Albert I of Belgium

Albert I
Albert I, pictured with his characteristic Adrian helmet, c.1919
King of the Belgians
Reign 23 December 1909 –
17 February 1934
Predecessor Leopold II
Successor Leopold III
Prime Ministers
Born (1875-04-08)8 April 1875
Brussels, Belgium
Died 17 February 1934(1934-02-17) (aged 58)
Marche-les-Dames, Namur, Belgium
Spouse
Issue Leopold III, King of the Belgians
Prince Charles, Count of Flanders
Marie-José, Queen of Italy
Full name
Dutch: Albert Leopold Clemens Maria Meinrad
French: Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad
German: Albert Leopold Clemens Maria Meinrad
House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1920)
Belgium (from 1920)
Father Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
Mother Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Religion Roman Catholicism

Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) reigned as the King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934. This was an eventful period in the history of Belgium, which included the period of World War I (1914–1918), when 90 percent of Belgium was overrun, occupied, and ruled by the German Empire. Other crucial issues included the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles, the ruling of the Belgian Congo as an overseas possession of the Kingdom of Belgium along with the League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, the reconstruction of Belgium following the war, and the first five years of the Great Depression (1929–1934). King Albert died in a mountaineering accident in eastern Belgium in 1934, at the age of 58, and he was succeeded by his son Leopold III (r. 1934–1951).

Early life

King Albert touring the Belgian Congo
Belgian Royalty
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Leopold I
Leopold II
Albert I
Leopold III
Baudouin
Albert II
Philippe

Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad was born in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Prince Philippe was the third (second surviving) son of Leopold I (r. 1831–1865), the first King of the Belgians, and his wife, Louise-Marie of France, and the younger brother of King Leopold II of Belgium (r. 1865–1909). Princess Marie was a relative of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (r. 1888–1918), and a member of the non-reigning, Catholic branch of the Hohenzollern family. Albert grew up in the Palace of the Count of Flanders, initially as third in the line of succession to the Belgian throne as his reigning uncle Leopold II's son had already died. When, however, Albert's older brother, Prince Baudouin of Belgium, who had been subsequently prepared for the throne, also died young, Albert, at the age of 16, unexpectedly became second in line (after his father) to the Belgian Crown.

Retiring and studious, Albert prepared himself strenuously for the task of kingship. In his youth, Albert was seriously concerned with the situation of the working classes in Belgium, and personally travelled around working class districts incognito, to observe the living conditions of the people.[1] Shortly before his accession to the throne in 1909, Albert undertook an extensive tour of the Belgian Congo, which had been annexed by Belgium in 1908 (after having been previously owned by King Leopold II of Belgium as his personal property), finding the country in poor condition. Upon his return to Belgium, he recommended reforms to protect the native population and to further technological progress in the colony.[2]

Marriage

Albert was married in Munich on 2 October 1900 to Bavarian Duchess Elisabeth Gabrielle Valérie Marie, a Wittelsbach princess whom he had met at a family funeral. A daughter of Bavarian Duke Karl-Theodor, and his second wife, the Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal, she was born at Possenhofen Castle, Bavaria, Germany, on 25 July 1876, and died on 23 November 1965.

The civil wedding was conducted by Friedrich Krafft Graf von Crailsheim in the Throne Hall[3], and the religious wedding was conducted by Cardinal von Stein, assisted by Jakob von Türk, Cofessionar of the King of Bavaria.[3]

Based on the letters written during their engagement and marriage (cited extensively in the memoirs of their daughter, Marie-José) the young couple appear to have been deeply in love. The letters express a deep mutual affection based on a rare affinity of spirit.[4] They also make clear that Albert and Elisabeth continually supported and encouraged each other in their challenging roles as king and queen. The spouses shared an intense commitment to their country and family and a keen interest in human progress of all kinds. Together, they cultivated the friendship of prominent scientists, artists, mathematicians, musicians, and philosophers, turning their court at Laeken into a kind of cultural salon.[4][5]

Children

Albert and Elisabeth had three children:

Accession

Newspaper compilation in December 1909 shows Albert at top left after inspection of a mine. His wife and children are at bottom right.

