LEOPOLD II

Leopold II: translation

(1835-1909)

Leopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor de Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, the second king of the Belgians, was born in Brussels on 9 April 1835, the son of KingLeopold Iand Queen Louise-Marie d'Orleans. He was raised under a strict regimen at theChâteau royal de Laeken. On 22 August 1853, he married Archduchess Marie-Henriette of Hungary in a civil ceremony at thePalais Royaland a religious service at the collegiate church ofSaints-Michel-et-Gudule, followed by anommegangthrough the city streets.

As duke ofBrabant, Leopold traveled widely and he showed an early, keen interest inurban developmentin Brussels.He assumed the throne in 1865 and set out to raise the status of his kingdom on the world stage. Befitting that goal, Leopold affirmed that "Brussels can become the turntable of Europe," and to further that aim he supported expanding and updating the capital'stransportationinfrastructure together with an ambitious building program. Known as the "king-builder," he backed the project to vault theSenneRiver and lay out the centralboulevards. He was a driving force behind redevelopment of theMont des Artsand construction of theBasilique nationale de Sacré-Coeur. The king promoted development of the avenueLouiseand environs, thePalais de Justice, the royal grounds atLaeken, theCinquantenaire, and the avenue de Tervuren, the thoroughfare designed to link the latter complex with the royal estate inTervurenas well as the Musée royale de l'Afrique centrale.

Strong-willed and energetic, Leopold contributed substantial funds to building projects, much of it drawn from the enormous fortune he acquired from exploitation of the Congo Free State, a colony he ruled personally from 1885 to 1908.

Scandalous in his private life, the king maintained a succession of mistresses, but he left no heir. His only son died at age 10, and he barred his three daughters from the succession, which passed to his nephewAlbert I. Leopold died in the palm greenhouse (Serres royales) at Laeken on 17 December 1909. An equestrian statue of the king by Thomas Vinçotte (1850-1925) stands in place du Trône.