Louise of Orléans (Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle; 3 April 1812 – 11 October 1850) was the first Queen of the Belgians as the second wife of King Leopold I from their marriage on 9 August 1832 until her death in 1850.

She was the second child and eldest daughter of the French king Louis Philippe I and his wife, Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies.

As a child, she had a religious and bourgeoisie education thanks to the part played by her mother and her aunt, Princess Adélaïde of Orléans, to whom she was very close.

On 9 August 1832, the twenty-year-old Louise married King Leopold I of the Belgians, who was twenty-two years her senior, at the Compiègne Palace.

[citation needed] The marriage had been suggested already when Leopold was considered for the throne of Greece, and was repeated when he was elected king of the Belgians instead of Louise's brother the duke of Nemours.

The marriage created an alliance between two newly elected and less established monarchs, her father and spouse, and was thus seen as suitable.

Described as a devoted wife and loving mother, she was of a shy nature, and as her husband preferred that she live a quiet family life, she was not given much opportunity to overcome her shyness.

She was devoted to the upbringing of her children, and it was noted that she entertained Leopold by reading for him from Stendhal, Chateaubriand, Byron, and Shakespeare.

Queen Louise was rarely seen in public and her life centered around the supervision of her children's upbringing, correspondence with her birth family in France, and religious devotion with her private confessor Pierre de Coninck, with whom she had a close relationship.

[1] King Leopold did in fact, with time, ask for her opinions in state affairs, and she is known to have given him advice in diplomatic issues.

[2] Eventually, the king's confidence in her ability grew to an extent that he suggested to the government that Queen Louise should be made official regent when he was absent from the country.