Following the death of his uncle, Leopold II, Albert succeeded to the Belgian throne in December 1909, since Albert's own father had already died in 1905. Previous Belgian kings had taken the royal accession oath only in French; Albert innovated by taking it in Dutch as well.[1] He and his wife, Queen Elisabeth, were popular in Belgium due to their simple, unassuming lifestyle and their harmonious family life, which stood in marked contrast to the aloof, autocratic manner and the irregular private life of Leopold II. An important aspect of the early years of Albert's reign was his institution of many reforms in the administration of the Belgian Congo, Belgium's only colonial possession.[6]

Religion

King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth praying to Our lady of the Sablon, stained Glass

King Albert was a devout Catholic.[4][7][8] Many stories illustrate his deep and tender piety. For instance, when his former tutor General De Grunne, in his old age, entered the Benedictine monastery of Maredsous in Belgium, King Albert wrote a letter to him in which he spoke of the joy of giving oneself to God.[7] He said: "May you spend many years at Maredsous in the supreme comfort of soul that is given to natures touched by grace, by faith in God's infinite power and confidence in His goodness."[8] To another friend, a Chinese diplomat who became a Catholic monk, Albert wrote: "Consecrating oneself wholly to the service of Our Lord gives, to those touched by grace, the peace of soul which is the supreme happiness here below."[8] Albert used to tell his children: "As you nourish your body, so you should nourish your soul."[4] In an interesting meditation on what he viewed as the harm that would result if Christian ideals were abandoned in Belgium, he said: "Every time society has distanced itself from the Gospel, which preached humility, fraternity, and peace, the people have been unhappy, because the pagan civilisation of ancient Rome, which they wanted to replace it with, is based only on pride and the abuse of force" (Commemorative speech for the war dead of the Battle of the Yser, given by Dom Marie-Albert, Abbot of Orval Abbey, Belgium, in 1936).

World War I

Albert inspecting the front line with his officers.
Uniform with war honours

At the start of World War I, Albert refused to comply with Germany's request for safe passage for its troops through Belgium in order to attack France, which the Germans alleged was about to advance into Belgium en route to attacking Germany in support of Russia. In fact, the French Government had told its army commander not to go into Belgium before a German invasion.[9] The German invasion brought Britain into the war as one of the guarantors of Belgian neutrality under the Treaty of 1839. King Albert, as prescribed by the Belgian constitution, took personal command of the Belgian Army, and held the Germans off long enough for Britain and France to prepare for the Battle of the Marne (6–9 September 1914). He led his army through the Siege of Antwerp (28 September – 10 October 1914) and the Battle of the Yser (16–31 October 1914), when the Belgian Army was driven back to a last, tiny strip of Belgian territory near the North Sea. Here the Belgians, in collaboration with the armies of the Triple Entente, took up a war of position, in the trenches behind the River Yser, remaining there for the next four years. During this period, King Albert fought alongside his troops and shared their dangers, while his wife, Queen Elisabeth, worked as a nurse at the front. During his time on the front, rumours spread on both sides of the lines that the German soldiers never fired upon him out of respect for him being the highest ranked commander in harm's way, while others feared risking punishment by the Kaiser himself, who was his cousin. The King also allowed his 14-year-old son, Prince Leopold, to enlist in the Belgian Army as a private and fight in the ranks.[2][6]

The war inflicted great suffering on Belgium, which was subjected to a harsh German occupation. The King, fearing the destructive results of the war for Belgium and Europe and appalled by the huge casualty rates, worked through secret diplomatic channels for a negotiated peace between Germany and the Entente based on the "no victors, no vanquished" concept. He considered that such a resolution to the conflict would best protect the interests of Belgium and the future peace and stability of Europe. Since, however, neither Germany nor the Entente were favourable to the idea, tending instead to seek total victory, Albert's attempts to further a negotiated peace were unsuccessful. At the end of the war, as commander of the Army Group Flanders, consisting of Belgian, British and French divisions, Albert led the final offensive of the war that liberated occupied Belgium. King Albert, Queen Elisabeth, and their children then re-entered Brussels to a hero's welcome.

Post-war years

Upon his return to Brussels, King Albert made a speech in which he outlined the reforms he desired to see implemented in Belgium, including universal suffrage and the establishment of a Flemish University in Ghent.

