When Albert II abdicates as King of the Belgians on Sunday he not only brings to an end a twenty year rule which has seen him earn the respect of his people - if somewhat slowly to start off with. His decision to step aside and cede power brings to an end the rule of the children of Queen Astrid. From 1951 one of the three children of this hugely popular Belgian queen consort has been on the throne somewhere in Europe. As of this weekend, her legacy moves one step further into the background.
Astrid, Queen Consort of the Belgians, 1934 - 1935
Astrid's reign was short and ended tragically. She had married for love, enchanted her new people, been particularly concerned with helping the poor and dedicated herself to charity work and to her children. And then, at the end of August 1935, she died in a car crash. Tens of thousands turned out to pay their last respects at her funeral.
Astrid was born a princess of Sweden. Her father's brother was king of that country while her mother's brother ruled Denmark. Her older sister, Martha, became Crown Princess of Norway but never Queen Consort, dying three years before the crown passed to her husband, Olav.
Astrid's sister, Martha, with her husband, Olav, then Crown Prince of Norway. Martha died before Olav became king - she is the mother of the current king, Harald. The photograph was taken by Frankin Roosevelt who invited the Crown Princess and her children to stay in America when the Nazis occupied Norway. Olav helped his father co-ordinate resistance in exile in London.
Astrid and her siblings were brought up in Sweden, far enough removed from the throne to stand little or no chance of ever inheriting a crown. All four of them married for love - Astrid's eldest sister, Margretha, led the way by choosing as a husband her distant cousin, Prince Axel of Denmark, in a true romantic match. Astrid was the second to fall in love - she met Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium at a ball and their engagement was announced in 1926. The Queen of the Belgians, Elisabeth, declared it was a marriage of love.
Leopold and Astrid, the parents of Belgian king, Albert II, in an official photo to mark their engagement in 1926
As Belgian law requires a couple to marry civilly before their religious wedding, the couple could hold a ceremony in both their home countries. Princess Astrid of Sweden married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium in Stockholm in a civil ceremony in the royal palace on November 4th 1926 and then again in a religious service in Brussels on November 10th of the same year, attended by royalty from around Europe.
Astrid and Leopold after their first wedding ceremony - performed in the Swedish Royal Palace by the socialist mayor of Stockholm
In her new country she was called the Bride of the Snows. Her story was a perfect royal romance and she quickly became popular in her adopted land.
Wise not to say yes to a quick look at this couple's wedding album - Astrid and Leopold had two marriage ceremonies....an awful lot of pictures to smile through. Here they leave their religious wedding a the Cathedral of St Michel and St Gudula in Brussels on November 10th 1926
Now HRH Princess Astrid, Duchess of Brabant and queen consort in waiting, she began a public life of engagements and charitable works. But the main expectation was that there would be children to guarantee the throne. On October 11th 1927 Leopold and Astrid had a daughter, Josphine-Charlotte, reportedly named partly after the Empress Josephine, an ancestor of the Swedish monarchy.
Leopold, Astrid and their eldest child, Josephine-Charlotte. They were the image of the perfect happy family.
In 1930 she had a baby boy and called him Badouin after her husband's great uncle who had been heir to the controversial Leopold II until his premature death in 1891. That year, Princess Astrid converted to Catholicism - a move which was hugely popular with the largely Catholic population of Belgium. She was also becoming increasingly interested in charity work, especially issues involving women and children, and her importance to the Belgian royal family was growing markedly.
Leopold, future king of the Belgians. His wife's huge popularity reflected well on his whole family - after her loss in 1935 he never achieved the public adulation given to Astrid.
Astrid became Queen Consort of the Belgians in February 1934 after the death of her father-in-law, Albert I, in a climbing accident. The new king and queen were sworn in before the Belgian parliament less than a week later and Queen Astrid, expecting another baby, lifted her son Baudouin high in the air to show the people their new Crown Prince.
The new king of the Belgians, Leopold III, is sworn in before his country's parliament in February 1934. In his speech to the country's government he told them they could rely on the love and loyalty of their new Queen, Astrid.
Astrid's last baby arrived less than four months later and was named Albert in honour of his grandfather. At the time of his birth no one expected this little boy to become king of his country. At the moment he is still the last child born to a reigning queen consort of the Belgians. His father went on to have children with his second wife but she was never called queen.
Queen Astrid in official mourning for King Albert I - she was five months pregnant and her baby later became King Albert II of the Belgians.
A year into her reign, Astrid was happy at home and more popular than ever - partly because of her fund raising efforts for those badly hit by the economic crisis affecting Belgium in 1935. But in August of that year she was killed in a car crash. At the end of the family's summer holidays, the children had returned to Brussels while mum and dad enjoyed one more day of hiking. But the car that Leopold was driving was involved in an accident and while the king and his chauffeur survived, the Queen of the Belgians died. She was 29. There was widespread grief and mourning and tens of thousands turned out for her funeral in Brussels.
Mourning stamps issued after the death of Queen Astrid of the Belgians in 1935
But her legacy was huge. Along with her mother in law, Elisabeth, she greatly increased the popularity of the Belgian royal family. And she is one of the few consorts in history to have all her children become monarchs. She expected her first born son, Baudouin, to become king but could never have imagined the circumstances in which his accession happened. Her beloved husband, Leopold III, became a controversial figure in Belgium after the Nazi occupation and was unable to return to his kingdom until 1950. He was forced to abdicate a few months later and their little boy, by then 21, became king as a result.
Baudouin's swearing in before parliament was a very different affair from that of his father, Leopold III. The new king had been placed on the throne through abdication and he was so shy that he remained on the balcony acknowledging his new people for less than a minute. He became one of his country's most popular kings in the course of his long reign.
Astrid's eldest child, Josephine-Charlotte, was next to assume power. Married in 1953 to the heir to Luxembourg, she became Grand Duchess in 1963 and reigned until 2000 when her own husband, Jean, abdicated as was traditional in the country. She died in 2005. Astrid may well have hoped for a good, dynastic marriage for her daughter but given her own family's attitudes in marrying for love, it's more likely she hoped for happiness.
Of all her children, little Albert was the one least likely to become king. He was just one when his mother died and like his brother and sister ended up under house arrest during the Nazi occupation and as a prisoner in Germany in the later stages of the war. He lived in Belgium and saw his brother, Baudouin, marry in 1960. But hopes of a family for the king and his queen consort, Fabiola, faded in time as the royal couple suffered five msicarriages. By the 1970s it was clear that Baudouin would have to look to his brother for an heir.
Albert II of the Belgians, his queen consort, Paola and dowager queen, Fabiola
Albert II became the third of Astrid's children to rule in the summer of 1993. Baudouin died on July 31st and his younger brother was sworn in on August 9th that year.
On Sunday July 21st 2013, King Albert II will abdicate and bring his reign to an end just 19 days short of a full twenty years as monarch of his country. And at that moment, for the first time in 62 years, Queen Astrid's offspring will no longer rule in Europe. Her influence continues and both Albert and Jospehine-Charlotte named daughters after he ensuring that Astrid is associated with Belgian royalty for a long time to come.
Princess Astrid of Belgium, now Archduchess of Austria-Este, will assume the trade role associated with the work of the heir to the throne when her brother, Philippe, becomes king on Sunday. The new Duchess of Brabant, Elisabeth, is just 11 and the new king has nominated his sister to help while his daughter grows up.
