Prince Alexandre of Belgium

Prince Alexandre of Belgium, who died on 29 November aged 67, was the eldest child from the second marriage of King Leopold III, to Lilian, Princess of Réthy, and was the half-brother of the present king, Albert III.

In March 1991 in Debenham, Suffolk, Alexandre married Léa Inga Dora Wolman, who had been twice divorced. The marriage was kept secret until 1998 because the Prince feared that his mother would disapprove.

The marriage contravened Article 85 of the Belgian constitution, which deprived of the right of succession to the Throne any descendant of King Leopold I who marries without the sovereign's permission, and there had been much friction within the Belgian royal family, with Alexandre excluded from official duties. In an interview last year his wife said, "Alexandre received a very solid intellectual education... He waited to assume some official responsibilities. They never came."