Religion Roman Catholicism | Name Prince Duke | |
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Died January 22, 1869, Royal Palace of Laeken, Laeken, Belgium Parents Leopold II of Belgium, Marie Henriette of Austria Grandparents Leopold I of Belgium, Louise of Orleans Cousins Albert I of Belgium, Princess Josephine Caroline, Salvador de Iturbide y Marzan, Prince Baudouin of Belgium, Princess Henriette of Belgium Similar People Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold II of Belgium, Albert I of Belgium, Marie Henriette of Austria, Louise of Orleans | ||
Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant, Count of Hainaut (Léopold Ferdinand Élie Victor Albert Marie (French) or Leopold Ferdinand Elias Viktor Albert Maria (Dutch); 12 June 1859 in Laeken – 22 January 1869 in Laeken or Brussels), was the second child and only son and heir apparent of Leopold II of Belgium and his wife, Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria.
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Leopold was named for his grandfather, and for his father's cousins, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Prince Albert, the Prince Consort.
Early life
At birth, Leopold was styled Count of Hainaut, as the eldest son of the then crown prince. At the time of his birth, his grandfather, Leopold I of Belgium, formerly a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the reigning king of Belgium.
Leopold was preceded in birth by one sister, Louise, and followed by two more sisters, Stéphanie, and Clémentine, who was born after Leopold's death, their parents' last hope for another son.
Duke of Brabant
Upon the death of his grandfather and the ascension of his father to the throne in 1865, young Leopold became Duke of Brabant, heir apparent to the Belgian throne.
Death
Leopold died at Laeken or Brussels on 22 January 1869 from pneumonia, after falling into a pond. At his son's funeral, Leopold II "broke down in public, collapsing to his knees beside the coffin and sobbing uncontrollably." Leopold's body was interred at the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels.
Leopold's premature death left his father with only two daughters remaining: Princess Louise and Princess Stéphanie. After their son's death, Leopold and Marie Henriette tried to have another child, hoping for a son. After the birth of yet another daughter, Clémentine, in 1872, the couple abandoned all hopes of ever having another son and their already strained marriage broke down completely.
Upon his death in 1909, Leopold II was succeeded by his nephew, Albert I, whose eldest son would later succeed him as Leopold III.