Editing Monarchy of Belgium (section)

==Title==
The proper title of the Belgian monarch is "King of the ''Belgians''" rather than "King of ''Belgium''" as is common for other monarchies throughout Europe. The title is linked to a concept of ''[[popular monarchy]]'' as defined by [[Kingsley Martin]] in his work ''The Evolution of Popular Monarchy'', published in 1936. According to Martin, the term is meant to emphasize the bond and connection to the people of the land over the territory the state controls.<ref name=KingsleyMartin>{{Citation | title = The Evolution of Popular Monarchy | first = Kingsley | last = Martin | journal = Political Quarterly | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 155–78 | date = April 1936| doi = 10.1111/j.1467-923X.1936.tb01608.x }}.</ref> His work further implies that such a monarch is ''de facto'' appointed by the people as a nominal [[figurehead]] rather than being an [[authoritarian]] ruler.<ref name=KingsleyMartin/>

Belgium is the only extant European monarchy in which the heir to the throne does not ascend immediately upon the death or abdication of his or her predecessor. According to Article 91 of the [[Belgian constitution]], the heir accedes to the throne only upon taking a constitutional oath before a joint session of the [[Belgian Parliament|two Houses of Parliament]].<ref name=Constitution>{{cite web | url=http://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/publications/constitution/grondwetEN.pdf | title=The Belgian Constitution | publisher=Belgian Parliament | access-date=21 July 2013 }}</ref> The joint session has to be held within ten days of the death or abdication of the previous monarch. The new Belgian monarch is required to take the Belgian constitutional oath, "I swear to observe the [[Constitution of Belgium|Constitution]] and the laws of the Belgian people, to maintain the national independence and the integrity of the territory," which is uttered in the three official languages: [[French language|French]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and [[German language|German]].

Members of the Belgian royal family are often known by two names: a Dutch and a French one. For example, the current monarch is called [[Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium|'Philippe']] in French and 'Filip' in Dutch; the fifth King of the Belgians was 'Baudouin' in French and 'Boudewijn' in Dutch.

In contrast to King Philippe's title of "King of the Belgians", [[Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant|Princess Elisabeth]] is called "Princess ''of Belgium''" as the title "Prince of the Belgians" does not exist. She is also [[Duchess of Brabant]], the traditional title of the [[heir apparent]] to the Belgian throne. This title precedes the title "Princess of Belgium".

In the other official language of German, monarchs are usually referred to by their French names. The same is true for [[English language|English]] with the exception of Leopold, where the accent is removed for the purpose of simplicity.

Because of the First World War and the resultant strong anti-German sentiment, the family name was changed in 1920, from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to ''van België, de Belgique'', or ''von Belgien'' ("of Belgium"), depending upon which of the country's three official languages (Dutch, French, and German) is in use. It is this family name which is used on the identity cards and in all official documents by Belgium's royalty (e.g. marriage licenses). In addition to this change of name, the armorial bearings of Saxony were removed from the Belgian royal coat of arms ([[Monarchy of Belgium#List of Kings of the Belgians|see above]]). Other Coburgers from the multi-branched Saxe-Coburg family have also changed their name, such as [[George V]], who adopted the family name of [[House of Windsor|Windsor]] after the [[British royal family]]'s place of residence.<ref>{{cite web | last = Balfoort | first = Brigitte | title = journalist | work = The Belgian Monarchy | publisher = Olivier Alsteens, Director-General of the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Wetstraat 16, 1000 Brussels | url = http://www.belgium.be/en/binaries/280410_monarchie_EN_tcm115-103847.pdf | access-date = 2012-07-18 | display-authors = etal | archive-date = 9 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120309024245/http://www.belgium.be/en/binaries/280410_monarchie_EN_tcm115-103847.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> Only [[Simeon Sakskoburggotski]] kept his Saxony-Coburg family name, but he was ousted from the Bulgarian throne in 1946 at the age of nine.

Nevertheless, the Royal Decree published on 19 July and signed on 12 July 2019 by King [[Philippe of Belgium|Philip]], reinstated the [[House of Wettin|Saxonian]] escutcheon in the all royal versions of the family's coat of arms.<ref name="Le Moniteur belge"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/article.pl|title=Royal Decree of July 12, 2019|date=19 July 2019|website=Moniteur Belge|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> The reinstatement of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha main royal arms occurred shortly after the visit of King Philip and Queen [[Queen Mathilde of Belgium|Mathilde]] to the ancestral [[Friedenstein Palace|Friedenstein Castle]].{{CN|date=May 2024}}

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 from: start till: 1831 color:regent text:"[[Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1831 till: 1865 color:king text:"[[Leopold I of Belgium|Leopold I]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1865 till: 1909 color:king text:"[[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1909 till: 1934 color:king text:"[[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1934 till: 1951 color:king text:"[[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1944 till: 1951 color:regent shift:(25,-4) text:"[[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders|Charles]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1951 till: 1993 color:king text:"[[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]]" fontsize:10
 from: 1993 till: 2013 color:king text:"[[Albert II of Belgium|Albert II]]" fontsize:10
 from: 2013 till: end color:king text:"[[Philippe of Belgium|Philippe]]" fontsize:10

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