Editing Leopold III of Belgium (section)

==Early life and family==
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[[File:Leopold of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden on their wedding day.jpg|thumb|upright|Leopold of Belgium and [[Astrid of Sweden]] on their wedding day.]]
[[File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Mémorial Reine Astrid - 13.jpg|thumb|upright|<div style="text-align:center">Queen Astrid Memorial in Brussels.</div>]]
Prince Leopold was born in [[Brussels]], the first child of Prince Albert, heir to the Belgian throne, and his consort, [[Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium|Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria]]. In 1909 his father became King of the Belgians, as [[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]], and Prince Leopold became Duke of Brabant.

In August 1914, when Belgium was invaded by Germany, King Albert allowed Leopold, then aged twelve, to enlist in the Belgian army as a private and fight in defence of the kingdom. However, in 1915, with Belgium almost entirely occupied by the Germans, Leopold was sent to attend [[Eton College]], while his father fought on in France.<ref>Evelyn Graham, ''Albert, King of the Belgians''</ref><ref>Roger Keyes, ''Outrageous Fortune: The Tragedy of Leopold III of the Belgians''</ref>

After the war, in 1919, the Duke of Brabant visited the Old Mission and Saint Anthony Seminary in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

He married [[Astrid of Sweden|Princess Astrid of Sweden]] in a civil ceremony in [[Stockholm]] on 4 November 1926, followed by a religious ceremony in Brussels on 10 November. The marriage produced three children:
* [[Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium]], born at the [[Royal Palace of Brussels]] on 11 October 1927, Grand Duchess consort of [[Luxembourg]]. She was married on 9 April 1953 to [[Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Prince Jean]], later [[Grand Duke]] of Luxembourg. She died at [[Fischbach Castle]] on 10 January 2005.
* Prince [[Baudouin of Belgium]], [[Duke of Brabant]], [[Count of Hainaut]], who became the fifth King of the Belgians as '''Baudouin''', born at [[Château of Stuyvenberg|Stuyvenberg]] on the outskirts of Brussels on 7 September 1930, and died at [[Motril]] in [[Andalusia]], [[Spain]], on 31 July 1993.
* Prince [[Albert II of Belgium|Albert]] of Belgium, [[Prince of Liège]], who became the sixth King of the Belgians as '''Albert II''', born at Stuyvenberg on 6 June 1934. He abdicated in July 2013.

On 29 August 1935, while the king and queen were driving along the winding, narrow roads near their villa at [[Küssnacht am Rigi]], [[Schwyz]], Switzerland, on the shores of [[Lake Lucerne]], Leopold lost control of the car which plunged into the lake, killing Queen Astrid.

Leopold married [[Lilian, Princess of Réthy|Lilian Baels]] on 11 September 1941, in a secret religious ceremony which was not valid under the [[law of Belgium]]. They originally intended to wait until the end of the war for the civil marriage, but as the new ''Princess of Réthy'' was soon expecting their first child, the ceremony took place on 6 December 1941. They had three children in total:

* [[Prince Alexandre of Belgium]], born in Brussels on 18 July 1942. In 1991, he married [[Princess Léa of Belgium|Léa Wolman]], a marriage revealed only seven years later. He died on 29 November 2009.
* {{Interlanguage link|Princess Marie-Christine of Belgium|fr|Marie-Christine de Belgique}}, born in Brussels on 6 February 1951. Her first marriage, to Paul Drucker in 1981, lasted 40 days (they were formally divorced in 1985). She later married Jean-Paul Gourges in 1989.
* [[Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium]], later Lady Moncada, born in Brussels on 30 September 1956. She became a journalist; her professional name is Esmeralda de Réthy. She married [[Pharmacology|pharmacologist]] Sir [[Salvador Moncada]] in 1998. They have a son and a daughter.