Because he and his wife, Queen Fabiola, had no children, at Baudouin's death the crown passed to his younger brother, King Albert II.

Baudouin, his elder sister Princess Josephine-Charlotte and his younger brother Prince Albert, were immediately sent to France for safety and then to Spain.

[7] The Belgian Army, assisted by the French and British, conducted a defensive campaign lasting 18 days, but Leopold, who had taken personal command, surrendered unconditionally on 28 May.

[9] Immediately following the Normandy landings in June 1944, the king, his new wife Princess Lilian, and the royal children, were deported to Hirschstein in Germany and then to Strobl in Austria from where they were released in May 1945 by the United States 106th Cavalry Regiment.

[10] Until a political solution could be found, the king's brother, Prince Charles, became regent and the royal family lived at the Château du Reposoir in Pregny-Chambésy, Switzerland.

[12] During the Congolese declaration of independence, Baudouin delivered a highly contested speech in which he celebrated the acts of the first Belgian owner of the Congo, King Leopold II, whom he described as "a genius".

At the same event, the first democratically elected prime minister of Congo, Patrice Lumumba, gave a blistering response with a speech that was highly critical of the Belgian regime.

King Baudouin strengthened his relationships with the Katangese politician Moise Tshombé, whom he made a Knight in the Belgian Order of Leopold.

In early December 1960, Lumumba and two colleagues, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, who had planned to assist him in setting up a new government, were imprisoned in military barracks located about 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Leopoldville.

Lumumba registered his objections, writing directly to Indian and U.N. diplomat Rajeshwar Dayal, "in a word, we are living amid absolutely impossible conditions; moreover, they are against the law".

[14] In 2001, a parliamentary investigation set up by the Belgian government concluded that King Baudouin, amongst others, was informed of the assassination scheme developed by Sese Seko and Tshombé.

[16] In 1976, on the occasion of his silver jubilee, the King Baudouin Foundation was formed, with the aim of improving the living conditions of the Belgian people.

Through the influence of Cardinal Leo Suenens, Baudouin participated in the growing Catholic Charismatic Renewal and regularly went on pilgrimages to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paray-le-Monial.

This was unprecedented; although Baudouin was de jure Belgium's chief executive, royal assent has long been a formality (as is the case in most constitutional and popular monarchies).

However, due to his religious convictions—the Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion—Baudouin asked the government to declare him temporarily unable to reign so that he could avoid signing the measure into law.