Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, Prince of Belgium (10 October 1903 – 1 June 1983) was the second son of Albert I, King of the Belgians

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...

 and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria

Elisabeth of Bavaria (1876-1965)

Elisabeth of Bavaria , was the queen consort of Albert I of Belgium and was the mother of Leopold III of Belgium and grandmother of Baudouin I of Belgium and Albert II of Belgium.-Family:Born in Possenhofen Castle, her father was Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, an ophthalmologist of...

. 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...

, he served in lieu of his older brother King Leopold III

Leopold III of Belgium

Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...

 from 1944 until 1950 as Prince Regent

Prince Regent

A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....

until Leopold could return to Belgium and resume his monarchial duties. Shortly after however, Leopold abdicated

Abdication

Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...

 in favour of his heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

, his son Baudouin I.

Charles was known as General Du Boc during World War II in order to hide his identity for security reasons.