Philippe of Belgium in the context of Leopold II of the Belgians

Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.

Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leopold I and Queen Louise, Leopold succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death, the longest reign of a Belgian monarch to date. He died without surviving legitimate sons; the current king of the Belgians, Philippe, descends from his nephew and successor, Albert I. He is popularly referred to as the Builder King in Belgium in reference to the great number of buildings, urban projects and public works he commissioned.

The monarchy of Belgium is the constitutional and hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/queen of the Belgians and serves as the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian Armed Forces.

There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830. The incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father Albert II.

Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (11 October 1927 – 10 January 2005) was the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Jean. She was the first child of King Leopold III of Belgium, and sister of the late King Baudouin and former King Albert II and aunt of King Philippe. She was also the maternal first cousin of King Harald V of Norway, maternal second cousin of former Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and a paternal third cousin of late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Albert II (born 6 June 1934) is a member of the Belgian royal family who reigned as King of the Belgians from 1993 until his abdication in 2013.

Albert II is the son of King Leopold III and the last living child of Queen Astrid, born a princess of Sweden. He is the younger brother of the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and King Baudouin, whom he succeeded following Baudouin's death in 1993. He married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (now Queen Paola), with whom he had three children. Albert's eldest son, Philippe, is the current King of the Belgians.

Bart Albert Liliane De Wever (Dutch: [ˈbɑrt də ˈʋeːvər]; born 21 December 1970) is a Belgian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Belgium since February 2025. From 2004 to 2025, De Wever had been the leader of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a political party advocating for the transformation of Belgium into a confederal state. From January 2013 to February 2025, he was Mayor of Antwerp, following the 2012 municipal elections.

De Wever presided over his party's victory in the 2010 federal elections when N-VA became the largest party in both Flanders and in Belgium as a whole. He accomplished this again in the subsequent three elections, eventually being tasked with forming a new government by King Philippe following the 2024 elections.

Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (pronounced [matild dyd(ə)kɛm dakɔ]; born 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen, and has four children. She formerly worked as a speech therapist. She is involved with a range of organisations which address social issues including education, child poverty, intergenerational poverty, the position of women in society and literacy.