King Albert I

Albert I (April 8, 1875 – February 17, 1934) was the third King of the Belgians.

Born Albert Leopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the younger son of Philip, Count of Flanders, and succeeded his uncle, Leopold II of Belgium, on the throne on December 17, 1909.

He was married on October 2, 1900 to Duchess Elisabeth Gabrielle Valérie Marie in Bavaria, a Wittelsbach princess whom he met at a family funeral. She became Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians. A daughter of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, and his wife, the Infanta Maria-Josepha of Portugal, she was born at Possenhofen , Bavaria, Germany on July 25, 1876, and died on November 23, 1965.

Their children:

• Leopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubertus Marie Miguel, Duke of Brabant, Prince of Belgium, born November 3, 1901, and died at Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on September 25, 1983.

• Charles/Karel Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad , Count of Flanders, Prince of Belgium, Regent of Belgium, born Brussels October 10, 1903, and died at Ostend on June 1, 1983.

• Marie-José Charlotte Sophie Amélie Henriette Gabrielle , Princess of Belgium, born Ostend August 4, 1906. She was married at Rome, Italy on January 8, 1930 to Prince Umberto Nicola Tomasso Giovanni Maria, Prince of Piemonte, born on September 15, 1904, and died on March 18, 1983 at Geneva, Switzerland. He became King Humbert II of Italy on May 9, 1946, and died on March 18, 1983. Marie-Jose died January 27, 2001.

At the beginning of World War I, Albert resisted the German advance and held them off long enough for Britain and France to prepare for the Battle of the Marne (September 6 - 9, 1914). He led his army through the Battle of the Yser and at the end of the war back into its own territory. He re-entered Brussels to a hero's welcome.

King Albert I died in a climbing accident at Marche-les-Dames , in the Ardennes region of Belgium near Namur. He is interred in the Royal vault at the Church of Our Lady, Laeken Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium.

In 1935, prominent Belgian author Emile Cammaerts published a widely acclaimed biography of King Albert I.