Figure 1.--Princes Baudouin and Albert are seen here with their father on the occassion of their sister Josephine-Charlotte's confirmation. I'm not sure about the date, probably about 1940. Note the boys' identical sailor suits.

King Leopold III and Queen Astrid's first child, Josephine-Charlotte, was born in 1927. Girls in Belgium were not, however, potential heirs. Only boys could succeed their fathers as king. Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg in 1953, who acceded to the throne and became Grand Duke in 1964 on the abdication of his mother.

Family

Princess Josephine-Charlotte was born October 11, 1927 at the Royal Palace, Brussels. Her parents Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant and Princess Astrid were to become King and Queen of Belgium. Princess Astrid was a Swedish princess. Princess Josephine-Charlotte 's godmother was Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. On her mother's side, Princess Josephine-Charlotte is closely related to King Harald of Norway, King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

Siblings

Princess Josephine-Charlotte's brothers were Prince Baudouin and Albert. Both became Belgian kings. There was also a half brother and two half sisters from her father's second marriage.

Childhood

The Princess' childhood were spent both in Belgium and Sweden and marked by both personal and national tragedies. She spent time at Stuyvenberg, her parents' home on the Belgian royal estate at Laeken, and Stockholm, the home of her maternal grandparents, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. While still 6 years old her father became king on February 23, 1934--King Leopold III of the Belgians. Next year her mother Queen Astrid tragiclly died while on holiday in Switzerland.

Clothing

HBC has some limited information on how the first two boys (Baudouin and Albert) were dressed. They were clearlily not dressed in the fancy styles that Leopold and Charles wore as boys. Rather we see them commonly wearing more practical clothes, especiallu saolor suits. The photographs we have found of the princes so far show them commonly dressed in short and long pants sailor suits done with traditional styling. Queen Astrid seems to have oreferred to dess the boys identically. They wore a variety of short pants outfits as younger boys, and long pants suits as older boys. One photograph of Prince Baudouin at about 8 or 9 years of age wearing a long pants sailor suit and strap shoes. Josephine-Charlott was dressed differently. Of course she was a girl, but also she was older. She always wore dresses. More information is available on Alexander. Leopold's mother died tragically when he was about 5 years old. His father remarried when he was about 11 so his step mother presumably played an important role at an older age. Marie Lilianne Baels, Leopold's second wife dressed their child together, Alexabder, in very fashionable clothes as a younger boy.

Education

We have no details on Princess Josephine-Charlotte's early education. After World war II she studied child psychology at the University of Geneva.

World War II

NAZI Germany invaded and quickly occupied Belgium in May 1940. Her father King Leopold surrendred the Belgian Army to the Germans and refused to flee to London and join the Belgian government in exile in London. The Princess with her family remained in occupied Belgium. The Royal Family lived at the Royal Palace in Laeken for most of the War. The Allied landed in France at Normany on June 6, 1944. The NAZIs deported Kig Leoplod to Germany the next day in June 7 and the family followed. They were held by the NAZIs in Germany and Austria until liberated by the Amnericans on May 7, 1945.

Post-war Era

The Princess' life after the War was affected by question's concerning her father's surender of the Belgian Army and his behavior during the occupation. Some especially left wing groups were very critical while other's defend the King. As a result, the royal family was unable to return to Belgium. The King's brother, Prince Charles, was appointed as regent. The Princess lived with her family n exile at Pregny, near Geneva. The royal family finally returned to Brussels in 1950. Her father hoped to be reinstated as king after a plebicite. Even though a majority voted for the King, leftist inspired domonstrations forced Leopold to abdicated in favour of the Princess' brother Baudouin.

Marriage

Princess Josephine-Charlotte married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg on April 9, 1953, in the Cathedral of Our Lady, Luxembourg. The couple lived at Betzdorf Castle.

Children

Grand Duches Josephine-Charlotte married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean had five children: Princess Marie-Astrid (1954), Prince Henri (1955), Prince Jean and Princess Margaretha (1957) and Prince Guillaume (963). Following Hereditary Grand Duke Jean's accession to the throne in 1964, the family moved to Berg Castle. Since Grand Duke Jean's abdication, the grand-ducal couple have lived at Fischbach Castle.

Interests

As Princess of Belgium, Josephine-Charlotte exhibited a strong interest in both social problems and in the arts. As Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, she has accompanied her husband on many royal visits. The Grand Duchess is President of the Luxembourg Red Cross and Chief Guide of the Luxembourg Guide (Girl Scout) Movement. She has conferred her patronage on the Union of Blood Donors and the Luxembourg Paediatrics Society.

Leisure

Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte has a passion for gardening. She also enjoys a variety of active persuits, including hunting, fishing, skiing and water sports.

Created: December 17, 2002
Last updated: December 17, 2002