Astrid of Sweden

Princess Astrid of Sweden (November 17, 1905 - August 29, 1935) was the third daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, and Duke of Västergötland, and his wife Ingeborg Charlotte Caroline Friederike Louise, Princess of Denmark, daughter of King Frederick VIII of Denmark.

On November 4, 1926, she married Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, and became Queen of the Belgians when her father-in-law King Albert I of the Belgians died in 1934.

They had three children:

• Joséphine-Charlotte, (born October 11, 1927), who married Jean d'Aviano, Grand Duke of Luxembourg[?]

• King Baudouin I of Belgium

• King Albert II of Belgium

Swedish Royalty was far less formal than those of middle Europe and at Stuyvenberg[?], not far away from the King’s Laeken Palace, Astrid tried to live as ordinary a life as possible, taking care of her children. Criticized by the elite for her lack of protocol, but loved by the masses, she would often stroll along the Avenue Louise with her children. He conduct, and her tragic young death, made her the most popular Queen in the history of Belgium.

On August 29, 1935, while she and her husband were driving along the winding, narrow roads near their villa at Küssnacht am Rigi[?], Schwyz, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lucerne, Leopold lost control of the vehicle and the car plunged down a ravine, killing Queen Astrid.

She is interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Belgium.