The death of Prince Alexandre of Belgium

these images are from the Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

Prince Alexandre of Belgium died today at his home at Rhode-Saint-Genèse near Brussels. He was 67 years old. The cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. The prince had suffered from heart disease for nearly his entire life.

Prince Alexandre was born at Laeken on July 18, 1942, the first of three children of King Leopold III and his second wife, Lilian, the Princess de Rethy.

Alexandre was the younger half brother of King Albert II of the Belgians, and the late King Baudouin and the late Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg, who was his godmother.

In 1944, King Leopold and his family, who were under house arrest by the Germans, were transferred to Germany and then Austria, where they remained under house arrest until freed by the US Army a year later. The Belgian royal family was unable to return to Belgium until 1950 when the monarchy question was solved. In the interim, the family was in exile in Switzerland.

Belgian citizens voted to retain the monarchy and Leopold returned in 1950, but with the country on the brink of a civil war, Leopold abdicated in July 1951 in favor of his eldest son, Baudouin.

Thus, Leopold III, who retained his title, and his second family, lived a largely private life at Laeken.

Prince Alexandre, and his two younger sisters, Marie-Christine, (who was born in 1951), and Princess Maria-Esmeralda, born in 1957, were not Belgian dynasts, although they had the title Prince or Princess of Belgium, and the rank of Royal Highness.

In other words: royal without portfolio. Alexandre and his younger sisters did not have close relationships with their elder half-siblings.

In 1957, Prince Alexandre was brought to Boston to undergo heart surgery. He had plans to study medicine but decided instead on a career in business.

He studied at Belgium's Royal Military School, and he received a degree from the Catholic University in Louvain.

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On March 14, 1991, Prince Alexandre married Lea Inga Dora Wolman, a twice-divorced woman. The marriage, a civil ceremony in Debenham, Suffolk, was kept secret until 1998, as Prince Alexandre did not think that his mother, Lilian, would have approved of his marriage.

Princess Alexandre gave an interview to Point de Vue in 2008, where she discussed her husband's relationship with the royal family. She said that "...the children of the second marriage of King Leopold -- Prince Alexandre, the Princesses Maria Esmeralda and Marie-Christine -- have been raised in a certain manner: Prince and Princesses of Belgium, accorded the style of Royal Highness, yet excluded from the succession to the throne."

She also noted that her husband waited "to assume some official responsibilities." Although Prince and Princess Alexandre were included in the Royal Family's public appearances, the prince was never asked to take on royal duties.

Prince Alexandre is survived by his widow, Lea, his half-brother, King Albert, his sisters, Marie-Christine and Maria-Esmeralda, and two stepchildren.

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The funeral will take place on December 4 at the church of Notre Dame in Laeken, the Palace announced on Monday. The King and Queen will attend, according to the official announcement. Queen Fabiola, the Duke and Duchess of Brabant, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz and Prince Laurent and Princess Claire will also attend the funeral. Prince Alexandre will be interned in a chapel adjacent to the Royal Chapel at Laeken.