Albert II of Belgium

Who is Albert II of Belgium?

Albert II reigned as King of the Belgians from 1993 until his abdication in 2013. He is a member of the royal house of Belgium; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He is the uncle of the current reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri.

On 3 July 2013, King Albert II attended a midday session of the Belgian cabinet. He then announced that on 21 July, he would abdicate the throne for health reasons. He was succeeded by his son Philippe on 21 July 2013. Albert II was the fourth monarch to abdicate in 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Emir Hamad bin Khalifa of Qatar. In doing so, he was also the second Belgian king to abdicate following his father, King Leopold III, who abdicated in 1951, albeit under very different circumstances.