Why the Belgian King is not the King of Belgium
This is Philippe, Belgium’s seventh king (and seventh monarch) since the country’s independence from the Netherlands in 1830. Like most European monarchs, Philippe is a constitutional monarch with a symbolic role and mostly ceremonial authority. Unlike most monarchs, however, Philippe’s isn’t official titled after his kingdom. Instead of “King of Belgium”, Philippe is “King of the Belgians” – and for the Belgians, this isn’t just a semantic distinction.
Belgium’s monarchy is the sole current example of what British journalist Kingsley Martin called a “popular monarchy”, with a monarch of the people rather than a monarch of the state itself. This practice was common in the Middle Ages and early modern era, as with the famous “Mary, Queen of Scots”.
In modern times, a popular title usually represents a national ideal that the monarch derives power from the people rather than from royal descent or divine right. A great example is Napoleon, who took the title “Emperor of the French”, as did his nephew Napoleon III.
Napoleon: Clearly a man of the people
In the 19th and 20th centuries, many new monarchies were formed in Europe, and being a “popular monarch” became, well, popular. In 1863, when George I of Greece was elected to replace the deposed Otto, he took the title “King of the Hellenes”. Carol I became King of the Romanians in 1881, Ferdinand I became Tsar of the Bulgarians in 1908, and Zog I became King of the Albanians in 1928. All of these countries have since become republics, and thus no longer have a monarch.
Other popular monarchies represented multiple groups of people in a single domain. Peter I became “King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes”, in what would later become known as Yugoslavia. Sweden’s monarchs retained their traditional popular title until 1973 (when the current monarch Carl XVI Gustaf took the throne), taking the title “King of the Swedes, the Goths, and the Wends”.
So what does this all mean for Philippe? Compared to most of Europe’s remaining monarchs, the King of the Belgians is symbolically much more accountable to the people. Rather than immediately assuming the throne when his father abdicated in 2013, Philippe only officially became King after being sworn in later that same day, taking an oath to the constitution. The Belgian monarchy also has no physical crown.
Baudouin, 5th King of the Belgians
Belgium’s constitutional limits on the monarchy were highlighted in 1990, when King Baudouin refused to give royal assent to a bill decriminalizing abortion, on personal moral grounds as a devout Roman Catholic. By the king’s request, the country’s ministers declared the king unable to reign, and temporarily assumed royal authority as per the constitution. This enabled them to assent to the bill in the king’s stead, and Parliament reinstated the king’s authority the following day.
Each of the world’s monarchies has its own quirks and traditions. Some still rule with absolute power, many have theoretical powers that would be taken away if they ever tried to exercise them, and some have very little power even in theory. But this one remaining popular monarchy has something quite interesting to tell us about the history of Belgium. Or, perhaps, the history of the Belgians.
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