Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden (17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was Queen consort of the Belgians as the wife of
King Leopold III. By birth she was a princess of the Sweden´s royal
House of Bernadotte. Her grandsons are King
Philippe of Belgium and
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Astrid was born at her parents´ home of
Arvfurstens Palats in
Stockholm on 17 November 1905, the third daughter of
Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland, and his wife
Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Her father was the younger brother of King
Gustav V of Sweden, and her mother was the sister of King
Christian X of Denmark and of King
Haakon VII of Norway.
As an eligible princess, Astrid was mentioned as a potential bride for a number of princes including the future Edward VIII of Great Britain and the future Olav V of Norway. Astrid´s successful suitor was Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium.
In September 1926, their engagement was announced. King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium invited the press to the royal palace in Brussels. "The Queen and I," declared Albert, "would like to announce to you the impending marriage between Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant and the Princess Astrid of Sweden. We are convinced that the princess will bring joy and happiness to our son. Leopold and Astrid have decided to join their lives without any pressures or reasons of state. Theirs is a true union among people with the same inclinations." Queen Elisabeth, incorrigible romantic that she was, insisted in saying "It is a marriage of love... tell it to our people. Nothing was arranged. Not a single political consideration prevailed in our son´s decision."
In Stockholm on 4 November 1926 civilly and in Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels on 10 November religiously, Princess Astrid married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, the son of King Albert I of Belgium and his wife, Queen Elisabeth, born Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria. The couple travelled separately to Antwerp after their civil marriage, to be reunited in Belgium.
For the religious marriage, the couple were attended by a large wedding party of young friends and relatives: Princess Feodora of Denmark, Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium, Princess Martha of Sweden, Princess Ingrid of Sweden, Alfhild Ekelund, Prince Carl of Sweden, Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden, Crown Prince Olav of Norway, Margareta Stähl, Count Claes Sparre, Anna Adelswärd, Prince Charles of Belgium, Count Folke Bernadotte, Baron Sigvard Beck-Friis, Anne Marie von Essen, and Baron Carl Strömfelt. [1]
Princess Astrid was given a tiara as a wedding gift from the Belgian government, created by Belgian jeweler Van Bever, the original version of the diadem is a flexible diamond bandeau in a stylized Greek key motif topped with 11 large diamonds on spikes. These large stones, totaling around 100 carats on their own, symbolize the nine provinces of Belgium and the (now former) Belgian colony of the Congo. She later added a set of diamond arches to enclose each of the 11 independent stones. After Astrid’s death the tiara was in the possession of King Leopold, and his second wife Princess Lilian wore parts of the tiara but not the full gem (Lilian never held the title of Queen). Leopold abdicated the throne in favor of his son Baudouin; when Baudouin married, Leopold gave the tiara to the new queen. Fabiola, Belgium’s first queen since Astrid, wore it on her wedding day. She handed the jewel over after Baudouin’s death and it is now worn by Queen Paola.
Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra (Stockholm, 17 november 1905 – Küssnacht am Rigi, 29 augustus 1935), hertogin van Brabant, prinses van België, prinses van Zweden, vrouw van Koning Leopold III, was de vierde Koningin der Belgen en de moeder van prinses (latere groothertogin) Josephine-Charlotte, Koning Boudewijn en Koning Albert II.
Prinses Astrid was de dochter van prins Karel van Zweden (1861-1951) en prinses Ingeborg van Denemarken. Haar zus Märtha van Zweden was kroonprinses van Noorwegen en de moeder van de huidige koning Harald V van Noorwegen. Haar oom was koning Christiaan X van Denemarken en haar grootvader was koning Oscar II van Zweden. Via haar moeder bestaat er ook een verwantschap met de Nederlandse dynastie.
Toen ze zich verloofde met de katholieke prins Leopold, zoon van koning Albert van België, verliet ze haar geboorteland.
Astrid Sophie Louise Thyra Bernadotte, princesse de Suède, née le 17 novembre 1905 à Stockholm et décédée dans un accident de voiture le 29 août 1935 à Küssnacht am Rigi (Suisse), est la quatrième reine des Belges, du 23 février 1934 jusqu’à sa mort.
Née à Stockholm le 17 novembre 1905, seconde fille du prince Carl de Suède et de la princesse Ingeborg de Danemark, nièce du roi Gustave V de Suède, sœur de la princesse royale Martha de Norvège, elle épouse, le 10 novembre 1926, Léopold, prince de Belgique et duc de Brabant, le futur Léopold III.
De cette union naîtront :
À la suite de la mort tragique du roi Albert Ier, le 17 février 1934, Léopold, sous le nom de Léopold III, et Astrid deviennent roi et reine des Belges.
Préoccupée par les questions sociales, elle organise en 1935, au palais royal de Bruxelles, une grande collecte de vêtements et de vivres.
L´accident de voiture qui causa le décès d´Astrid1,2, survenu le 29 août 1935 à Küssnacht am Rigi, en Suisse, cause une grande émotion en Belgique (émotion d´autant plus vive que des clichés pris de l´accident et de la mise en bière de la reine sont publiés dans la presse3) et en Europe, où son souvenir demeure jusqu´à aujourd´hui.
Elle est inhumée, comme tous les rois et reines de Belgique, dans la crypte royale de l´église Notre-Dame de Laeken, à Bruxelles.
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