A Throne in Brussels (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The royal houses of contemporary Belgium and Britain were founded by Leopold (1790-1865), a prince from Coburg, a sleepy town in the middle of Germany..." (more)
Key Phrases: Prime Minister, Crown Prince, Duke of Brabant (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An extremely well-written, penetrating historical analysis" -- Lord Ralph Harris

"If you read only one book on Belgium, make it this one." -- Daniel Hannan MEP

"Paul Belien writes with ease and erudition, and mounts an unanswerable case." -- Roger Scruton

"The Belgianisation of Europe is a real threat." -- Lord William Rees-Mogg

"This is a fascinating book after which I cannot but see the Belgian royal family in a completely new light." -- Hugo Vickers

Product Description

If Crown Princess Charlotte had not died in childbirth in 1817, she and her husband, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, would have succeeded to the British throne. But instead the great powers installed Leopold as king of Belgium — a new, artificial state inhabited by Catholic Dutch in the North, and French-speaking Walloons in the South. Belgium is sometimes compared to multilingual Switzerland, but whereas Switzerland grew organically, gradually creating a Swiss national consciousness, Belgium is an artificial state, in which two peoples were forced to live together and where no Belgian national consciousness developed. It could fall apart in the next ten years.

Paul Belien argues that the pan-European super-state currently in the making will resemble a ‘Greater-Belgium’ rather than a ‘Greater-Switzerland’, since Europe will also be an artificial construct. Belgium has infected EU political attitudes and acts as a model for the EU — a failed attempt to ‘construct a nation’ out of different peoples with separate languages and traditions. To learn what the EU as a single state might be like, take up this highly readable mix of history, analysis and warning. You'll never feel the same about Belgium again.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Imprint Academic (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184540033X
• ISBN-13: 978-1845400330
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,495,895 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unauthorized history of Belgium and its royals, June 8, 2005

By	Luc Van Braekel "lvb987" (Waregem, Belgium) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book comes in three layers: it is about the Belgian royal family of Saxe-Coburg, but also about Belgian political history and about European integration. The message that the author brings is that a federal Europe will go the same way as Belgium: a state without a real national identity, held together by opportunism, corruption and the cultivation of a non-identity. But don't expect a long philosophical treatise: this is a book packed with facts, anecdotes and stories about politics, about royal love stories and about royal business and financial ventures. The moral lesson is explained in the preface and in the last paragraphs of the book.

The author is a Eurosceptic and a proponent of the secession of Flanders from Belgium. But even if you are not a Eurosceptic nor a secessionist, you will find this unauthorized history of Belgium and its royals very interesting and amusing. You will learn from this book how a monarchy can sustain an artificial state and what the drawbacks and dangers of this type of government are.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First True History of Belgium, August 5, 2009

By	David Baeckelandt (Glenview, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is the most honest history of Belgium I have read. For once things that are taboo to the Belgian establishment - the role of Lafayette in the establishment of Belgium; the coup by radical refugees from France that established this artificial state; the scandals around King Leopold I of Belgium (and his successors); etc. - are finally exposed. This is history that reads like fiction. And it is the history necessary to understand the current issues between the Flemings and the Walloons. The pace is fast but the scholarly detective work (and thorough citations) also make this a ready reference tool. The title is a bit of a misnomer because in fact this is truly a revisionist history of Belgium.

7 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars buddys, September 9, 2007

By	sam "sam" (sam) - See all my reviews

why is luc van braekel writing reviews of his colleagues book...?
they work together at the brussels journal a very political organisation.
the book is more politics than history with a thinly veiled point.. belgium's failed experiment (country not yet broken up) is the future for eu attempts at statehood. though is the eu a state? some of the assertions made about politics in 19c belgium are a little simplistic so yes the royal family intrigue is laid on thick. its a polemic though not an appraisal and poor really.

from the brussels journal
Who We Are
Editor:
Paul Belien
Webmaster:
Luc Van Braekel
Writers:
Chresten Anderson, Copenhagen
Ernest Baert, London
Alexandra Colen, Brussels