From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the daughter of Philippe and Mathilde, see Princess Elisabeth of Belgium

For the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, born Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, see Elisabeth of Bavaria

For other people called Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, see Elisabeth von Wittelsbach (disambiguation)

Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria
Queen of the Belgians
engagement photograph of Albert and Elisabeth
Titles	HM Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians (1934–1965) HM The Queen of the Belgians (1909–1934) HRH Princess Albert of Belgium (1900–1909) HRH Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (1876–1900)
Born	July 25, 1876(1876-07-25)
	Possenhofen, Bavaria
Died	November 23, 1965 (aged 89)
	Brussels
Consort	17 December 1909 – 17 February 1934
Consort to	Albert I
Issue	Léopold, Charles, Marie-José
Royal House	House of Wittelsbach
Father	Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria
Mother	Maria Josepha of Portugal

Elisabeth, Queen of the Belgians (born Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie, Duchess in Bavaria) (July 25, 1876 – November 23, 1965), was the queen consort of Albert I of Belgium and was the mother of Leopold III of Belgium.

Her father was Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, an ophthalmologist of recognized reputation. She was named in honor of her father's sister, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, better known as Sissi. Her mother was Maria Josepha of Portugal, daughter of exiled Miguel I of Portugal.
Through her mother's sisters, Elisabeth was related to many royal families :

• her aunt, Marie Anne of Portugal, was married to William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
• her aunt, Maria of Portugal, was the third wife of Archduke Charles Louis of Austria and stepmother of Charles I of Austria,
• her aunt, Maria Antonia of Portugal, was the second wife of Robert I, Duke of Parma and mother of Zita of Bourbon-Parma, wife of Charles I of Austria.

An artist himself, Duke Karl-Theodor cultivated the artistic tastes of his family, and Elisabeth was raised with a deep love for painting, music and sculpture. At her father's clinic, Elisabeth learned to cope with human suffering.

At the time that Albert and Elisabeth met, Prince Albert was the heir to his uncle Leopold II of the Belgians. Albert was the second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a sister of King Carol I of Romania.
At birth, Albert occupied the third place in the line of succession behind his father and elder brother, Prince Baudouin. The unexpected death of Baudouin in January of 1891 immediately raised Albert to prominence within his country. A studious, quiet man, Albert was not the choice of heir that King Leopold II would have relished. As the only male member of his generation, Albert was guaranteed the crown of the Belgians upon the king's death. Albert had two sisters who survived into adulthood, Princess Henriette who married Prince Emmanuel of Orléans, and Princess Josephine who married her cousin, Prince Karl-Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, brother of King Ferdinand I of Romania.

In 1900, she married Prince Albert, second-in-line to the throne of Belgium (after his father Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders). Upon her husband's accession to the Belgian throne in 1909, Elizabeth became Queen. During the First World War, she and the King resided in De Panne. The Queen made herself beloved by visiting the frontlines and by sponsoring a nursing unit. Despite her German background, she was a popular queen and she eagerly supported her adoptive country. In 1934, Albert I died in a climbing accident at Marche-les-Dames, in the Ardennes region of Belgium, near Namur.

In her later years, she became a patron of the arts and was known for her friendship with notable scientists like Albert Einstein. During the German occupation of Belgium from 1940 to 1944, she used her German connections and influence to assist in the rescue of hundreds of Jewish children from deportation by the Nazis. After the war she was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli government. During the 1950s, the Queen aggravated the Americans by visiting Russia, China and Poland, trips that led her to being known as the "Red Queen."

Queen Elisabeth died at the age of 89 on November 23, 1965. She is interred in the Royal vault at the Church of Our Lady, Laeken Cemetery, Brussels.

• Léopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubertus Marie Miguel, Duke of Brabant, Prince of Belgium, who became later the fourth king of the Belgians (as Leopold III), born November 3, 1901, and died at Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on September 25, 1983.

• Charles-Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad, Count of Flanders, Prince of Belgium, Regent of Belgium, born Brussels October 10, 1903, and died at Ostend on June 1, 1983.

• Marie-José Charlotte Sophie Amélie Henriette Gabrielle, Princess of Belgium, born Ostend August 4, 1906. She was married at Rome, Italy, on January 8, 1930 to Prince Umberto Nicola Tomasso Giovanni Maria, Prince of Piedmont, born on September 15, 1904, and died on March 18, 1983, at Geneva, Switzerland. He became King Umberto II of Italy on May 9, 1946. Marie-José died January 27, 2001.

• Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
• Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation