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The Belgian nobility comprises Belgian individuals or families recognized as noble with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of Belgium. The Belgian constitution states that no specific privileges are attached to the nobility.
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Because most old families have resided in the current territory of Belgium for centuries and prior to the founding of the modern Belgian state, their members have been drawn from a variety of nations. Spanish nobles resided in Flanders in the 15th and 16th centuries.[ citation needed ]
In the period under Dutch sovereignty, the nobility was an important factor in move towards independence. After independence, the Kingdom of the Netherlands lost an important segment of their nobles, as all of the highest born families lived in the south, and thus became part of the Belgian nobility. At court in the 19th century, this new Belgian nobility played a major role.[ citation needed ]
During the Austrian period, the high nobility participated in the government, both political and at the imperial court of Brussels. Since the French Revolution the nobility has not played a social function. However some members of most old families worked in major functions in Belgium.[ citation needed ]
In the Kingdom of Belgium there were as of 2013 [update] approximately 1,300 noble families, with some 20,000 members. The noble lineage of only approximately 400 families dates back to the 17th century or earlier. As Belgium is a democratic constitutional monarchy there are no legal privileges attached to bearing a noble title or to being a member of the aristocracy. According to article 113 of the constitution, "The King may confer titles of nobility, without ever having the power to attach privileges to them". [1]
Many nobles in Belgium still belong to the elite of society. They sometimes own and manage companies, or have leading positions in cultural society, business, banking, diplomacy, NGOs etc. Many of the older families still own (and reside in) important castles or country houses. [ citation needed ]
The fortune of the nobility is impressive: only 11% of the 500 wealthiest families in Belgium are members of the nobility, however: they have more than 56% of this wealth, 79.85 billion euros. [2] This is partly caused by the fact that many of the new noble titles are bestowed on wealthy entrepreneurs, like the families of Boël , Frere, Colruyt, Janssen and Solvay. Old houses however are in the minority and have sold much of their lands and estates. The house of Merode has sold during the ages thousands of hectares of their own private lands. [3] Other houses have still immense lands and grounds, but most houses have lost much of their historic wealth.
Belgium is one of the few monarchies in the world in which hereditary ennoblement still occurs regularly. Hereditary titles are conferred by letters patent, which are issued by the king of the Belgians, co-signed by the minister of foreign affairs. Noble titles can also be granted for life.
Belgian citizens distinguished in business, politics, science, arts, sports, etc. or for extraordinary service to the kingdom may receive noble status or noble titles.
In Belgium the title forms part of the identity of the noble person and is mentioned on the ID card. As it is a title, it is not a part of the name. [4]
Every noble family has its own coat of arms and titles: both are legally protected by copyright. People who do not belong to the house are forbidden from using the titles or the coat of arms.
The Belgian nobility is structured and ranked very formally. These ranks are still important in social life and ceremonial life at court.[ citation needed ]
The title of Prince (French : Prince, Dutch : Prins) is the highest noble title in use in Belgium. They are ranked under the princes of royal blood and members of the royal family.
Most members of the families listed below have the right to be referred to in Belgian government documents as "Prince" or "Princess" in combination with their family name.
The title of Duke/Duchess of Brabant (fr: Duc(hesse) de Brabant, nl: Hertog(in) van Brabant, de: Herzog(in) von Brabant) is reserved for the heir apparent to the Belgian monarchy (and in the absence of an heir apparent, the title reverts to the Crown). Current titleholder is Princess Elisabeth.
Members of the following houses bear the title of Duke (French : Duc, Dutch : Hertog). The ducal title has never been granted outside the royal family in the Kingdom of Belgium. The origin of such titles for Belgian families thus pre-dates the current monarchy, having been conferred or recognised by sovereigns of other jurisdictions.
