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. His godparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Donna Luisa Ruffo di Calabria.
Biography
He was educated at the Belgian Royal Military School, from 1978 to 1981 he continued his education 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.
After this he was appointed as a Second Lieutenant in 1980, the Prince obtained his fighter pilot's wings and his certificates as a parachutist and a commando. In 1989, the Prince attended a series of special sessions at the Royal Higher Defence Institute. The same year, he was promoted to Colonel. On 25 March 2001, the Prince was appointed as Major-General and Rear-Admiral.
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 will become the first Belgian-born Queen Consort.
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".
See also
