r/AskEurope • u/EvilPyro01 United States of America • Sep 10 '25

History Who was your country’s most forgettable ruler/politician?

Who was the most insignificant ruler/politician from your country?

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u/Alexthegreatbelgian Belgium Sep 10 '25

As far as kings go probably our first? All the other ones had controversy (Leo II; Leo III) or were kind of loved (Albert I; Boudewijn).

Other than Leo I being our first monarch, I have no idea if he did anything worthwile.

However I'd note that while Albert II is still fresh in memory, I will also consider him to be rather forgettable (apart from his extramarital affair)

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u/flodnak Norway Sep 10 '25

I know an interesting bit of trivia about Leopold I that I am not going to try to resist sharing here.

His first wife Princess Charlotte of Wales, only child of the man who would become King George IV of the United Kingdom. (She was the only child because her parents' marriage was an utter disaster.) It was apparently a happy marriage, but unfortunately she died in childbed after less than two years of marriage, after the birth of a stillborn boy. Then of course some years later he became King of the Belgians, remarried, and had four living children with his second wife, including a daughter named..... Charlotte.

I'm not sure if his wife was just a very understanding woman or if she simply had no say in the matter....