Members of twelve families bear today the title of marquess. These titles have origins prior to the French Revolution and used to be connected to physical marquisates.[ citation needed ] In most of these families, the title descends by male primogeniture.[ citation needed ]
The titles Count of Hainault and Count of Flanders, historically associated with major provinces of what is now Belgium, are used as dynastic titles for members of the Belgian royal family.
Count is the highest-ranked title still granted by the Belgian monarch. There are approximately 90 families in Belgium where at least one of the members bears the title of count or countess.[ citation needed ]
There are approximately 45 families in Belgium where at least one of the members bears the title of Viscount.[ citation needed ]
Around 300 individuals bear the title of Baron or Baroness. The title may descend either by masculine primogeniture or to all legitimate descendants in the male-line of the original title-holder.
In Belgium there are roughly 200 knights (French : chevalier, Dutch : Ridder). The title has no female equivalent.[ citation needed ]
Écuyer, Jonkheer (Dutch, originally meaning "young lord") is the lowest Belgian title recognised by law. Many cadet members of important houses are styled with this title, this happens when the head of the family is styled higher.[ citation needed ]
Foreign titles granted to Belgians are not recognised and have no value in Belgium. The port by a Belgian citizen of a foreign title is punishable under article 230 of the Penal Code. [8]
However, a person of foreign nationality who officially belongs to the nobility of his country may bear his foreign title in Belgium if it appears in the official documents establishing his identity, issued by the competent authorities of his country. When he becomes a Belgian citizen by naturalization, he loses his nobiliary status of his country of origin and therefore no longer has the right to bear his foreign title. [8] If foreign titles are recognized, the bearers are incorporated into the Belgian nobility (see above for some Polish and Bohemian princes, two Austrian archdukes).
A prince is a male ruler or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. Prince is also a title of nobility, often hereditary, in some European states. The female equivalent is a princess. The English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun prīnceps, from primus (first) and caput (head), meaning "the first, foremost, the chief, most distinguished, noble ruler, prince".
Graf is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl".
The Russian nobility or dvoryanstvo arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed most of the Russian government and possessed a self-governing body, the Assembly of the Nobility.
His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also been used as a style for senior members of the family of Hazrat Ishaan, who are believed to succeed Prophet Muhammad based on the 1400 year old Sunni Sayyid ul Sadatiyya line of Emarat of Ahlul Bayt. Until 1918, it was also associated with the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties and with a few princely but non-ruling families. It was also the form of address used for cadet members of the dynasties of France, Italy, Russia and Ernestine Saxony, under their monarchies. Additionally, the treatment was granted for some, but not all, princely yet non-reigning families of Bohemia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Russia by emperors or popes. In a handful of rare cases, it was employed by non-royal rulers in viceregal or even republican contexts.
The German nobility and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, German entities that recognized or conferred nobility included the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the German Confederation (1814–1866) and the German Empire (1871–1918). Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the German Empire had a policy of expanding his political base by ennobling nouveau riche industrialists and businessmen who had no noble ancestors. The nobility flourished during the dramatic industrialization and urbanization of Germany after 1850. Landowners modernized their estates, and oriented their business to an international market. Many younger sons were positioned in the rapidly growing national and regional civil service bureaucracies, as well as in the officer corps of the military. They acquired not only the technical skills but the necessary education in high prestige German universities that facilitated their success. Many became political leaders of new reform organizations such as agrarian leagues, and pressure groups. The Roman Catholic nobility played a major role in forming the new Centre Party in resistance to Bismarck's anti-Catholic Kulturkampf, while Protestant nobles were similarly active in the Conservative Party.
The House of Hornes was an old and important European noble family, which became extinct in the male line in 1826. The name refers to Horn, a small village in Limburg, located in the Netherlands.
Danish nobility is a social class and a former estate in the Kingdom of Denmark. The nobility has official recognition in Denmark, a monarchy. Its legal privileges were abolished with the constitution of 1849. Some of the families still own and reside in castles or country houses. A minority of nobles still belong to the elite, and they are as such present at royal events where they hold court posts, are guests, or are objects of media coverage, for example Kanal 4's TV-hostess Caroline Fleming née Baroness Iuel-Brockdorff. Some of them own and manage companies or have leading positions within business, banking, diplomacy and NGOs.
