Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman; 2 December 1951, in
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 ...
) is the widow of
Prince Alexandre of Belgium nl, Alexander Emanuel Hendrik Albert Maria Leopold
, father = Leopold III of Belgium
, mother = Lilian Baels
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
, death_date =
, death_place = Sint-Genes ...
. She is an aunt by marriage of King
Philippe of Belgium
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 ...
.
Early life and family
Princess Léa was born on 2 December 1951, the daughter of Sigismund Wolman (b. 12 July 1906,
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
She married Russian aristocrat Serge Victorovich Spetschinsky on 27 May 1975 in Brussels (son of Victor Sergeyevich Spetschinsky, President of the Russian Nobility Association in Belgium and Elena Dmitrievna Guebel), from whom she was divorced on 28 March 1980. They had a daughter, Laetitia Spetschinsky (born in 1976), who is now married to HE Didier Nagant de Deuxchaisnes, Ambassador of Belgium to Ethiopia, and mother of two sons, Charles-Albert (b. 2009) and Alexandre (b. 2013), and a daughter Louise (b. 2010).
On 23 July 1983 Léa married Paul Robert Bichara in
Uccle
Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...
, and they had a son, Renaud Bichara, on 1 September 1983.
After her second divorce on 25 August 1987, she wed Prince Alexander, in
Debenham
Debenham is a village and civil parish located north of Ipswich in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket
Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publish ...
, Suffolk, on 14 March 1991. They had been introduced in 1986 by former
defence minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Léon Mundeleer. Alexander asked her to accompany him to the cinema. She vacillated initially, but they began to enjoy dining out together, Alexander being a
gourmand
A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure and interest in consuming good food and drink. ''Gourmand'' originally referred to a person who was "a glutton for food and drink", a person who eats and drinks excessively; this usage is now rare. ...
, according to his future wife.
The couple had no children together, and the marriage was kept secret until 1998, as reportedly the prince feared his mother would disapprove. Alexander's marriage contravened Article 85 of the
Belgian constitution
The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility f ...
, which deprived of the
right of succession
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Leopold I who marries without the sovereign's permission.
Career
In 2008, she published a book of photographs from the life of her husband and his family, titled ''Le Prince Alexandre de Belgique'', because she felt that he was too little known in Belgium.