Prince Charles, Count of Flanders

Prince Charles, Count of Flanders Born October 10th, 1903 in Brussels, Belgium. Parents Prince Albert I, Princess Elisabeth. Future King and Queen of the Belgians. Died June 1st, 1983 in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium.

At the age of 7 On 31 January, King Albert I bestowed the title of "Count of Flanders" on Prince Charles. []

During Belgium's nazi occupation (May 28, 1940 - Late 1944, Early 1945). Prince Charles hid under a false identity within Brussels, providing aid to the POWs, while his brother, King Leopold III was held under house arrest at Castle Laeken in Brussels. In 1944, after the Allied landings in Normandy led Heinrich Himmler to deport King Leopold III and his family to Germany, then to Austria to prevent his liberation. []

Once the exlied Belgian government returned to Brussels, (the government fled to London, where it helped to orchestrate resistance movements and the eventual liberation of Belgium.) Prince Charles was appointed Regent, taking the constituional oath on September 20th, 1944.

He remained Regent until July 20th, 1950.

The Rolyal Question was a complex transition period which nearly led to a civil war. It saw to the end of Prince Charles' Regency after a national referendum where 57.7% of Belgians voted in favor of the King's return.

Upon return, King Leopold III was met with violent strikes and protests stating that he was not fit for the crown, citing his early surrender to the Germans in 1940. With this King Leopold III stepped down and surrendered the crown to his son, Baudouin, The Duke of Brabant.

In his later years, Charles led a quiet life in the small village of Raversijde, (now known as Ostend.) where he drew and painted, regularly exibiting his works, signing them "Charles of Flanders."

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.