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'Astrid, Queen of the Belgians' (born Princess Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden) (November 17, 1905 - August 29, 1935) was the Queen consort of Léopold III of the Belgians.
Princess Astrid of Sweden was born on November 17, 1905. She was the youngest daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Astrid's paternal grandfather was King Oscar II of Sweden and her maternal grandfather was King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Astrid's sister, Princess Martha, married the future King Olav V of Norway. Her eldest sister, Princess Margaretha of Sweden married Prince Axel of Denmark, while her only brother Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland, married morganatically.
She married Léopold on November 4, 1926, and became 'Queen of the Belgians' when her father-in-law King Albert I died in 1934. They had three children:
# Princess Joséphine-Charlotte, later Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1927-2005)
# King Baudouin I of the Belgians (1930-1993)
# King Albert II of the Belgians (1934-)
Swedish royalty was far less formal than that of middle Europe and at Stuyvenberg, not far away from the King's Laeken Palace, Astrid tried to live as ordinary a life as possible, taking care of her children. Criticised by the elite for her lack of protocol, but loved by the masses, she would often stroll along the Avenue Louise with her children. Her conduct, and her tragic young death, made her the most popular Queen in the history of Belgium. The town of Astrida (now Butare) in Belgium's Ruanda-Urundi colony was named after Queen Astrid.
On August 29, 1935, while she and her husband were driving along the winding, narrow roads near their villa at Küssnacht am Rigi, Schwyz, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lucerne, Léopold lost control of the vehicle and the car plunged down a ravine, killing Queen Astrid and her unborn fourth child.
She is interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Belgium.

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Ancestry

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Ancestry

References

External links

★ Astrid of Sweden at Find-A-Grave