Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was invited to be the first king of what country in 1831 after it gained independence from the Dutch?
Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I (; German and ; 16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was a German prince who became the first King of the Belgians following the country's independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865. Born into the ruling family of the small German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Russian Army and fought against Napoleon after French troops overran Saxe-Coburg during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon's defeat, Leopold moved to the United Kingdom where he married Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was second in line to the
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Vienna, 31 January 1824 – Vienna, 20 May 1884) was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. Born "Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke in Saxony", he was the third son of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry. Leopold was a younger son and was unlikely to inherit titles or land, so he entered the Army in the service of the Austrian Empire. At one point Leopold was considered as a potential husband for Isabel II of