Leopold George Christian Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is inaugurated as the first King of the Belgians, in Brussels, on July 21, 1831.

The youngest son of Duke Franz Frederick Anton of Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, and a British subject through his marriage to the late Charlotte Augusta of Wales, the only legitimate daughter of the late King George IV, Leopold had rejected election as king of Greece.

This was unsurprising, given that Greece is at this time a backward, peasant country with no industry above the level of rural crafts.

On June 4, the Belgian Congress had chosen Leopold as king, a strong and political choice, as he is not only talented and capable but also well connected to both Britain and France.