Editing Leopold III of Belgium

{{Short description|King of the Belgians from 1934 to 1951}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Leopold III
| succession      = [[King of the Belgians]]
| image           = Leopold III (1934).jpg
| caption         = Leopold III in 1934
| reign           = 23 February 1934 – {{nowrap|16 July 1951}}
| predecessor     = [[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]]
| successor       = [[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]]
| regent          = {{ubl|[[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders]] (1944–1950)|[[Prince Baudouin, Duke of Brabant]] (1950–1951)}}
| reg-type        = Regents
| reg-type1       = {{nowrap|[[Prime Minister of Belgium|Prime Ministers]]}}
| regent1         = {{List collapsed|title=''See list''|1=[[Charles de Broqueville]]<br />[[Georges Theunis]]<br />[[Paul van Zeeland]]<br />[[Paul-Émile Janson]]<br />[[Paul-Henri Spaak]]<br />[[Hubert Pierlot]]<br />[[Achille Van Acker]]<br />[[Camille Huysmans]]<br />[[Gaston Eyskens]]<br />[[Jean Duvieusart]]<br />[[Joseph Pholien]]}}
| spouses         = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Astrid of Sweden]]|4 November 1926|29 August 1935|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|[[Lilian Baels|Mary Lilian Baels]]|11 September 1941}}
}}
| issue           = {{ubli|[[Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium|Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg]]|[[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin, King of the Belgians]]|[[Albert II of Belgium|Albert II, King of the Belgians]]|[[Prince Alexandre of Belgium|Prince Alexandre]]|Princess Marie-Christine, Mrs. Gourgues|[[Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium|Princess Marie-Esméralda, Lady Moncada]]}}
| full name       = [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: Leopold Filips Karel Albert Meinrad Hubertus Maria Miguel<br>[[French language|French]]: Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubert Marie Michel<br>[[German language|German]]: Leopold Philipp Karl Albrecht Meinrad Hubert Maria Michael
| house           = [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] (until 1920)<br>[[House of Belgium|Belgium]] (from 1920)
| father          = [[Albert I of Belgium]]
| mother          = [[Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium|Elisabeth of Bavaria]]
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1901|11|3|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [[Brussels]], Belgium
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|1983|9|25|1901|11|3|df=y}}
| death_place     = [[Woluwe-Saint-Lambert]], Brussels, Belgium
| place of burial = [[Church of Our Lady of Laeken]]
| religion        = [[Catholic Church in Belgium|Roman Catholicism]]
| signature       = Signature of Leopold III of Belgium.svg
| signature_alt   = Leopold
}}
[[File:Dupont KBS-FRB(20).jpg|thumb|The face of Leopold III on a bas-relief by Pierre De Soete.]]
'''Leopold III'''{{efn|{{langx|fr|Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubert Marie Michel}}; {{langx|nl|Leopold Filips Karel Albert Meinrad Hubertus Maria Miguel}}; {{langx|de|Leopold Philipp Karl Albrecht Meinrad Hubert Maria Michael}}.}} (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was [[King of the Belgians]] from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of [[World War II]], Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the [[Battle of Belgium|German invasion in May 1940]], he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad.

Leopold's act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister [[Hubert Pierlot]] and his cabinet, who moved to London to form a [[Belgian government in exile|government-in-exile]], while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother [[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders]], had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, with serious calls for a secessionist republic in [[Wallonia]]. Under pressure from the government, he [[Royal question | abdicated]] in favour of his son [[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]] in July 1951.

Leopold's first wife, [[Astrid of Sweden]], died in a road accident while on a driving holiday in Switzerland in August 1935, being much mourned by the public. Leopold, who was driving the vehicle when it hit a tree, suffered minor injuries. His [[morganatic marriage|morganatic]] second marriage, to [[Lilian, Princess of Réthy|Lilian Baels]] in captivity in 1941, was contrary to Belgian law, which stipulates that the civil marriage has to occur before a religious marriage, and she was never permitted the title of queen. Although Lilian and Leopold had originally planned to postpone their [[civil marriage]] until the end of the war, Lilian was soon [[Pregnancy|expecting]] their first child, necessitating a civil marriage, which took place on 6 December 1941.<ref>{{cite web |last=Geais |first=Pierrick |date=12 February 2021 |title=L'histoire d'amour du roi Léopold III qui a scandalisé la Belgique |url=https://www.vanityfair.fr/savoir-vivre/story/l-histoire-d-amour-entre-le-roi-leopold-iii-et-lilian-baels-qui-a-scandalise-la-belgique/13394 |access-date=26 July 2024 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |language=fr}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
{{more citations needed|date=November 2019}}
[[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.

