| Elisabeth of Bavaria | |
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| Photo of Elisabeth | |
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| Tenure | 17 December 1909 – 17 February 1934 |
| Spouse | Albert I of Belgium |
| Issue | |
| Leopold III of Belgium Prince Charles, Count of Flanders Marie-José, Queen of Italy |
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| Full name | |
| Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie | |
| House | House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Wittelsbach |
| Father | Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria |
| Mother | Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal |
| Born | 25 July 1876 Possenhofen Castle, Bavaria |
| Died | 23 November 1965 (aged 89) Brussels |
Elisabeth of Bavaria (born Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie, Duchess in Bavaria) (25 July 1876 – 23 November 1965), was the queen consort of Albert I of Belgium and was the mother of Leopold III of Belgium.
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Born in Possenhofen Castle, her father was Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, an ophthalmologist of recognized reputation. She was named in honor of her father's sister, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, better known as Sisi. Her mother was Maria Josepha of Portugal, daughter of exiled Miguel I of Portugal.
Through her mother's sisters, Elisabeth was related to many royal families :
An artist himself, Duke Karl-Theodor cultivated the artistic tastes of his family and Elisabeth was raised with a deep love for painting, music and sculpture. At her father's clinic, Elisabeth learned to cope with human suffering.
She was the 1,016th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa.
At the time that Albert and Elisabeth met, Prince Albert was the heir to his uncle Leopold II of the Belgians. Albert was the second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a sister of King Carol I of Romania.
At birth, Albert occupied the third place in the line of succession behind his father and elder brother, Prince Baudouin. The unexpected death of Baudouin in January 1891 immediately raised Albert to prominence within his country. A studious, quiet man, Albert was not the choice of heir that King Leopold II would have relished. As the only living male member of his generation, Albert was guaranteed the Crown of the Belgians upon the King's death. Albert had two sisters who survived into adulthood, Princess Henriette who married Prince Emmanuel of Orléans, and Princess Josephine who married her cousin, Prince Karl-Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, brother of King Ferdinand I of Romania.
In Munich on 2 October 1900, she married Prince Albert, second-in-line to the Throne of Belgium (after his father Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders). Upon her husband's accession to the Belgian Throne in 1909, Elizabeth became Queen. During the First World War, she and the King resided in De Panne. The Queen made herself beloved by visiting the front lines and by sponsoring a nursing unit. Despite her German background, she was a popular Queen and she eagerly supported her adoptive country. In 1934, Albert I died in a climbing accident at Marche-les-Dames, in the Ardennes region of Belgium, near Namur.
In her later years, she became a patron of the arts and was known for her friendship with notable scientists like Albert Einstein. During the German occupation of Belgium from 1940 to 1944, she used her German connections and influence to assist in the rescue of hundreds of Jewish children from deportation by the Nazis. When Brussels was liberated, she allowed her palace to be used for HQ of the British XXX Corps, and presented its commander General Horrocks with its mascot, a young wild boar named 'Chewing Gum'.[1] After the war she was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli government. During the 1950s, the Queen aggravated the Americans by visiting the Soviet Union, China and Poland, trips that led her to being known as the "Red Queen."
Queen Elisabeth died in Brussels at the age of 89 on 23 November 1965. She is interred in the Royal vault at the Church of Our Lady, Laeken Cemetery, Brussels.
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Elisabeth of Bavaria (1876–1965)
Born: 25 July 1876 Died: 23 November 1965 |
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| Belgian royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Marie Henriette of Austria |
Queen consort of the Belgians 1909-1934 |
Succeeded by Astrid of Sweden |
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