n.
orig. Léopold-Georges-Chrétien-Frédéric
born Dec. 16, 1790, Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
died Dec. 10, 1865, Laeken, Belg.
First king of the Belgians (183165).
The son of Francis, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, he married Charlotte, daughter of the future English king George IV in 1816. After her death in 1817 Leopold continued to live in England until elected king of the newly formed Belgium. He helped strengthen the country's new parliamentary system and scrupulously maintained Belgian neutrality. Highly influential in European diplomacy, he used marriages to strengthen his ties. In 1832 he married the daughter of Louis-Philippe . In 1840 he helped arrange the marriage of his niece, Victoria , to his nephew, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1857 he arranged the marriage of his daughter to Maximilian , archduke of Austria.