==World War II==
{{House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Belgium)}}
When World War II broke out in September 1939, the French and British governments immediately sought to persuade Belgium to join them. Leopold and his government refused, maintaining Belgium's neutrality. Belgium considered itself well-prepared against a possible invasion by [[Axis powers of World War II|Axis]] forces, for during the 1930s the Belgian government had made extensive preparations to deter and repel an invasion of the country by Germany such as the one that had occurred in 1914.

On 10 May 1940, the [[Wehrmacht]] invaded Belgium. On the first day of the offensive, the principal Belgian strong point of [[Fort Eben-Emael]] was overwhelmed by a daring paratroop operation and the defensive perimeter thus penetrated before any French or British troops could arrive. After a short running battle that eventually involved the armies of all four belligerents, Belgium was overwhelmed by the numerically superior and better-prepared Germans.

Nevertheless, the Belgian perseverance prevented the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] from being outflanked and cut off from the coast, enabling the [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuation from Dunkirk]]. [[Alan Brooke]] who commanded II Corps of the BEF thought that the 10th Belgian Division was in the wrong place and wanted to deploy north of Brussels to avoid "double-banking". He was advised by [[Roger Keyes]] to see the king, and on 12 May was "making progress in getting matters put right" in discussion with the king in English, but was interrupted (twice) by the king's advisor who spoke to the king in French (in which Brooke was fluent). The advisor was insistent that the Belgian division could not be moved and the BEF should be stopped further south and clear of Brussels; Brooke said he was not putting the whole case to the king; he found that arguing with the advisor was a sheer waste of time as he cared little about the BEF and most of his suggestions were "fantastic". The king's advisor [[Raoul Van Overstraeten]] was not the Chief of Staff, as Brooke had assumed - Van Overstraeten had refused that rank - but the king's [[aide-de-camp]], with the rank of Major-General, and would not give up the Louvain front. The French liaison officer, General Champon, told Brooke that Van Overstraeten had ascendancy over the king and had taken control, so it was useless to see the Chief of Staff. Later (15 May) Brooke found that the BEF was likely to "have both flanks turned" with French defeats, and started withdrawal on 16 May.<ref>{{cite book | last = Alan Brooke | first = Field Marshal Lord | author-link = Alan Brooke  | title = War Diaries 1939–1945 | publisher = Phoenix Press | date = 2001 | pages = 60, 61 | isbn = 1-84212-526-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Fraser| first = David | title = Alanbrooke | publisher = Atheneum | date = 1982 | location = New York | pages = 152, 153 | isbn = 0-689-11267-X }}</ref>

After his military surrender, Leopold (unlike [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]] in a similar predicament) remained in Brussels to surrender to the victorious invaders, while his entire civil government fled to Paris and later to London.

===Surrender and constitutional crisis===
[[File:Belgische Propaganda Poster Van Koning Leopold III met opschrifft "28 Mei 1940, Halt, Sire Dat Vergeten Wij Nooit" naar aanleiding van de 18 daagse veldtocht.jpg|thumb|upright|Belgian propaganda poster from King Leopold III with title "28 May 1940, Halt, Sire We will never forget this" in response to
the Battle Of Belgium]]
On 24 May 1940, Leopold, having assumed command of the [[Belgian Army]], met with his ministers for the final time. The ministers urged the king to leave the country with the government. Prime Minister [[Hubert Pierlot]] reminded him that capitulation was a decision for the Belgian government, not for the king, to make. The king indicated that he had decided to remain in Belgium with his troops, whatever the outcome. The ministers took this to mean that he would establish a new government under the direction of Hitler, potentially a treasonous act. Leopold thought that he might be seen as a deserter if he were to leave the country: "He was resolved to remain with his army and amidst his people so as to share their fate."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Binion |first=Rudolph |date=1969 |title=Repeat Performance: A Psychohistorical Study of Leopold III and Belgian Neutrality |url=http://fs2.american.edu/dfagel/www/Class%20Readings/History/Psychoanalysis%20of%20Leopold%20and%20Belgian%20Neutrality.pdf |journal=History and Theory |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=222}}</ref> Leopold had long had a difficult and contentious relationship with his ministers, acting independently of government influence whenever possible, and seeking to circumvent and even limit the ministers' powers, while expanding his own.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

