The Abdication of Belgium's King Leopold III-17 July 1951

King Leopold III, with his first wife, Astrid. 

Prince Leopold became King Leopold III of Belgium upon the death of his father, King Albert I. Albert, a much beloved monarch, is best known for his steadfast leadership of his country and its armed forces during the German invasion and destruction of large portions of Belgium during World War I. King Albert heroically rejected German’s ultimatum of 2 August, which demanded that Belgium allow the German army to pass through Belgium without resistance. He then led his army in stubborn resistance against the German army, slowing its advance, thus allowing the British and French armies to be somewhat better prepared when the Germans crossed the French frontier later in August.
Albert’s son, Leopold, watched as his father addressed the Belgian parliament on 3 August 1914. In that speech King Albert stated that Belgian neutrality had been guaranteed by all the great European powers in 1830, and that accepting the German ultimatum would signify the end of Belgium as an independent nation. The American Ambassador, who was present during Albert’s speech, and who observed Prince Leopold watching his father, wrote in his diary “What are the thoughts in that boy’s mind? Will this scene ever come back to him in after years? And how? When? Under what circumstances?”
The American ambassador, Mr. Whitlock, had no idea that he was eerily predicting the future. After Leopold became King upon the death of his father, Albert, in 1934, he strengthened Belgium’s fortifications against Germany, but he withdrew from the alliance with France and the UK, hoping that Belgium’s stated neutrality would spare it from German invasion should war once again occur. War did occur again, as on 10 May, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France. As in 1914, Belgium’s resistance and fierce artillery fire slowed the German forces down, but by withdrawing from the alliance with France the UK, King Leopold, who under Belgium’s constitution was commander in chief of Belgium’s armed forces, was unable to properly coordinate with the Allies, leading to chaos. This chaos led to a constitutional crisis in Belgium on 27 May, 1940, when King Leopold acted unilaterally and surrendered to Germany. Days earlier the King had a bitter confrontation with the Belgian Prime Minister and cabinet, where he stated that it was his intention to surrender, but to remain in Belgium with the army, rather than evacuate to London with other Belgian ministers to form a government in exile. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands left her country aboard a Royal Navy destroyer shortly before Germany conquered her country on 15 May. Leopold had no intention of following her example. His ministers stated that surrender was not solely the prerogative of the monarch, and throughout the war the Belgian ministers in London stated that the King did not speak for the Belgian government. Leopold did not cooperate with the Germans during their occupation of Belgium, and when he tried to exercise his authority as king, the Germans made him a prisoner, and in 1944, on the orders of SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, he was arrested and deported to Germany, and later he was sent to Austria. In May of 1945 the U.S. Army freed Leopold from German captivity, but his actions during the war made his return to Belgium impossible. Leopold remained in exile in Switzerland while the Belgian government decided what to do. A commission was held to determine whether the King had committed treason by surrendering without the consent of the elected government, and in 1946 the commission cleared him of treason; however, this still did not pave the way for Leopold’s return to Belgium.
The government decided to put the return of the King to a vote, and in 1950 57% of Belgians voted that the King should be allowed to return and assume the throne, but the vote showed how deeply the country was divided. In the Walloon (French speaking) part of Belgium and among Socialists, 42% of voters wanted the King to return, yet in Flanders (Flemish speaking) and among Christian Democrats, 70% of voters wanted him back. Even with 57% of the whole population voting for his return, Leopold’s arrival in Brussels in 1950 produced devastating riots and strikes across the country. The strikes turned violent, with 3 protesters being killed when the police opened fire on a crowd. In Walloon, the people stopped flying the Belgian flag and began flying the flags of an independent Walloonia, signaling that armed resistance to the King’s return was possible. With the country on the brink of civil war, King Leopold decided to abdicate on 1 August, 1950, in favor of his son, Baudoin. The abdication took effect on 17 July, 1951, when Baudoin became the fifth King of the Belgians.
The story of King Leopold III shows the limits of constitutional monarchy during times of crisis. It also shows the need for clear delineation of powers between the elected government and the monarchy. Every country will face a crisis of leadership, and how leaders respond to the crisis will define both them and their nations. Leopold acted incorrectly during the invasion of Belgium in 1940, but his decision to abdicate in favor of his son showed great leadership, sparing his nation significant violence and disunion.