Herman van Rompuy, briefly Prime Minister of Belgium, and later the first President of the European Council, was created Count van Rompuy (Graaf van Rompuy) by Philippe of Belgium in 2015. Is this title hereditary? And do his children enjoy any titles or styles as a result of their father's ennoblement?
1 Answer
No. Belgian noble titles are only hereditary in rare instances, although it does still happen. As you mention, Herman van Rompuy's title was granted by Royal Decree on July 8th 2015. This was published in the Belgian Gazette on the 17th (Ref: 2015/15097). From my rough translation of the decree:
On the recommendation of Mr Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the King granted the following noble favors by royal decrees of 8 July 2015:
- authorization of the personal title of count to Mr Herman VAN ROMPUY;
The usage of 'personal title' (persoonlijke titel) indicates that the title is only granted to the individual, and not his descendants.
To contrast - Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz, the father of Queen Mathilde, was granted a hereditary title along with his brothers Henri and Raoul after Mathilde's marriage to (then Prince) Philippe. This was granted by Royal Decree on November 8th, and published in the Belgian Gazette on the 13th (Ref: 99/15266). Note that the decree explicitly states that the title applies to all of the individual's descendants.
By royal decree of 8 November 1999, Baron Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz and the squires Raoul and Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz are granted the title of count for themselves and all their descendants.
As a result, van Rompuy's children gain no titles or styles, despite their father's ennoblement, while the descendants of the d'Udekem d'Acoz brothers all become either counts or countesses.
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Do the children of hereditary Belgian counts have courtesy titles? In Britain, the eldest son of an earl is usually a viscount until he succeeds to the earldom. Commented Aug 18, 2020 at 21:58