French, British, and Belgian troops were encircled by German forces at the [[Battle of Dunkirk]]. Leopold notified King [[George VI]] by telegram on 25 May 1940 that Belgian forces were being crushed, saying "assistance which we give to the Allies will come to an end if our army is surrounded".<ref>The Miracle of Dunkirk, Walter Lord, New York 1982, p. 101, {{ISBN|0-670-28630-3}}.</ref> Two days later (27 May 1940), Leopold surrendered the Belgian forces to the Germans.

Prime Minister Pierlot spoke on French radio, saying that the king's decision to surrender went against the [[Belgian Constitution]]. The decision, he said, was not only a military decision but also a political decision, and the king had acted without his ministers' advice, and therefore contrary to the Constitution. Pierlot and his Government believed this created an ''impossibilité de régner'':

{{quote|Should the king find himself unable to reign, the ministers, having observed this inability, immediately summon the Chambers. Regency and guardianship are to be provided by the united Chambers.<ref>Art. 93. ''The Constitution of Belgium, Coordinated text of 14 February 1994 (last updated 8 May 2007)''.{{cite web |url=http://home.scarlet.be/dirkvanheule/compcons/ConstitutionBelgium/ConstitutionBelgium.htm |title=Constitution of Belgium |access-date=2014-12-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601055805/http://home.scarlet.be/dirkvanheule/compcons/ConstitutionBelgium/ConstitutionBelgium.htm |archive-date=1 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>}}

It was impossible, however, to summon the Belgian [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]] or Belgian [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]] at this time, or to appoint a [[regent]]. After the liberation of Belgium in September 1944, the government asked Leopold's brother, [[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders|Prince Charles]], to serve as regent.

After Leopold's surrender, the British press denounced him as "Traitor King" and "King Rat"; the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' published a picture of Leopold with the headline "The Face That Every Woman Now Despises". A group of Belgian refugees in Paris placed a message at [[Albert I of Belgium|King Albert]]'s statue denouncing his son as "your unworthy successor".<ref name="atkin1990">{{cite book | title=Pillar of Fire: Dunkirk 1940 | publisher=Birlinn Limited | author=Atkin, Ronald | year=1990 | location=Edinburgh | pages=140–141 | isbn=1-84158-078-3}}</ref> French Prime Minister [[Paul Reynaud]] accused Leopold of treason. Flemish historians Valaers and Van Goethem wrote that Leopold III had become "The scapegoat of Reynaud",<ref>In Dutch ''De zondebok van Reynaud'', from Velaers and Van Goethem, ''Leopold III'', Lannoo, Tielt, 1994 {{ISBN|90-209-2387-0}}, p. 264.</ref> because Reynaud was likely already aware that the [[Battle of France]] was lost.

Leopold's surrender was also decried by Winston Churchill. In the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] on 4 June 1940 he said:

<blockquote>At the last moment when Belgium was already invaded, King Leopold called upon us to come to his aid, and even at the last moment we came. He and his brave, efficient army, nearly half a million strong, guarded our left flank and thus kept open our only line of retreat to the sea. Suddenly, without prior consultation, with the least possible notice, without the advice of his ministers and upon his own personal act, he sent a plenipotentiary to the German Command, surrendered his army and exposed our whole flank and means of retreat.<ref>[[Jean Stengers]], ''Léopold III et le gouvernement'', Duculot, Gembloux, 1980, p. 28. {{oclc|7795577}}. The text is quoted in French in this book but the original text{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} is quoted here.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1949, Churchill's comments about the events of May 1940 were published in ''[[Le Soir]]'' (12 February 1949). Leopold's former secretary sent a letter to Churchill saying that Churchill was wrong. Churchill sent a copy of this letter to the King's brother, [[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders|Prince Charles]], via his secretary André de Staercke. In his own letter Churchill wrote,

