King Leopold I, the first king of Belgium, died near Brussels aged seventy-four. A prince of the German House of Saxe-Coburg, he had been offered the throne in 1830 after the successful revolution against Dutch rule and the European powers' guarantee of an independent Belgium. He had earlier been married to George IV of Britain's daughter, Charlotte, whose death in childbirth resulted in Victoria eventually becoming Queen. Leopold's son succeeded him, taking the name Leopold II. (By John Osborne)