For Raoul: Vive le Roi!
July 21, 1831: Leopold I crowned first King of the Belgians.
In 1830 the people of Greece offered Leopold the Greek crown, but he declined. After Belgium asserted its independence from the Netherlands on October 4, 1830, the Belgian National Congress, after considering several other candidates, asked Leopold to become king of the newly formed country. He accepted and became "King of the Belgians" on June 26, 1831. He swore allegiance to the constitution in the Royal Palace in Brussels on July 21, 1831. This day became the Belgian national holiday.