<blockquote>With regards to King Leopold, the words which I used at the time in the House of Commons are upon record and after careful consideration I do not see any reason to change them (...) it seemed to me and many others that the king should have been guided by the advice of his ministers and should not have favoured a course which identified the capitulation of the Belgian Army with the submission of the Belgian State to Herr Hitler and consequently taking them out of the war. Happily this evil was averted, and in the end, all came right. I need scarcely say that nothing I said at the time could be interpreted as a reflection upon the personal courage or honour of King Leopold.<ref>Churchill's letter to de Saercke, quoted in English in André de Staercke, ''Tout cela a passé comme une ombre, Mémoires sur la Régence et la Question royale'', Preface of [[Jean Stengers]], Racine, Bruxelles, 2003, p. 279, {{ISBN|2-87386-316-1}}.</ref>
</blockquote>

De Staercke replied that Churchill was right: "The Prince, Monsieur Spaak [Belgian Foreign Minister [[Paul-Henri Spaak]]] and I read your text, which states the precise truth and seems perfect to us."<ref>French ''Le Prince, Monsieur Spaak et moi-même avons lu (...) votre texte [qui] exprime l'exacte vérité, nous semble parfait.'' André de Staercke, ''Tout cela a passé comme une ombre, Mémoires sur la Régence et la Question royale'', Ibidem, p. 280.</ref>

Belgian historian Francis Balace wrote that capitulation was inevitable because the Belgian Army was not able to fight any longer against the German army.<ref>Francis Balace, ''Fors l'honneur. Ombres et clartés sur la capitulation belge'' in ''Jours de guerre'', n° 4, Bruxelles 1991, pp. 5–50, {{ISBN|2-87193-137-2}}.</ref> Even Churchill admitted that their position was perilous. In a telegram to [[Field Marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort|Lord Gort]] on 27 May, only one day before the Belgian capitulation, he wrote, "We are asking them to sacrifice themselves for us."<ref>Balace, opus citatus, p. 21.</ref>

===After the fall of France===
Upon Leopold's surrender, the government ministers left for exile, mostly in France. When France fell at the end of June 1940, several ministers sought to return to Belgium. They made an overture to Leopold but were rebuffed.

Because of the great popularity of the king, and the unpopularity of the civil government from the middle of 1940,<ref>Jean Stengers, Léopold III et le gouvernement, opus citatus, pp. 199–128.</ref> the government crisis persisted.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

On 2 August 1940, several ministers conferred in [[Le Perthus]] in France near the Spanish border. Prime Minister Pierlot and Foreign Minister Spaak were persuaded to go to London, but they were able to start out for London only at the end of August and could travel only via neutral Spain and Portugal. When they reached Spain, they were arrested and detained by the regime of [[Francisco Franco]]; they finally arrived in London on 22 October.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

===Meeting with Hitler===

Leopold rejected cooperation with the [[government of Nazi Germany]] and refused to administer Belgium in accordance with its dictates; thus, the Germans implemented a military government. Leopold attempted to assert his authority as monarch and head of the Belgian government, although he was a prisoner of the Germans. Despite his defiance of the Germans, the Belgian government-in-exile in London maintained that the king did not represent the Belgian government and was unable to reign. The Germans held him at first under [[house arrest]] at the [[Royal Castle of Laeken]]. Having since June 1940 desired a meeting with Adolf Hitler in respect of the situation of Belgian prisoners of war, Leopold III finally met with him on 19 November 1940. Leopold wanted to persuade Hitler to release Belgian POWs, and issue a public statement about Belgium's future independence. Hitler refused to speak about the independence of Belgium or issue a statement about it. In refusing to publish a statement, Hitler preserved the king from being seen as cooperating with Germany, and thus engaged in treasonous acts, which would likely have obliged him to abdicate upon the liberation of Belgium. "The [German] Chancellor saved the king two times."<ref>Jean Stengers, opus citatus, p. 161.</ref>

===Second marriage===
On 11 September 1941, while a prisoner of the Germans, Leopold secretly married [[Lilian Baels]] in a religious ceremony that had no validity under Belgian law, which required a religious marriage to be preceded by a legal or [[civil marriage]]. On 6 December, they were married under [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]]. The reason for the out-of-order marriages was never officially made public.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

[[Jozef-Ernest Cardinal van Roey]], [[Archbishop of Mechelen]], wrote an open letter to parish priests throughout the country announcing Leopold's second marriage on 7 December. The letter from the Cardinal revealed that the king's new wife would be known as Princesse de Réthy, not Queen Lilian, and that any children [[Morganatic marriage|they had would have no claim to the throne]]. Leopold's new marriage damaged his reputation further in the eyes of many of his subjects.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

===The ''Political Testament''===
[[File:Belgium 5 francs 1941 obverse.jpg|200px|thumb|The face of Leopold III on the [[5 francs (World War II Belgian coin)|zinc 5 franc coin]].]]

