Hvem giftede sig med Caroline Lacroix?

Blanche Zélia Joséphine Delacroix, better known as Caroline Lacroix (French pronunciation: [kaʁɔlin lakʁwa]; 13 May 1883 – 12 February 1948), was the most prominent and notorious of the mistresses of King Leopold II of Belgium.

Delacroix, who was of French origin, met the king in Paris as a young girl, when she was only 16 and he was 65. At that time, she earned her living from prostitution. They soon embarked upon a relationship that was to last until his death in 1909. Leopold lavished upon her large sums of money, estates, gifts, and a noble title, baronne de Vaughan (Baroness Vaughan). Because of these presents, Caroline was deeply unpopular both among the Belgian people and internationally, as Leopold became increasingly criticized for his greed-induced actions in the Congo Free State, his own personal colony. As Caroline largely profited from the king's income from the colony, she became known as La reine du Congo ("The Queen of the Congo").

She and Leopold married in a religious ceremony five days before his death, though their failure to perform a civil ceremony rendered the marriage void under Belgian law. After the king's death, it was soon discovered that he had left Caroline numerous properties, items of high material value, Congolese bonds, and other valuable sources of income – all of which turned her into a multimillionaire. For years, the Belgian government and Leopold's three estranged daughters attempted to recover some of this wealth, with their success varying depending on the case. Caroline died on 12 February 1948 in Cambo-les-Bains, France.

Leopold II (fulde franske navn Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor, fulde nederlandske navn Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor 9. april 1835 – 17. december 1909) efterfulgte sin far, Leopold I som konge af Belgien i 1865 og forblev landets regent frem til sin død 43 år senere.

Uden for Belgien huskes han hovedsageligt for at have grundlagt og ejet Congo-fristaten, som var et privat projekt, der gik ud på at hente gummi og elfenben her gennem slaveri, og han blev i den sammenhæng ansvarlig for mellem 5 og 22 mio. menneskers død. Da disse forhold blev afsløret, var Leopold II tvunget til at overgive området til den belgiske stat under navnet Belgisk Congo, nu Demokratiske Republik Congo.