Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium

Born Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie on 25 July 1876, she was a duchess in Bavaria before marrying into Belgian royalty. She became Queen of the Belgians on 23 December 1909 when her husband Albert I took the throne, a role she held until his death on 17 February 1934. Her children married into the thrones of Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg: her son Leopold III became king, her daughter Marie-José became Italy's last queen. She lived another thirty-one years after leaving the throne, long enough to see her grandsons Baudouin and Albert II both wear the Belgian crown. She died on 23 November 1965, having watched four generations navigate Europe's convulsing century.