The ministers made several efforts during the war to work out a suitable agreement with Leopold III. They sent Pierlot's son-in-law as an emissary to Leopold in January 1944, carrying a letter offering reconciliation from the Belgian government-in-exile. The letter never reached its destination, however, as the son-in-law was killed by the Germans en route. The ministers did not know what happened either to the message or the messenger and assumed that Leopold was ignoring them.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

Leopold wrote his ''Political Testament'' in January 1944, shortly after this failed attempt at reconciliation. The testament was to be published in case he was not in Belgium when Allied forces arrived. The testament, which had an imperious and negative tone, considered the potential Allied movement into Belgium an "occupation", not a "liberation". It gave no credit to the active [[Belgian resistance]]. The Belgian government-in-exile in London did not like Leopold's demand that the government ministers involved in the 1940 crisis be dismissed. The Allies did not like Leopold's repudiation of the treaties concluded by the Belgian government-in-exile in London. The United States was particularly concerned about the economic treaty it had reached with the government-in-exile that enabled it to obtain [[Belgian Congo|Congolese]] [[uranium]] for America's secret [[atom bomb]] [[Manhattan Project|program]], which had been developed for use against Germany (although, as it turned out, Germany surrendered before the first bomb was ready).{{CN|date=May 2024}}

The Belgian government did not publish the ''Political Testament'' and tried to ignore it, partly for fear of increased support for the [[Communist Party of Belgium|Belgian Communist Party]]. When Pierlot and Spaak learned of its contents in September 1944, they were astonished and felt deceived by the king. According to André de Staercke, they were dismayed "in the face of so much blindness and unawareness".<ref>In French: ''ils étaient dominés par la consternation devant tant d'aveuglement et d'inconscience'' André de Staercke, ''Tout cela a passé comme une ombre, Mémoires sur la Régence et la Question royale'', opus citatus, p. 75.</ref>

Churchill's reaction to the Testament was simply, "It stinks."<ref>Jean Stengers, ''Léopold III et le gouvernement'', opus citatus, p. 176.</ref> In a sentence inspired by a quote of [[Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord|Talleyrand]] about the [[Bourbons]] after the restoration of the French monarchy in 1815, Churchill declared, "He is like the Bourbons, he has learned nothing and forgotten nothing."<ref>Jean Stengers, ibidem.</ref>

==Exile and abdication==

===Deportation and exile===
On 7 June 1944, [[Heinrich Himmler]] ordered Leopold deported to Germany. Princess Lilian followed with the family in another car the following day under an [[SS]] armed guard. The Nazis interned the family in a fort at [[Hirschstein]] in [[Saxony]] from June 1944 to March 1945, and then at [[Strobl]], [[Austria]].{{CN|date=May 2024}}

The British and American governments worried about the return of the king. [[Charles W. Sawyer]], US Ambassador to Belgium, warned his government that an immediate return by the king to Belgium would "precipitate serious difficulties". "There are deep differences even in the royal family and the situation holds dynamite for Belgium and perhaps for Europe".<ref>United States Department of State Records (USDSR), National Archives, 855.001 Leopold, Sawyer to Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, 29 March 1945.</ref> "The Foreign Office feared that an increasing minority in French-speaking Wallonia would demand either autonomy or annexation to France. Winant, the American Ambassador to the Court of Saint James, reported a Foreign Office official's concern regarding [[irredentism|irredentist]] propaganda in Wallonia."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flwi.ugent.be/btng-rbhc/pdf/BTNG-RBHC,%252009,%25201978,%25201-2,%2520pp%2520001|title=Jonathan E. Helmreich, Dean of Instruction (Allegheny College), United States Policy and the Belgian Royal Question (March – October, 1945)}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and that "the French Ambassador in Brussels... is believed to have connived in the spreading of this propaganda".<ref>USDSR Ibidem, Winant to Stettinius, 26 May 1945. J. E. Hemelreich adds "There is no further mention in the file of any alleged French activities".</ref>

