The International Association of Amateur Heralds

Some more heraldry and heralds to watch out for next week : King Albert II of the Belgians is abdicating on 21 July, in favour of his son, Prince Philippe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23167525

This is a very restraint occation in Belgium there is no crown etc, the new King takes an oath in parliment (in three languages) and that is basicly it. As it is the national holiday of Belgium there could be some heraldry I guess.

I rather like that he is "King of the Belgians" rather than "King of Belgium" - I don't know why, but I just like it a bit better.

from wikipedia:
Belgium is the only current European monarchy that does not apply the tradition of the new monarch automatically ascending the throne upon the death or abdication of the former monarch. According to the Belgian constitution, the monarch accedes to the throne only upon taking a constitutional oath. The present king did not become monarch on 31 July 1993 (the day his brother died) but on 9 August 1993 when he took the constitutional oath. In all other European monarchies, the monarch assumes the title the moment the predecessor dies or abdicates. The Belgian constitutional oath is as follows: "I swear to observe the Constitution and the laws of the Belgian people, to maintain the national independence and the integrity of the territory.", which is taken in the three official languages: French, Dutch and German.

Ton de Witte wrote:there could be some heraldry I guess.

Are the King's arms the same as the nation's (below), or does he use a version of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha?

steven harris wrote:I rather like that he is "King of the Belgians" rather than "King of Belgium" - I don't know why, but I just like it a bit better.

Rather like Napoleon being Emperor of the French rather than Emperor of France. By the way, a similar title was used in Greece where the King was "King of the Hellenes", not "of Greece."

steven harris wrote:Are the King's arms the same as the nation's (below), or does he use a version of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha?

The former, although for royal use the shield is shown with supporters and helm and is placed against a manteau, and in "grand" form is adorned with banners of the arms of the Belgian provinces.



The medium (moyen) version of the royal arms is the same minus the banners issuing from the top of the manteau.

Similar to their British counterparts, the Belgian Royal Family severed their ties to Germany in response to World War I, although I am not sure if they were excluded from the succession to the Ducal crown of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

The New Queen and King of the Belgians Mathilde and Philippe(Filip to the Flemishspeaking Belgians).


Their martial Arms as Prince and Princesse.

I wonder what consequences King Philippe's accession will have for the Arms of his children, in particular, his sons?

GSelvester wrote:

steven harris wrote:I rather like that he is "King of the Belgians" rather than "King of Belgium" - I don't know why, but I just like it a bit better.

Rather like Napoleon being Emperor of the French rather than Emperor of France. By the way, a similar title was used in Greece where the King was "King of the Hellenes", not "of Greece."

The same was true for Romania, Bulgaria, and for a while Yugoslavia. Also the Emperor of Germany was formally &' German Emperor' rather than 'Emperor of Germany'.

Ryan Shuflin wrote:Similar to their British counterparts, the Belgian Royal Family severed their ties to Germany in response to World War I, although I am not sure if they were excluded from the succession to the Ducal crown of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

According to the 1915 House Law of the Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, dynasts who fought against the German Empire were excluded from Succession to the Ducal throne, which was abolished soon afterwards anyway. So that excluded the Belgian and British Royal families, but not the Bulgarian or the recently deposed Portuguese Royal families.