Philippe, Duke of Brabant
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Image:Duke of Brabant.jpg
The Duke of Brabant
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Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant (Philippe Léopold Louis Marie (French) or Filip Leopold Louis Marie (Dutch)), styled HRH The Duke of Brabant (born 15 April 1960), is the eldest son and heir apparent of Albert II, King of the Belgians.
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Biography
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He was educated at the Belgian Royal Military School, at Oxford University's Trinity College and finally attended Graduate School at Stanford University, California where he graduated in 1985 with an MA in Political Science.
He is married to Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, daughter of a Belgian noble family, and they have three children: a daughter, Princess Elisabeth, born 25 October 2001, who, thanks to an alteration of succession laws (the Lex Salica, or Salic Law) from eldest son to eldest child, will follow her father in the succession, and two sons, Prince Gabriel, born 20 August 2003 and Prince Emmanuel, born October 4, 2005. If Philippe assumes the throne the present Duchess of Brabant would become the first Belgian Queen to be born Belgian.
Recently, the Prince has been a target of criticism within Belgium for his political and social conservatism, and vocal detractors have called for him to step out of the line of succession to allow a more liberal member of the royal family to take his place.
For some years, Philippe, though second-in-line to the throne, had been treated as being the Heir Presumptive of his childless uncle, King Baudouin. However on Baudouin's death, the first-in-line, the late King's brother, Albert, chose to become king himself. It is believed that Philippe's then unmarried status was the reason why his father opted unexpectedly to take the crown, but this has never been proven.
Titles
Contrary to Albert II, King of the Belgians, Prince Philippe is Prince of Belgium, not Prince of the Belgians, a title which does not exist. He is also Duke of Brabant since Belgium's first in line to succeed to the King is given this title. When citing his titles, one must first cite "Duke of Brabant" then "Prince of Belgium".
| Styles of Philippe, Duke of Brabant |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
See also
- List of Succession to the Belgian Throne
External links
- Fonds Prince Philippe (in French, Dutch and German)
| Preceded by: King Albert II |
Line of succession to the Belgian Throne | Succeeded by: unknown |