Duchess of Brabant (by marriage)
The Duchess of Brabant refers to a woman married to the Duke of Brabant. But this was only as of 1840 when it was revived as an honorific title for the Crown Prince of the newly created Kingdom of Belgium. There have been only three royal duchesses. Historically the title went back 657 years before Belgium, and had been always associated with the wives of sovereign Dukes of Brabant, who were alive in their husband's reign. In the Duchy's 611 years of existence, it only saw three Duchesses who reigned by their own right and three Dukes who rule by the virtue of their wives: Joanna, Mary the Rich, Mary II; and their husbands Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, Maximilian of Austria, Francis of Lorraine. All these Dukes were reigning monarchs and not consorts. Also there were the two Co-sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands Isabella and Albert. Before the elevation to a Duchy, Brabant was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. After the death on 20 September 1085 of Hermann II, count palatine of Lotharingia, Henry III of Leuven became landgrave of Brabant, which was an imperial fief between the Dender and the Zenne and his wife, Getrude of Flanders, became Landgravine. Elevated to a Duchy by Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lotharingia. Formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later Dukes of Brabant as an honorific title. In 1288, the Duchess of Brabant became also Duchess of Limburg. The title fell to the Duchess of Burgundy in 1430. Later on, it followed with the Burgundian inheritance through the Habsburg dynasty until 1794. After the 15th century the title became one of the many appanages associated with the Queen consorts of Spain and later the Holy Roman Empresses. Queen Sofía of Spain and also the late Crown Princess Regina of Austria also has claims to the title.
Landgravine of Brabant
| Picture | Name | Father | Birth | Marriage | Became Landgravine | Cease to be Landgravine | Death | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Blason Comte-de-Flandre.svg | Gertrude of Flanders | Robert I, Count of Flanders (Flanders) |
1080 | – | 20 September 1085 husband's ascension |
July 1095 husband's death |
1117 | Henry III of Leuven |
| File:Coat of arms of Brabant.svg | Ida of Chiny | Otto II, Count of Chiny (Chiny) |
1078 | 1105 | 1117 | Godfrey I of Leuven | ||
| File:Blason Bourgogne-comté ancien(aigle).svg | Clementia of Burgundy | William I, Count of Burgundy (Ivrea) |
1078 | 1125 | 1133 | |||
| File:Austria coat of arms simple.svg | Luitgarde of Sulzbach | Berengar I, Count of Sulzbach (Babenberg) |
1109 | 1139 | 13 June 1142 husband's death |
after 1163 | Godfrey II of Leuven | |
| File:Limburg New Arms.svg | Margaret of Limburg | Henry II, Duke of Limburg (Ardennes) |
1135 | 1155/8 | 1172 | Godfrey III of Leuven | ||
| File:Loon Arms.svg | Imagina of Loon | Louis I, Count of Loon (Loon) |
– | 1180 | 21 August 1190 husband's death |
5 June 1214 | ||
.svg){kind=link}
Duchess of Brabant
House of Leuven, 1183–1406
.svg){kind=link}
House of Valois, 1406–1482
| Picture | Name | Father | Birth | Marriage | Became Duchess | Cease to be Duchess | Death | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanne of Saint Pol | Waleran III of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny and Saint Pol (Luxembourg) |
1380/85 | 21 February 1402 | 1 November 1406 husband's ascession |
12 August 1407 | Anthony | ||
| File:Armoiries Luxembourg-Goerlitz.svg | Elisabeth, Duchess of Luxembourg | John of Görlitz (Luxembourg) |
November 1390 | 16 July 1409 | 25 October 1415 husband's death |
3 August 1451 | ||
| File:Jakobaa.jpg | Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut | William II, Duke of Bavaria (Wittelsbach) |
16 August 1401 | 18 April 1418 | 7 March 1422 obtained papal divorce |
8 October 1436 | John IV | |
| – | Margaret | ? | ? | ? | 17 April 1427 husband's accession |
14 August 1430 husband's death |
? | Philip I |
| File:Rogier van der Weyden (workshop of) - Portrait of Isabella of Portugal.jpg | Isabella of Portugal | John I of Portugal (Aviz) |
21 February 1397 | 7 January 1430 | 15 July 1467 husband's death |
17 December 1471 | Philip II | |
| File:Margaret of York.jpg | Margaret of York | Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (York) |
3 May 1446 | 9 July 1468 | 5 January 1477 husband's death |
23 November 1503 | Charles I | |
_-_Portrait_of_Isabella_of_Portugal.jpg){kind=link}
House of Habsburg, 1482–1700
House of Bourbon, 1700–1706
| Picture | Name | Father | Born | Married | Became Duchess | Ceased to be Duchess | Death | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Anonymous portrait of Maria Luisa of Savoy (1688-1714, future Queen of Spain).jpg | Maria Luisa of Savoy | Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (Savoy) |
17 September 1688 | 2 November 1701 | c. 1706 Duchy ceded to Austria |
14 February 1714 | Philip VI | |
.jpg){kind=link}
House of Habsburg, 1706–1780
| Picture | Name | Father | Born | Married | Became Duchess | Ceased to be Duchess | Died | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig Wolfenbuettel.jpg | Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Welf) |
28 August 1691 | 1 August 1708 | 20 October 1740 husband's death |
21 December 1750 | Charles IV | |
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1780–1794
| Picture | Name | Father | Born | Married | Became Duchess | Ceased to be Duchess | Death | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Joseph Grassi 001.jpg | Maria Louisa of Spain | Charles III of Spain (Bourbon) |
24 November 1745 | 5 August 1765 | 20 February 1790 husband's ascession |
1 March 1792 husband's death |
15 May 1792 | Leopold |
| File:Maria Teresa di Borbone-Napoli.jpg | Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily | Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (Bourbon-Two Sicilies) |
6 June 1772 | 15 September 1790 | 1 March 1792 husband's ascession |
1794 | 13 April 1807 | Francis |
Royal Duchesses of Brabant
| Picture | Name | House | Birth | Marriage | Became Duchess | Cease to be Duchess | Death | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Maria Hendrika of Belgium, Buste.jpg | Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria | Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary (Habsburg-Lorraine) |
23 August 1836 | 22 August 1853 | 6 December 1813 became queen |
19 September 1902 | Prince Leopold Louis | |
| File:Crown princess Astrid 1926.jpg | Princess Astrid of Sweden | Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (Bernadotte) |
17 November 1905 | 4 November 1926 | 17 February 1934 became queen |
29 August 1935 | Prince Leopold Philippe | |
| File:Belgian Queen Mathilde.jpg | Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz | Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (d'Udekem d'Acoz) |
20 January 1973 | 4 December 1999 | 21 July 2013 became queen |
– | Prince Philippe Leopold | |
