Person    | Male  Born 9/4/1835  Died 17/12/1909

King Leopold II of the Belgians

Categories: Royalty

Countries: Belgium

Son of King Leopold I. King of the Belgians 1865 -1909. Leopold's cruel exploitation of the Congo was carried out in his name and under his instruction. The Queen Mary College students, succinctly, described him as a "genocidal colonialist".

It seems nobody can find anything nice to say about Leopold II. A society lady is quoted as describing the marriage of Leopold to Maria Henrietta as being "like the marriage of a stable-boy to a nun", and by "nun" she was not referring to the wife. It is said that, on a visit to London, the couple sought sex advice from Leopold's cousin Prince Albert and his wife Queen Victoria, who, we understand, were well-versed in conjugal happiness.

You can find more memorials to this much reviled royal at our Brussels website.

June 2020: Responding to the Black Lives Matter protests authorities in Antwerp took down a statue of King Leopold II and placed it in a museum.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
King Leopold II of the Belgians

Creations i

King Leopold II of Belgium

Foundation stone of this library was laid by His Majesty Leopold II King of t...

Read More

Other Subjects

King Charles II

King Charles II

Reigned: 1660 - 1685. Born at St James's Palace. The son of the beheaded Charles I, he was the king "restored" to the throne after the civil war. Married Catherine of Braganza in 1662 but she prod...

Person, Race Issues, Royalty, Seriously Famous

19 memorials
Abba Thulle

Abba Thulle

Ruler of Coorooraa in the Pelew Islands (Modern day Palau). His title is variously given as Ibidul, King or Rurack. He and his people came to the assistance of Captain Henry Wilson when his ship wa...

Person, Royalty

1 memorial
Coronation of King George VI

Coronation of King George VI

George VI's coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended for the coronation of his brother King Edward VIII who had abdicated on 10 December 1936.

Event, Royalty, Tourism / Traditions

2 memorials
Eltham Palace

Eltham Palace

First mentioned in the Domesday Book, but the origins of this Palace are probably much earlier. It was given to Edward II in 1305, and was a royal residence until the 16th century. In 1933 the leas...

Building, Property, Royalty

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Battersea Society

Battersea Society

As so often happens, this group was formed to campaign against the proposed demolition of something, in this case Albert Bridge. Thankfully their campaign was successful and they have gone on to si...

Group, Community / Clubs, History

4 memorials