Letter from Benelux

Remaining the king of the Belgians at all costs, even under Nazi domination, was the goal of Leopold III (1901-1983), who reigned from 1934 to 1951 - the year he was forced to abdicate because of his actions during World War II. In the summer of 1942, two years after the Belgian Army had surrendered unconditionally, the king contemplated a "peaceful compromise." Negotiated with the Hitler regime, the compromise would have preserved the king's reign over a small part of Belgian territory – a zone transformed into a type of royal dictatorship, neutral and submissive to the Reich.

The monarch was known to be stubborn, blind to certain realities and drawn to autocratic regimes. Until recent work done by Vincent Stuer and the publication of his book Rexit, it was not known that Leopold III intended to take inspiration from the Vichy regime and was prepared to lead a puppet government in Belgium under Hitler's control.

Stuer, a historian, spokesperson at the European Parliament and playwright, found in the hidden archives of a former secretary of the Laeken Palace (the royal residence) a 22-page document drafted by Leopold III's advisers. The king had asked them for scenarios for the end of a war he believed Germany would inevitably win.

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