The House of Merode is one of the most prominent families of the Belgian nobility. It originates from the village of Merode, which is now in the municipality of Langerwehe in Germany. Over the past five centuries, different branches bore noble titles and had estates on the territories of the modern-day states of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria. Through marriage, the house is connected with many prominent European noble families. The House of Merode played an important role in the history of the Southern Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium.
The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot made the Arenbergs the wealthiest and most influential noble family of the Habsburg Netherlands. The family's Duchy of Arenberg was mediatized in 1810. As such, the Arenbergs belong to the small group of families that constitute the Hochadel.
Princely Count Charles of Arenberg, duke of Aarschot, baron of Zevenbergen, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, was the second Princely Count of Arenberg and a leading aristocrat of the Habsburg Netherlands, who served as a courtier, soldier, minister and diplomat.
The House of Ursel is the name of an old Belgian noble family of German origin. The Head of the House is styled as Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess of Ursel.
The House of Beaufort-Spontin is a noble family which held prominent posts under the Holy Roman Emperors in the Austrian Netherlands, their family seat having originally been in Namur. The most notable member of the family was Frederic August Alexander of Beaufort-Spontin, who became the first Duke of Beaufort-Spontin in 1782. Cadets bear the title of Count or Countess. The members of this family now reside in Austria and were members of the Austrian nobility, but their origins are in territories in what is today Belgium.
The Van der Noot family is a Belgian noble family. The title of Count van der Noot is a title created by Emperor Charles VI on 16 May 1716. Since then this title belongs to the Belgian nobility.
The Lords of Corswarem are the heads of the noble house of Corswarem-Looz. The current Dukes of Corswarem are descendants of Lords of Corswarem. The current Duke, Thierry is the 11th Duke of Corswarem-Looz.
The House of Looz-Corswarem is an old ducal family that mostly occupied territories in what was once Austrian Netherlands. As reigning Princes of the Principality of Rheina-Wolbeck, a Sovereign State with an area of 556 square Kilometers and capital city Rheine, they also belonged to the German nobility. The immediate territory of the family was mediatised by the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1806. As a former ruling or the mediatised one the family belonged to the small circle of high nobility who enjoyed equal rights for marriage purposes with the royal or reigning families. Their motto is: Potius mori quam foedari. The family had a hereditary seat in the Upper House of the parliament of the Kingdom of Hannover and were members of the Prussian House of Lords. Today, the family still belongs to the Belgian nobility.
Lord Chamberlain of the Archduchess was a ceremonial function at the imperial court of Brussels.
The Lords of Ayseau(x) (sometimes d'Aysia) belonged to an ancient feudal nobility of the Duchy of Brabant. The Lordship was ruled by the House of Gavre, which descended from an illegitimate (later legitimized) offspring of the House of Brabant.
The Lords of Westerlo were the feudal lords of the fiefdom of Westerlo until the abolition of feudalism in 1795. The first known Lord of Westerlo was the Frankish nobleman Ansfried of Utrecht who gave this domain as allodial title to the chapters of Saint-Martin and Saint-Salvator in Utrecht after he became Bishop of Utrecht in 995. Since the late 15th century the Lords of Westerlo have been members of the House of Merode. In 1626 Westerlo was elevated to the rank of marquessate by King Philip IV of Spain in favor of Philippe I de Merode who became the first Marquess of Westerlo. The chief of the House of Merode still bears the title of Marquess of Westerlo although the feudal rights attached to this title have been abolished since 1795. In the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century the 10th, 11th and 12th Marquess have been elected Burgomaster of Westerlo.
Count Henri Marie Ghislain de Merode (1782–1847) was a member of the Belgian Senate and writer.
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