nl, Boudewijn Leopold Filips Marie Karel Antoon Jozef Lodewijk
ger, Balduin Leopold Philipp Maria Karl Antonius Joseph Ludwig , image = Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869-1891).jpg , caption = , birth_date = , birth_place =

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, death_date = , death_place = Brussels, Belgium , burial_place =

Church of Our Lady of Laeken nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk van Laken , native_name_lang = , image = Église Notre-Dame de Laeken (DSCF1248-DSCF1251).jpg , imagesize = 271 , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption ...

, house =

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...

, father =

Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders nl, Filips Eugeen Ferdinand Marie Clemens Boudewijn Leopold Joris , image = Philippe comte de Flandre (1880).jpg , caption = , spouse = , issue = , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father ...

, mother =

Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Princess Marie Luise Karoline Alexandra of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (17 November 1845 – 26 November 1912), later Countess of Flanders, was a princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern. She married Prince Philippe, Count o ...

Prince Baudouin of Belgium (3 June 1869 – 23 January 1891) was the first child and eldest son of

, and his wife,

. After Baudouin's death, his younger brother eventually became

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

after the death of their father, and later succeeded their uncle Leopold II as

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...

Background

Baudouin was the nephew of

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

. Leopold II's eldest (and only surviving) son, Leopold, Duke of Brabant, died six months before Baudouin's birth. This death left the king with only one person in the line of succession – Leopold's younger brother,

Prince Philippe french: Philippe Léopold Louis Mariegerman: Philipp Leopold Ludwig Maria , house = Belgium , father = Albert II of Belgium , mother = Paola Ruffo di Calabria , birth_date = , birth_place = Belvédère Castle, Laeken, B ...

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

. Baudouin's birth in June 1869 was celebrated throughout the country. He was second in line to the throne at the time of his birth, after his father. Leopold was to have one more child, another daughter,

Clémentine ''Clémentine'' (pronounced ) was a 1985 French animated television series (in co-production with Japan). The series consisted of 39 episodes which featured the fantastic adventures of a 10-year-old girl (Clémentine Dumat) who uses a wheelchai ...

. Baudouin was thus groomed to eventually succeed his uncle as king.

Death

Baudouin died in the

Palace of the Count of Flanders The Palace of the Count of Flanders (french: Palais du Comte de Flandre, nl, Paleis van de Graaf van Vlaanderen) is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally built between 1776 and 1781 for Countess Brigitte of Tirimont-Te ...

on 23 January 1891, a day after the anniversary of his cousin Leopold's death. Baudouin had been visiting his sick sister, Henriette. The prince, who had been suffering a bout of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

, insisted on staying with his sister. Rumours circulated after his death that foul play had been involved, including a suggestion that Baudouin's death was a copy of the suicide of

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph , caption = Rudolf in 1887 , spouse = , issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Franz Joseph I of Austria , mother ...

; Rudolf was the husband of Baudouin's cousin, Stéphanie. Baudouin was, at the time of his death, soon to be betrothed to his cousin,

. Upon the death, the Belgian Parliament was adjourned and theatres and public institutions were closed until after the funeral. Baudouin's body was interred at the royal vault at the

. After Baudouin's death, his younger brother, Albert, eventually became heir presumptive after the death of their father, and later succeeded their uncle Leopold as

Honours

* Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold.Acte de deces

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* Bilteryst Damien, Le prince Baudouin, frère du Roi-Chevalier, Bruxelles, Editions Racine, 2013, 336 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baudouin Of Belgium, Prince Nobility from Brussels 1869 births Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Belgium) 1891 deaths Burials at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken Deaths from the 1889–1890 flu pandemic