Leopold III
Leopold, the name of three kings of the Belgians.
Leopold I(1790–1865) reigned from 1831 to 1865. He was elected the first king of independent Belgium after its separation from Holland. Leopold was the fourth son of a German duke, Francis of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He was an uncle of Queen Victoria, and was closely related to many other members of European royal families. His first wife was a daughter of George IV of England. She died in 1817, and in 1832 he married Princess Louise, daughter of Louis Philippe of France.
Leopold served in the Russian army during the Napoleonic Wars and lived in England, 1817–30. A shrewd diplomat, Leopold won the support of all the great powers by promising that Belgium would remain “perpetually neutral.”
Leopold II(1835–1909) reigned from 1865 to 1909. He was the son of Leopold I. During the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–71, Leopold preserved Belgium's neutrality despite pressure by both warring nations. With the help of the explorer Henry M. Stanley, Leopold in 1885 gained personal sovereignty over the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and amassed a fortune. World criticism of the brutal exploitation of natives by Leopold's agents caused him to turn the region over to the Belgian government in 1908.
Leopold III(1901–1983) reigned during 1934–44 and 1950–51. He was the son of Albert I and the grandnephew of Leopold II. In World War II Leopold surrendered Belgium to the Germans (May, 1940) after 18 days of fighting. Although the military situation was hopeless, he was severely criticized for this action, which was against the wishes of the Belgian cabinet.
During the war Leopold chose to remain in Belgium rather than go into exile, although he was interned by the Germans and did not actively reign. He was taken as a prisoner to Germany in 1944. After the war he was exiled by the Belgian parliament and lived in Switzerland until 1950, when a plebiscite approved his return to the throne. Leopold's return caused rioting in many parts of Belgium, leading him to abdicate in favor of his son, Baudouin.