Leopold and his companions were released by members of the United States [[106th Cavalry Group (United States)|106th Cavalry Group]] in early May 1945. Because of the controversy about his conduct during the war, Leopold III and his wife and children were unable to return to Belgium and spent the next six years in exile at [[Pregny-Chambésy]] near [[Geneva]], Switzerland. A regency under his brother [[Prince Charles of Belgium|Prince Charles]] had been established by the Belgian legislature in 1944.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

===Resistance to Leopold's return===
[[File:Belgische Propaganda Poster over Koning Leopold III Met het opschrift "Mijn Lot Zal Het Uwe Zijn" uitgegeven in 1950 in het kader van de Koningskwestie.jpg|thumb|upright|Belgian propaganda poster about King Leopold III with the title "My Destiny will be yours". The "Kgf" on the coat stands for ''Kriegsgefangener'', German for "prisoner of war". Published in 1950 in response to the royal question.]]
[[Frans-H. van den_Dungen|Frans Henri van den Dungen]], rector of the [[Free University of Brussels (1834–1969)|Free University of Brussels]], wrote to Leopold on 25 June 1945 about concerns for serious disorder in [[Wallonia]], "The question is not if the accusations against you are right or not [but that...] you are no longer a symbol of Belgian unity."<ref>Dutch: ''Het is niet de vraag of de aantijgingen die tegen U werden ingebracht terecht zijn [''maar dat...''] U niet langer een symbool is voor de Belgisch eenheid.'' Velaers en Van Goethem ''Leopold III'', Lannooo, Tielt, 1994, {{ISBN|90-209-2387-0}}, p. 955.</ref>

[[Robert Gillon]], the President of the Belgian Senate, told the king that there was a threat of serious disorder: "If there are only ten or twenty people killed, the situation would become terrible for the king."<ref>Dutch: ''Al vielen er maar tien of twintig doden, de situatie van de koning zou vlug vreselijk worden.'' Velaers en Van Goethem (1994), p. 968.</ref>

The president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, [[Frans Van Cauwelaert]], was concerned that there would be a [[general strike]] in Wallonia and revolt in [[Liège]]. He wrote, "The country is not able to put down the disorders because of the insufficient forces of the police and a lack of weapons."<ref>Dutch: ''Het land zou de ontlusten niet kunnen bedwingen wegens een ontoereikende politie macht een een tekort aan wapens.'' Velaers and Van Goethem (1994), p. 969.</ref>

In 1946, a commission of inquiry exonerated Leopold of treason. Nonetheless, controversy concerning his loyalty continued, and in 1950, [[1950 Belgian monarchy referendum|a referendum]] was held about his future. Fifty-seven per cent of the voters favoured his return. The divide between Leopoldists and anti-Leopoldists ran along the lines of socialists and Walloons who were mostly opposed (42% favourable votes in Wallonia) and Christian Democrats and Flemish who were more in favour of the king (70% favourable votes in Flanders).{{CN|date=May 2024}}

==General strike of 1950==
[[File:Flag of Wallonia.svg|right|thumb|upright=0.8|On 31 July 1950, after the fusillade of [[Grâce-Hollogne|Grâce-Berleur]], [[Liège]] and other municipalities of [[Wallonia]] replaced the Belgian flag with the Walloon flag]]
{{Main|Royal Question}}

His return to Belgium on 22 July 1950 was met with one of the most violent [[General strike against Leopold III of Belgium|general strikes]] in the [[history of Belgium]]. Three protesters were killed when the [[gendarmerie]] opened fire with automatic weapons. The country stood on the brink of civil war, and [[Flag of Belgium|Belgian banners]] were replaced by [[Flag of Wallonia|Walloon flags]] in [[Liège]] and other municipalities of [[Wallonia]].<ref>Philippe Destatte, ''L'Identité wallonne'', Institut Destrée, Charleroi, 1997, p. 235, {{ISBN|2-87035-000-7}}.</ref> To avoid tearing the country apart, and to preserve the monarchy, Leopold decided on 1 August 1950 to delegate his powers and duties to his 20-year-old son [[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]], making the latter regent. At the urging of the government, Leopold abdicated on 16 July 1951 in favour of Baudouin. If he had remained king until the day of his death, he would have ruled for 49 years, surpassing [[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]].<ref>[[Jules Gérard-Libois]], José Gotovitch, ''Leopold III, De l'an 40 à l'effacement'', Pol-His, Bruxelles, 1991, pp. 304–306, {{ISBN|2-87311-005-8}}.</ref><ref>Els Witte, Jan Craeybeckx, Alain Meynen, ''Political History of Belgium: From 1830 Onwards'', spoke about a ''forced abdication'', Academic and Scientific Publishers, Brussels, 2009, p. 244. {{ISBN|978-90-5487-517-8}}.</ref>

