Albert II – King of the Belgians
Somewhat surprisingly, the home of such modern institutions as the European Union and NATO is in fact a federal monarchy, and for this reason, it is King Albert II of Belgium who here represents the Flemish and the Walloons, rather than their prime minister, Yves Leterme. Admittedly, the latter-day monarch has limited powers, but this one does have a lovely pink sash and under Belgian law he is exempt from any criminal responsibility. In fact, as Belgium is one of the few countries where voting is compulsory, King Albert’s inviolability means that he may be the only Belgian who is constitutionally allowed not to vote.
Many Royals of Western Europe are descended from the German House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Fearing anti-German sentiment, rather than to avoid being mistaken for an item of flat pack furniture, the British wing re-branded themselves The Windsors in 1917. The Belgians went for the simpler “of Belgium”.
And so, King Albert II (of Belgium, not a German), 2nd son of Leopold III and 1st cousin of King Harald of Norway joins our increasingly crowded throng of near-naked heads of state here, in his lovely sash.
