Princess Léa of Belgium

Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman; 2 December 1951, in Brussels, Belgium) is the widow of Prince Alexandre of Belgium. She is an aunt by marriage of King Philippe of Belgium.

Princess Léa
Léa of Belgium in Charleroi on 13 June 2015
Born (1951-12-02) 2 December 1951
Brussels, Belgium
Spouse
    Serge Victorovich Spetschinsky
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1975; div. 1980)​
      Paul Robert Bichara
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1983; div. 1987)​
        ​
        ​
        (m. 1991; died 2009)​
        Issue
        • Laetitia Spetschinsky
        • Renaud Bichara
        Full name
        Léa Inga Dora Wolman
        FatherSigismund Wolman
        MotherLisa Bornstein
        Styles of
        Princess Léa of Belgium
        Reference styleHer Royal Highness
        Spoken styleYour Royal Highness

        Early life and family

        Princess Léa was born on 2 December 1951, the daughter of Sigismund Wolman (b. 12 July 1906, Warsaw),[1] merchant in Brussels,[1] and Lisa Bornstein (born in Germany).

        Marriages and issue

        She married Russian aristocrat Serge Victorovich Spetschinsky on 27 May 1975 in Brussels (son of Victor Sergeyevich Spetschinsky, President of the Russian Nobility Association in Belgium and Elena Dmitrievna Guebel), from whom she was divorced on 28 March 1980. They had a daughter, Laetitia Spetschinsky (born in 1976), who is now married to HE Didier Nagant de Deuxchaisnes, Ambassador of Belgium to Ethiopia, and mother of two sons (Charles-Albert (b. 2009) and Alexandre (b. 2013)) and a daughter (Louise (b. 2010)).

        On 23 July 1983 Léa married Paul Robert Bichara in Uccle, and they had a son, Renaud Bichara, on 1 September 1983.

        After her second divorce on 25 August 1987, she wed Prince Alexander, in Debenham, Suffolk, on 14 March 1991. They had been introduced in 1986 by former defence minister Léon Mundeleer. Alexander asked her to accompany him to the cinema. She vacillated initially, but they began to enjoy dining out together, Alexander being a gourmand, according to his future wife.[2]

        The couple had no children together, and the marriage was kept secret until 1998, as reportedly the prince feared his mother would disapprove.[2] Alexander's marriage contravened Article 85 of the Belgian constitution, which deprived of the right of succession to the throne any descendant of King Leopold I who marries without the sovereign's permission.[3]

        Career

        In 2008, she published a book of photographs from the life of her husband and his family, titled Le Prince Alexandre de Belgique, because she felt that he was too little-known in Belgium.[2]

        Notes
        1. (in French and Dutch) Commission Des Naturalisations - Chambre des Représentants - Session 1959·1960 (23 Février 1960) / Commissie Voor De Naturalisaties - Kamer der Volksvertegenwoordigers - Zitting 1959.1960 (23 Februari 1960).
        2. Séguy, Philippe (29 April 2008). "Léa de Belgique: Il faut en finir avec le malheur". Point de Vue (in French): 18–21.
        3. Velde, François. "The Belgian Succession". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 6 May 2008.

        Sources
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