Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1790-1865

Photograph of a half-length portrait of King Leopold I (1790-1865), seated, facing left, his face captured in profile. He wears a uniform with insignia and a medal bar. His right thumb is tucked into his jacket.

King Leopold I, born a Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and elected King of the Belgians in 1831, was the uncle and mentor of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His first wife had been Princess Charlotte, the only daughter of King George IV, who, had she lived, would have been Queen of England. He might thus have held the same position in England that his nephew, Prince Albert, later occupied as the husband of Queen Victoria.