Prince Baudouin of Belgium (3 June 1869 – 23 January 1891), born in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, was the first child and eldest son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders

Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders

align="right"|Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders was the third born son of King Leopold I of the Belgians and his wife Louise d'Orléans . He was born at the Château de Laeken, near Brussels, Belgium...

 and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was a Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern, and mother of King Albert I of Belgium.-Family:...

.

Baudouin was the nephew of Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...

. Upon the death of his eldest son, Leopold, Duke of Brabant in the January before Baudouin's birth, the king was left with only one person in the line of succession – his younger brother, the Count of Flanders. Baudouin's birth that June was celebrated throughout the country. He was second in line to the throne at the time of his birth. King Leopold would have only one more child, another daughter, Clémentine

Princess Clementine of Belgium

align="right"|Clementine of Belgium was a member of the Belgian Royal Family and the wife of Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France.-Early life:Princess Clémentine was born at the Royal Castle of Laeken in...

. Baudouin was thus groomed to eventually succeed his uncle as king.

Death

Baudouin died in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 on 23 January 1891, a day after the anniversary of his cousin Léopold's death. Baudouin had been visiting his sick sister, Henriette. The prince, who had been suffering a bout of influenza

Influenza

Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...

, insisted on staying with his sister. After taking a drive, he caught a fresh cold, and fell ill, dying shortly afterwards. Rumours circulated after his death that foul play had been involved, including a suggestion that Baudouin's death was copy of the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria; Rudolf was the husband of Baudouin's cousin, Stéphanie

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

Stéphanie was a Belgium princess by birth, and then made Crown Princess of Austria through her marriage to the heir of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduke Rudolf...

. Baudouin was, at the time of his death, soon to be betrothed to his cousin, Clémentine

Princess Clementine of Belgium

align="right"|Clementine of Belgium was a member of the Belgian Royal Family and the wife of Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France.-Early life:Princess Clémentine was born at the Royal Castle of Laeken in...

.
Upon the death of Prince Baudouin, the Belgian Parliament was adjourned and theatres and public institutions were closed until after the funeral. Baudouin's body was interred at the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken

Church of Our Lady of Laeken

The Church of Our Lady of Laeken is a neo-Gothic Roman Catholic church in Laeken, Brussels. It was originally built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, wife of King Leopold I to the design of architect Joseph Poelaert....

 in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.

After Baudouin's death, his younger brother, Albert

Albert I of Belgium

Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...

, eventually became heir presumptive after the death of their father, and later succeeded their uncle Leopold as Albert I of Belgium.

Titles

• His Royal Highness Prince Baudouin of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Saxony (1869–1891)

External links

• Royal House of Belgium