and monarchist Leopold as nonsense. Domestically, Leopold could not maintain the Catholic- liberal unionism over the years. One of the most influential men in the New Kingdom was Christian Friedrich von Stockmar, the Leopold had brought from Coburg.

In foreign policy, Leopold sat in the German question for an understanding of Austria and Prussia. He promoted the marriage project of the British Crown Princess Victoria with the Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and held on to the unconditional policy of neutrality of Belgium. Expression of his balancing policy with France was officially his second marriage to Princess Louise of Orléans (1812-1850), a daughter of King Louis Philippe of France, whom he married in Compiègne on August 9, 1832.

Leopold ordered the construction of the first railway on the European continent, between Brussels and Mechelen, which was opened on 5 May 1835.

In 1841 he founded the Compagnie Belge de colonization, colony founding in Santo Tomas de Castilla (Guatemala) and Rio Nunez (Guinea) or the assumption of the Republic of Texas and the Kingdom of Hawaii ( by the Ladd Company) failed, however, no later than 1855 all colonial plans were abandoned.

In 1842 he tried to enforce a law that should govern the work of women and children, but he found no parliamentary majority for it. Through its consistent national policy Leopold acquired the reputation of a Father patriae. Leopold I was buried in the crypt of the Church of Our Lady in Laeken.

Freemason

Leopold I was more active and avowed Masons. In 1813 he was included in the box "hope" in Bern. In Belgium, he was instrumental in the creation of the Grand Lodge " Grand Orient de Belgique " ( 1833) and laid the foundations for the later lodges beings. In the Antwerp Central Station clock is designed like a Logenuhr in memory of his Masonic work.

Progeny

From his marriage with Marie Louise of Orléans Leopold had the following children:

  • Louis Philippe Leopold (1833-1834)
  • Leopold II (1835-1909), King of the Belgians
  • Philipp (1837-1905), Count of Flanders
  • Charlotte (1840-1927)

With his mistress Arcadia Claret, Baroness of Eppinghoven (1826-1897), he had two sons, Baron Georg von Eppinghoven (1849-1904) and Baron Arthur von Eppinghoven ( 1852-1940 ).

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