Albert II (born 6 June 1934) reigned as King of the Belgians, from 1993 to 2013.
Albert II (born 6 June 1934) reigned as King of the Belgians, from 1993 to 2013.
King Albert II is the son of King Leopold III, and the last buzzing child of Queen Astrid, born princess of Sweden. He is the younger brother of the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and King Baudouin, whom he succeeded on Baudouin’s death in 1993. He married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (now Queen Paola), with whom he had three children. Albert’s eldest son, Philippe, is the current King of the Belgians.
On 3 July 2013, King Albert II attended a midday session of the Belgian cabinet. He subsequently announced that, on 21 July, Belgian National Day, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons. He was succeeded by his son Philippe on 21 July 2013. Albert II was the fourth monarch to abdicate in 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Emir Hamad box Khalifa of Qatar. In thus doing, he was as well as the second Belgian monarch to abdicate, following his father Leopold III who abdicated in 1951, albeit below very stand-in circumstances.