Trip to the United States

The King and the Queen during their visit to Isleta pueblo in New Mexico in 1919, with the Governor of New Mexico and Anton Docher

From 23 September through 13 November 1919, King Albert, Queen Elisabeth of Bavaria, and their son Prince Leopold made an official visit to the United States. During a visit of the historic Native American pueblo of Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico, King Albert decorated Father Anton Docher with Knight in the Order of Leopold II.[10] Docher offered the King a turquoise cross mounted in silver made by the Tiwas Indians.[11][12] Ten thousand people travelled to Isleta for this occasion. That same year he was elected an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.

In New York the King received a Ticker tape parade in his honour. The visit, which was prepared by his private secretary Max-Léo Gérard, was considered a success by the Belgian authorities.[13]

Introduction of universal male suffrage

In 1918, King Albert forged a post-war "Government of National Union" made up of members of the three main parties in Belgium, the Catholics, the Liberals, and the Socialists.[1][6] Albert I remembered the Belgian general strike of 1913, and the promise following that of a Constitutional reform for an actual one man, one vote universal suffrage.

On 18 April 1893, at the end of the Belgian general strike of 1893, universal suffrage, approved by the Belgian Parliament, gave plural votes to individual men based on their wealth, education, and age, but this was clearly not a universal suffrage.[14]

Albert attempted to mediate between the parties in favour of universal male suffrage and those opposed to it in order to bring about one man, one vote universal suffrage for men. He succeeded.[15] Some people have named this the "conspiracy of Loppem" because the one man, one vote suffrage was effected without changing the Constitution of Belgium.

Paris Peace Conference

King Albert (left) with his wife and Fuad I of Egypt, 1930

The Belgian Government sent the King to the Paris Peace Conference in April 1919, where he met with the leaders of France, Britain and the United States. He had four strategic goals:

  1. to restore and expand the Belgian economy using cash reparations from Germany;
  2. to assure Belgium's security by the creation of a new buffer state on the left bank of the Rhine;
  3. to revise the obsolete treaty of 1839;
  4. to promote a 'rapprochement' between Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.

He strongly advised against a harsh, restrictive treaty against Germany to prevent future German aggression.[16] He also considered that the dethronement of the princes of Central Europe and, in particular, the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire would constitute a serious menace to peace and stability on the continent.[7] The Allies considered Belgium to be the chief victim of the war, and it aroused enormous popular sympathy, but the King's advice played a small role in Paris.[17]

Later years

Albert spent much of the remainder of his reign assisting in the post-war reconstruction of Belgium.

In 1920 Albert changed the family name from “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” to “House of Belgium” (van België, in Dutch; de Belgique in French) as a result of strong anti-German sentiment.[18] This mirrored the British royal family's name-change to House of Windsor in 1917.[19]

Albert was a committed conservationist and in 1925, influenced by the ideas of Carl E. Akeley, he founded Africa's first national park, now known as Virunga National Park, in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo. During this period, he was also the first reigning European monarch to visit the United States.[20]

Death

Albert I commemorative coin

A passionate alpinist, King Albert I died in a mountaineering accident while climbing alone on the Roche du Vieux Bon Dieu at Marche-les-Dames, in the Ardennes region of Belgium near Namur. His death shocked the world and he was deeply mourned, both in Belgium and abroad. Because King Albert was an expert climber, some questioned the official version of his death and suggested that the King was murdered (or even committed suicide) somewhere else and that his body had never been at Marche-les-Dames, or that it was deposited there.[21][22] Several of those hypotheses with criminal motives were already investigated by the juridical authorities but the doubts have been increased ever since, today still being the subject of popular novels, books and documentaries.[23] Nonetheless, rumors of murder have been dismissed by most historians. There are two possible explanations for his death according to the official juridical investigations: the first was he leaned against a boulder at the top of the mountain, which became dislodged; or two, the pinnacle to which his rope was belayed had broken, causing him to fall about sixty feet.[24] In 2016 DNA testing by geneticist Dr. Maarten Larmuseau and colleagues from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven on bloodstained leaves collected from Marche-les-Dames concluded that King Albert died at that location.[25]

Like the former kings Leopold I and Leopold II is King Albert interred in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels.[26]

In 1935, prominent Belgian author Emile Cammaerts published a widely acclaimed biography of King Albert I, titled Albert of Belgium: Defender of Right. In 1993, a close climbing companion of the King, Walter Amstutz, founded the King Albert I Memorial Foundation, an association based in Switzerland and dedicated to honouring distinguished individuals in the mountaineering world.

