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Kings of Spain: Marie

BELGIUM,

KING.-Leopold II., b. April 9, 1835; succeeded December 10, 1865; married August 22, 1853, Marie Henriette, daughter of the late Archduke Joseph of Austria, b. Aug. 22, 1836. Heir Presumptive-His brother Phillippe, Count of Flanders, b. March 24, 1837; married, April 25, 1867, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; has issue two sons and two daughters.

Considered in point of area Belgium is one of the smallest kingdoms in Europe, ranking 16th, while as to population it is 8th. It lies between France, Germany, Holland, or the Netherlands, and the North Sea, its lat. lines ranging from 49° 30' to 51° 30' N., and long. from 2° 32 to 6° 7' E. Taking its French boundary line as the base it may be looked upon as triangular in form, this, its longest side, being 384 m. in length, while its other boundaries are, towards Holland, 286 m.; Germany 59; Luxemburg, 80; and the North Sea, 41. Its greatest length from N.- W. to S.-E. (from Ostend to Arlon) is 174 m., and its greatest breadth, N. to S., 105 m., this latter measurement reaching from the N. boundary of Antwerp to the S. part of Hainaut. There are 9 provinces in the kingdom, as follows: Antwerp, Brabant, Flanders (E. and W.), Hainaut, Liége, Limbourg, Luxemburg, and Namur, the largest being Luxemburg, the smallest Limbourg, but, with the exception of the latter, they do not vary greatly in size. The area is 11,373 sq. m., the population at the latest census was 5,974,743.