Princess Léa of Belgium

Princess Léa
Léa of Belgium in Charleroi on June 13, 2015
Born (1951-12-02) 2 December 1951
Brussels, Belgium
Spouse
  • Serge Victorovich Spetschinsky
    (m. 1975; div. 1980)
  • Paul Robert Bichara
    (m. 1983; div. 1987)
  • Prince Alexandre of Belgium
    (m. 1991; d. 2009)
Issue
  • Laetitia Spetschinsky
  • Renaud Bichara
Full name
Léa Inga Dora Wolman
House House of Wetting (for marriage)
Father Sigismund Wolman
Mother Lisa Bornstein
Styles of
Princess Léa of Belgium
Reference style Her Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Madame

Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman in Brussels, Belgium, on 2 December 1951) is the widow of Prince Alexandre of Belgium. She is the aunt of King Philippe of Belgium.

Early life and family

Princess Léa was born on 2 December 1951, the daughter of Sigismund Wolman (b. 12 July 1906, Warsaw)[1], merchant in Brussels[1], and Lisa Bornstein (born in Germany).

Marriages and issue

She married Serge Victorovich Spetschinsky on 27 May 1975 in Brussels (son of Victor Sergeyevich Spetschinsky, President of the Russian Nobility Association in Belgium and Elena Dmitrievna Guebel), from whom she was divorced on 28 March 1980. They had a daughter, Laetitia Spetschinsky (born in 1976), who is now married to HE Didier Nagant de Deuxchaisnes, Ambassador of Belgium to Ethiopia, and mother of two sons (Charles-Albert (b. 2009) and Alexandre (b. 2013)) and a daughter (Louise (b. 2010)).

On 23 July 1983 Léa married Paul Robert Bichara in Uccle, and they had a son, Renaud Bichara, on 1 September 1983.[2]

After her second divorce on 25 August 1987, she wed Prince Alexander, in Debenham, Suffolk, on 14 March 1991. They had been introduced in 1986 by former defence minister Léon Mundeleer. Alexander asked her to accompany him to the cinema. She vacillated initially, but they began to enjoy dining out together, Alexander being a gourmand, according to his future wife.[3]

The couple had no children together, and the marriage was kept secret until 1998, as reportedly the prince feared his mother would disapprove.[3] Alexander's marriage contravened Article 85 of the Belgian constitution, which deprived of the right of succession to the throne any descendant of King Leopold I who marries without the sovereign's permission.[4]

In 2008 she published a book of photographs from the life of her husband and his family, titled Le Prince Alexandre de Belgique, because she felt that he was too little-known in Belgium.[3]

Notes

  1. 1 2 (in French) and (in Dutch) Commission Des Naturalisations - Chambre des Représentants - Session 1959·1960 (23 Février 1960) / Commissie Voor De Naturalisaties - Kamer der Volksvertegenwoordigers - Zitting 1959.1960 (23 Februari 1960).
  2. ↑ Geneanet
  3. 1 2 3 Séguy, Philippe (29 April 2008). "Léa de Belgique: Il faut en finir avec le malheur". Point de Vue (in French): 18–21.
  4. ↑ Velde, François. "The Belgian Succession". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 6 May 2008.

Sources

  • Royal House of Belgium
  • "Monarchies of Europe". Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
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