The Duchess of Brabant refers to a woman married to the Duke of Brabant. But this was only in 1840 when it was revived as an honorific title for the Crown Prince of the newly created Kingdom of Belgium. There have been only three royal duchesses.
Historically the title went back 657 years before Belgium, and had been always associated with the wives of sovereign Dukes of Brabant, who were alive in their husband's reign. In the Duchy's 611 years of existence, it only saw three Duchesses who reigned by their own right and three Dukes who rule by the virtue of their wives: Joanna, Mary the Rich, Mary II; and their husbands Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, Maximilian of Austria, Francis of Lorraine. All these Dukes were reigning monarchs and not consorts. Also there were the two Co-sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands Isabella and Albert.
Before the elevation to a Duchy, Brabant was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. After the death on 20 September 1085 of Hermann II, count palatine of Lotharingia, Henry III of Leuven became landgrave of Brabant, which was an imperial fief between the Dender and the Zenne and his wife, Getrude of Flanders, became Landgravine. Elevated to a Duchy by Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lotharingia. Formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later Dukes of Brabant as an honorific title. In 1288, the Duchess of Brabant became also Duchess of Limburg. The title fell to the Duchess of Burgundy in 1430. Later on, it followed with the Burgundian inheritance through the Habsburg dynasty until 1794. After the 15th century the title became one of the many appanages associated with the Queen consorts of Spain and later the Holy Roman Empresses. Queen Sofía of Spain and also the late Crown Princess Regina of Austria also has claims to the title.
Landgravine of Brabant
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame LandgravineCease to be LandgravineDeathSpouse Gertrude of Flanders Robert I, Count of Flanders(Flanders) 1080 – 20 September 1085husband's ascension July 1095husband's death 1117 Henry III of Leuven Ida of Chiny Otto II, Count of Chiny(Chiny) 1078 1105 1117 Godfrey I of Leuven Clementia of Burgundy William I, Count of Burgundy(Ivrea) 1078 1125 1133 Luitgarde of Sulzbach Berengar I, Count of Sulzbach(Babenberg) 1109 1139 13 June 1142husband's death after 1163 Godfrey II of Leuven Margaret of Limburg Henry II, Duke of Limburg(Ardennes) 1135 1155/8 1172Godfrey III of Leuven Imagina of Loon Louis I, Count of Loon(Loon) – 1180 21 August 1190husband's death 5 June 1214
Duchess of Brabant
House of Leuven, 1183–1406 PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame DuchessCease to be DuchessDeathSpouse Mathilde of Flanders Matthew, Count of Boulogne(Metz) 1170 1180 1183/1184 husband's elevated to Duke 16 October 1210 Henry I Marie of France Philip II of France(Capet) after 1198 22 April 1213 15 October 1224 Sophie of Thuringia Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia(Ludowinger) 20 March 1224 1240 1 February 1248husband's death 29 May 1275 Henry II Adelaide of Burgundy Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy(Burgundy) 1233 1251, after 21 July 28 February 1261husband's death 23 October 1273 Henry III Margaret of France Louis IX of France(Capet) 1254 5 September 1270 July 1271 John I Margaret of Flanders Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders(Dampierre) 1251 1273 3 July 1285 Margaret of England Edward I of England(Plantagenet) 15 March 1275 8 July 1290 3 May 1294husband's ascession 27 October 1312husband's death after 11 March 1333 John II Marie d'Évreux Louis of France, Count d'Évreux(Évreux) 1303 19 July 1311 27 October 1312husband's ascession 31 October 1335 John III
House of Valois, 1406–1482 PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame DuchessCease to be DuchessDeathSpouse Jeanne of Saint Pol Waleran III of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny and Saint Pol(Luxembourg) 1380/85 21 February 1402 1 November 1406husband's ascession 12 August 1407 Anthony Elisabeth, Duchess of Luxembourg John of Görlitz(Luxembourg) November 1390 16 July 1409 25 October 1415 husband's death 3 August 1451 Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut William II, Duke of Bavaria(Wittelsbach) 16 August 1401 18 April 1418 7 March 1422obtained papal divorce 8 October 1436 John IV – Margaret ? ? ? 17 April 1427husband's accession 14 August 1430husband's death ? Philip I Isabella of Portugal John I of Portugal(Aviz) 21 February 1397 7 January 1430 15 July 1467 husband's death 17 December 1471 Philip II Margaret of York Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York(York) 3 May 1446 9 July 1468 5 January 1477husband's death 23 November 1503 Charles I
House of Habsburg, 1482–1700 PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame DuchessCease to be DuchessDeathSpouse Joanna of Castile Ferdinand II of Aragon(Trastamara) 6 November 1479 20 October 1496 25 September 1506husband's death 12 April 1555 Philip III Isabella of Portugal Manuel I of Portugal(Aviz) 24 October 1503 11 March 1526 1 May 1539 Charles II Mary I of England Henry VIII of England(Tudor) 18 February 1516 25 July 1554 16 January 1556husband's ascension 17 November 1558 Philip IV Elisabeth of Valois Henry II of France(Valois) 2 April 1545 22 June 1559 3 October 1568 Anna of Austria Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor(Habsburg) 1 November 1549 4 May 1570 26 October 1580 Elisabeth of Bourbon Henry IV of France(Bourbon) 22 November 1602 25 November 1615 31 March 1621husband's ascension 6 October 1644 Philip V Mariana of Austria Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor(Habsburg) 24 December 1634 25 November 1615 17 September 1665husband's death 16 May 1696 Marie Louise of Orléans Philippe I, Duke of Orléans(Bourbon-Orléans) 26 March 1662 19 November 1679 12 February 1689 Charles III Maria Anna of the Palatinate-Neuburg Philip William, Elector Palatine(Wittelsbach) 28 October 1667 14 May 1690 1 November 1700husband's death 16 July 1740
House of Bourbon, 1700–1706
PictureName FatherBorn Married Became DuchessCeased to be DuchessDeathSpouse Maria Luisa of Savoy Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia(Savoy) 17 September 1688 2 November 1701 c. 1706Duchy ceded to Austria 14 February 1714 Philip VI
House of Habsburg, 1706–1780 PictureName FatherBorn Married Became DuchessCeased to be DuchessDied Spouse Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg(Welf) 28 August 1691 1 August 1708 20 October 1740husband's death 21 December 1750 Charles IV
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1780–1794
PictureName FatherBorn Married Became DuchessCeased to be DuchessDeathSpouse Maria Louisa of Spain Charles III of Spain(Bourbon) 24 November 1745 5 August 1765 20 February 1790husband's ascession 1 March 1792husband's death 15 May 1792 Leopold Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies(Bourbon-Two Sicilies) 6 June 1772 15 September 1790 1 March 1792husband's ascession 1794 13 April 1807 Francis
Royal Duchesses of Brabant PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame DuchessCease to be DuchessDeathSpouse Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary(Habsburg-Lorraine) 23 August 1836 22 August 1853 10 December 1865 became queen 19 September 1902 Prince Leopold Louis Princess Astrid of Sweden Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland(Bernadotte) 17 November 1905 4 November 1926 17 February 1934became queen 29 August 1935 Prince Leopold Philippe Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz(d'Udekem d'Acoz) 20 January 1973 4 December 1999 21 July 2013 became queen –Prince Philippe Leopold
See also List of Belgian consorts Duchess of Limburg List of Lotharingian consorts List of Burgundian consorts List of consorts of Luxembourg Countess of Flanders Countess of Holland