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This page is a list of heirs to the Belgian throne. The list includes all individuals who were considered first in line to inherit the throne of Belgium, either as heir apparent or as heir presumptive. Those who succeeded as King or Queen of the Belgians are shown in bold.
| Monarch | Heir | Relationship to monarch | Became heir (Date; Reason) | Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason) | Next in line of succession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leopold I | None, 1831–1833 | ||||
| Crown Prince Louis Philippe [ citation needed ] | Son | 24 July 1833 Born | 16 May 1834 Died | None | |
| None, 1834–1835 | |||||
| Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant [ citation needed ] | Son | 9 April 1835 Born | 17 December 1865 Father died, became king | None, 1835–1837 | |
| Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, 1837–1859, brother | |||||
| Prince Leopold, Count of Hainaut, 1859–1865, son | |||||
| Leopold II | Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant [1] | Son | 17 December 1865 Father became king | 22 January 1869 Died | Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, uncle |
| Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders [ citation needed ] | Brother | 22 January 1869 Nephew died | 17 November 1905 Died | None, 1869 | |
| Prince Baudouin, 1869–1891, son | |||||
| Prince Albert , 1891–1905, son | |||||
| Prince Albert [2] | Nephew | 17 November 1905 Father died | 23 December 1909 Uncle died, became king | Prince Leopold , son | |
| Albert I | Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant [3] | Son | 23 December 1909; Father became king | 23 February 1934; Father died, became king | Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, 1909–1930, brother |
| Prince Baudouin, Count of Hainaut , 1930–1934, son | |||||
| Leopold III | Prince Baudouin, Duke of Brabant [4] | Son | 23 February 1934; Father became king | 17 July 1951; Father abdicated, became king | Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, 1934, uncle |
| Prince Albert, Prince of Liège , 1934–1951, brother | |||||
| Baudouin | Prince Albert, Prince of Liège [5] | Brother | 17 July 1951; Brother became king | 9 August 1993; Brother died, became king | Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, 1951–1960, uncle |
| Prince Philippe , 1960–1993, son | |||||
| Albert II | Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant [6] | Son | 9 August 1993; Father became king | 21 July 2013; Father abdicated, became king | Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este, 1993–2001, sister |
| Princess Elisabeth, 2001–2013, daughter | |||||
| Philippe | Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant [7] | Daughter | 21 July 2013; Father became king | Incumbent | Prince Gabriel, brother |
Leopold I was the first King of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865.
Baudouin was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled King of the Belgians and serves as the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian Armed Forces. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830.
Albert II is a member of the Belgian royal family who reigned as King of the Belgians from 9 August 1993 until his abdication on 21 July 2013.
Astrid of Sweden was a member of the Swedish House of Bernadotte and later became Queen of the Belgians as the first wife of King Leopold III. Following her marriage to Leopold in November 1926, she assumed the title of Duchess of Brabant. Astrid held the position of Queen of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until her death in 1935. Known for her charitable efforts, she focused particularly on causes related to women and children.
Philippe is King of the Belgians. He is the eldest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. He succeeded his father upon the former’s abdication for health reasons on 21 July 2013. He married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in 1999, with whom he has four children. Their eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, is first in the line of succession.
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 a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir apparent, whose claim on the position cannot be displaced in this manner.
Mathilde is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to decrease poverty in the country.
The Duke of Brabant was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven. The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the existing title of landgrave of Brabant. This was an Imperial fief which was assigned to Count Henry III of Leuven shortly after the death of the preceding count of Brabant, Herman II of Lotharingia. Although the corresponding county was quite small its name was applied to the entire country under control of the dukes from the 13th century on. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became duke of Lotharingia. Formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later dukes of Brabant as an honorific title.
The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus, as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.
There are seventeen people in the line of succession to the Belgian throne.
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, is the heiress apparent to the Belgian throne. The eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, she was elevated to the duchy after her grandfather Albert II abdicated on 21 July 2013.
Marie Henriette of Austria was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold II. The marriage was arranged against the will of both Marie Henriette and Leopold and became unhappy due to their dissimilarity, and after 1872 the couple lived separate lives, though they continued to appear together in public. Queen Marie Henriette was described as an energetic and intelligent horsewoman, foremost devoted to her animals. In 1895, she openly retired from public life and lived her last seven years in the city of Spa, where she became known as "The Queen of Spa".
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a European royal house. It takes its name from its oldest domain, the Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and its members later sat on the thrones of Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal, and the United Kingdom and its dominions.
Prince of Liège is a substantive title awarded by King Leopold III of the Belgians to his younger son, Prince Albert, while he was second in line to the throne of Belgium on 7 June, 1934. The title was used from that date until his accession as King of the Belgians on 9 August 1993. His wife, the former Queen Paola, was known as the Princess of Liège from their marriage in 1959 until their accession in 1993.
Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant, Count of Hainaut, was the second child and only son of King Leopold II of Belgium and his wife, Marie Henriette of Austria, and heir apparent to the Belgian throne.
Prince Baudouin of Belgium was the first child and eldest son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. After Baudouin's death, his younger brother eventually became heir presumptive after the death of their father, and later succeeded their uncle Leopold II as Albert I of Belgium.
This is a family tree of the Kings of the Belgians, hereditary, constitutional monarchs of Belgium as defined by the Belgian Constitution.
Monarchy of Greece or Greek monarchy is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign (Basileus) reigns as the head of state of Greece. Monarchy in Greece lasted from 1832 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1973.