Forty-eight years after Charlotte’s passing, Leopold died at Laeken on 10th December 1865. Let me quote the description of his last moments as quoted in ‘Charlotte&Leopold’ by James Chambers.
Knowing that he was dying, he asked that his body be taken to England and buried in Windsor with his first wife and their son. He even wrote to Victoria, who agreed to it. His ministers, however, would not allow it. He was the King of the Belgians. He must be buried among his people. But they could only control his earthly remains. Gathered around the bed in accordance with tradition to witness the last moments of their king, they must have known that his heart and mind were in England, when they heard him whisper as life left him, ‘Charlotte… Charlotte.’
Picture: Portrait of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, Nicaise de Keyser, 1856, Antwerp City Hall
How sweet and terribly sad. Poor Leopold.