==Post-abdication life==
Leopold and his wife continued to advise King Baudouin until the latter's marriage in 1960. Some Belgian historians, such as Vincent Delcorps, speak of there having been a "[[diarchy]]" during this period.<ref>''La Couronne et la rose, Baudouin et le monde socialiste 1950–1974'', Le Cri, Brussels, 2010, {{ISBN|978-2-87106-537-1}}.</ref>

In retirement, he followed his passion as an amateur social [[anthropologist]] and [[entomologist]] and travelled the world, collecting zoological specimens. Two species of reptiles are named after him, ''[[Gehyra leopoldi]]'' and ''[[Polemon leopoldi]]''.<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("Leopold", p. 155).</ref>

Leopold died in 1983 in [[Woluwe-Saint-Lambert]] (''Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe'') following emergency heart surgery. He was interred next to Queen Astrid in the royal vault at the [[Church of Our Lady of Laeken]]. Leopold's second wife, the Princess de Réthy, was later interred with them.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

==Notable royal descendants==
As of 2023, two of Leopold's grandsons are reigning monarchs: Grand Duke [[Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Henri of Luxembourg]] since 2000, and King [[Philippe of Belgium]] since 2013.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1= background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2= background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3= background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4= background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Leopold III of Belgium'''
|2= 2. [[Albert I of Belgium]]
|3= 3. [[Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium|Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria]]
|4= 4. [[Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders]]
|5= 5. [[Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]]
|6= 6. [[Duke Karl Theodor in Bavaria]]
|7= 7. [[Infanta Maria José of Portugal]]
|8= 8. [[Leopold I of Belgium]]
|9= 9. [[Louise of Orléans|Princess Louise of Orléans]]
|10= 10. [[Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern (died 1885)|Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Josephine of Baden]]
|12= 12. [[Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria]]
|13= 13. [[Princess Ludovika of Bavaria]]
|14= 14. [[Miguel I of Portugal]]
|15= 15. [[Adelaide of Löwenstein|Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein]] <!-- in full Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg -->
}}

== See also ==
* [[Crown Council of Belgium]]
* [[Kings of Belgium family tree]]
* [[Royal Trust (Belgium)|Royal Trust]]
* [[List of covers of Time magazine (1930s)|List of covers of Time magazine: 1930s]], [[List of covers of Time magazine (1940s)|1940s]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* Winston Churchill, Speech to the House of Commons Delivered on 4 June 1940 ("We shall fight on the beaches . . .")

== External links ==
{{commons category|Leopold III of Belgium}}
* [http://www.monarchie.be/history/leopold-iii Official biography from the Belgian Royal Family website]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6XnmrJtt4c Our Royal Guest: King Leopold In England (1937)], newsreel of 1937 state visit, [[British Pathé]] YouTube Channel
* [[Jean Stengers]], ''Léopold III et le gouvernement: les deux politiques belges de 1940''. Duculot, 1980
* [http://www.ethesis.net/stripverhalen/stripverhalen_deel_3.htm War Controversy (in Dutch)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180616/http://home.scarlet.be/be074683/princesse_lilian.htm Princess Lilian, his second wife (in French)]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/011281}}

{{s-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]|3 November|1901|25 September|1983|[[House of Wettin]]}}
{{S-reg}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Belgian monarchs|King of the Belgians]]|years=1934–1951}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]]}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-roy|be}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-vac|last=[[Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant|Leopold]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Duke of Brabant]]|years=1909–1934}}
{{S-aft|rows=1|after=[[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Belgian monarchs}}
{{Dukes of Brabant}}
{{Belgian royal princes}}
{{Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold 03 of Belgium}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century Belgian monarchs]]
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[[Category:Knights of Malta|Leopold III of Belgium]]
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[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
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