To celebrate 175 years of Belgian Dynasty and the 100th anniversary of his accession,[27] Albert I was selected as the main motif of a high-value collectors' coin: the Belgian 12.5 euro Albert I commemorative coin, minted in 2008. The obverse shows a portrait of the King.[27]

Styles, arms, and honours

Styles

  • 8 April 1875 – 23 December 1909: His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Saxony
  • 23 December 1909 – 17 February 1934: His Majesty The King of the Belgians

Arms

Monograms

Honours and awards

National

Foreign

See also

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carlo Bronne. Albert 1er: le roi sans terre.
  2. 1 2 Evelyn Graham. Albert, King of the Belgians.
  3. 1 2 Albert I;Museum Dynasticum N° .21: 2009/ n° 2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Luciano Regolo. La regina incompresa: tutto il racconto della vita di Maria José di Savoia.
  5. ↑ Marie-José, Queen, Consort of Umberto II, King of Italy. Albert et Elisabeth de Belgique, mes parents.
  6. 1 2 3 Roger Keyes. Outrageous Fortune: The Tragedy of Leopold III of the Belgians.
  7. 1 2 3 Charles d'Ydewalle. Albert and the Belgians: Portrait of a King.
  8. 1 2 3 Jo Gérard. Albert 1er, insolite: 1934–1984.
  9. ↑ Margaret MacMillan: The War that Ended the Peace (2013)p.585
  10. ↑ Keleher and Chant. The Padre of Isleta. Sunstone Press, 2009, p. 94.
  11. ↑ W. A. Keleher. The Indian sentinel. 1920, vol. 2. pp. 23–24
  12. ↑ Samuel Gance, Anton ou la trajectoire d'un père, L'Harmattan, 2013, p.174.
  13. ↑ Albert I;Museum Dynasticum N° .21: 2009/ n° 2.
  14. ↑ Els Witte, Jan Craeybeckx, Alain Meynen Political History of Belgium: From 1830 Onwards, Academic and Scientific Publishers, Brussels, 2009, p. 278. ISBN 978-90-5487-517-8
  15. ↑ Charles d'Ydewalle, Albert and the Belgians: Portrait of a King, Translated from the French, by Phyllis Megroz, London, 1935, p. 198 and the following pages.
  16. ↑ Vincent Dujardin, Mark van den Wijngaert, et al. Léopold III
  17. ↑ Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919 (2003) pp. 106, 272
  18. ↑ "The Belgian monarchy" (PDF). Belgium. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha". Scribd. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  20. ↑ William Mark Adams (2004). Against Extinction: The Story of Conservation. Earthscan. p. 5.
  21. ↑ NOTERMAN, Jacques (2004). Le roi tué. Brussels: Editions Jourdan le Clercq. ISBN 9782930359069.
  22. ↑ Raskin, Evrard (2005). Elisabeth Van België - Een ongewone koningin. Antwerp: Hautekiet. ISBN 905240822X.
  23. ↑ Van Ypersele, Laurence (2006). Le roi Albert: Histoire d'un mythe. Charleroi: Broché. ISBN 978-2804021764.
  24. ↑ Donaldson, Norman and Betty (1980). How Did They Die?. Greenwich House. ISBN 0-517-40302-1.
  25. ↑ New Historian, 24 July 2016, http://www.newhistorian.com/dna-tests-quash-king-albert-death-conspiracy-theory/6900/ Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "Koninklijke Crypte van Laken". Monarchie (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  27. 1 2 "Belgium commemorative euro coins – 2008". Euro Master – Online Euro Catalog. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  28. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine., Afghanistan, Ordre d'Ustar
  29. ↑ "Albanian Royal Family - Royal Decorations and Warrents". www.albanianroyalcourt.al.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha 1913 (1913) page 19
  31. ↑ "Toison Autrichienne (Austrian Fleece)" (in French), Chevaliers de la Toison D'or. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  32. ↑ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  33. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Bolivia, Ordre du Condor des Andes - Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  34. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Chile, Ordre Al Merito Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - World Medals Index, Chile: Order of Merit
  35. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Colombia, Ordre de Boyaca
  36. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Cuba, Ordre du Mérité "Carlos Manuel de Cespedes" Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  37. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Czechoslovakia, Ordre du Lion Blanc Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Croix de Guerre
  38. ↑ Jørgen Pedersen (2009). Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009 (in Danish). Syddansk Universitetsforlag. p. 463. ISBN 978-87-7674-434-2.
  39. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Ecuador, Ordre Al Merito Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - World Medals Index, Ecuador: National Order of Merit
  40. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Egypt, Ribbon bar Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  41. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Ethiopia, Ordre du Sceau de Salomon Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bar
  42. 1 2 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, France, Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Médaille militaire Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Croix de Guerre Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bars of the 3 orders
  43. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, France (Algeria), Scarabée vert de Tabelbala Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  44. 1 2 Nieuws Van Den Dag (Het) 02-10-1900
  45. ↑ Journal De Bruxelles 14-04-1910
  46. ↑ The Royal Tourist-Kalakaua's Letters Home from Tokyo to London. Publisher: Richard A. Greer. Date: March 10, 1881
  47. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Italy, Croix du Mérite de Guerre - Ribbon bar
  48. ↑ Handelsblad (Het) 09-10-1900
  49. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Japan, Ordre Suprême du Chrisanthème - Ribbon bar
  50. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Lithuania, Ordre de Vytis Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  51. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Luxembourg, Ordre du Lion de la Maison de Nassau Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  52. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Monaco, Ordre de Saint Charles Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  53. 1 2 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Morocco, Ordre Ouissam Alaouite Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. (Ribbon bar) - Ordre du Mérite Chérifien Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  54. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Netherlands, Ordre du Lion Néerlandais - Ribbon bar Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  55. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Norway, Ordre de Saint-Olaf Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  56. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Peru, Ribbon bar Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  57. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Poland, Ordre Militaire "Virtuti Militari" Archived 31 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bar
  58. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Portugal, Ordre des trois Ordres Militaires réunis du Christ, Saint-Benoît d'Aviz et de Saint-Jacques et de l'Epée Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  59. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Portugal, Ordre de la Tour et de l'Epée Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  60. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Persia, Ordre de la Couronne de Perse - Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  61. 1 2 3 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Romania, Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  62. 1 2 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Romania, Ordre Militaire de Michel le Brave - Croix du Mérite Aéronautique
  63. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Russian Empire, Ordre Militaire de Saint Georges Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  64. 1 2 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Serbia, Ordre de Karageorge avec Glaives Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Médaille d'Or pour le Bravoure
  65. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Spain, Ordre de Charles III - Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  66. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Sweden, Ordre des Séraphins Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bar
  67. ↑ "Knights of the Garter created during the reign of King George V (1910-1936)", Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage & Baronetage. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  68. 1 2 3 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, United Kingdom, Ordre Militaire du Bath Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - DFC - Méd. du Couronnement d'Édouard VII
  69. 1 2 Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, United Kingdom, Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  70. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, United States, Distinguished Service Medal Archived 5 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  71. ↑ Belgian Army Royal Museum, Decorations of King Albert I, Venezuela, Ordre du Buste du Libérateur Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. - Ribbon bar Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.

Further reading

  • Galet, Emile Joseph. Albert King of the Belgians in the Great War (1931), detailed memoir by the military advisor to the King; covers 1912 to the end of October 1914
  • Woodward, David. "King Albert in World War I" History Today (1975) 25#9 pp. 638–43
  • D'Ydewalle, Charles. "Albert King of the Belgians"(1935) Translated by Phyllis Megroz D'Ydewalle a journalist describes his book in the foreword.."This book is not a history, it is a sheaf of memories" The final chapter contains interviews with the people who discovered the king's body after his climbing accident
  • Catherine Barjansky. Portraits with Backgrounds.
  • Mary Elizabeth Thomas, "Anglo-Belgian Military Relations and the Congo Question, 1911–1913", Journal of Modern History, Vol. 25, No. 2 (June 1953), pp. 157–165.
  • Page, Walter Hines; Page, Arthur Wilson (January 1915). "The Well-Beloved King of The Belgians". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. XXIX: 280–288. Retrieved 2009-08-04.

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