Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (, ; 10 October 1903 – 1 June 1983) was a member of the Belgian royal family who served as regent of Belgium from 1944 until 1950, while a judicial commission investigated his elder brother, King Leopold III of Belgium, as to whether he betrayed the Allies of World War II by an allegedly premature surrender in 1940 and collaboration with the Nazis during the occupation of Belgium. Charles' regency ended when Leopold was allowed to return to Belgium. Shortly after returning and resuming his monarchical duties, Leopold abdicated in favour of his son, Baudouin. During the Second World War Charles was known as General du Boc, in order to hide his identity for security reasons. He had an association with RAF Hullavington where many top officers from Allied nations were based or transported to and from. Early life Born in Brussels, Charles was the second son of King Albert I of Belgium and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. During World War I, the children of the Belgian royal family were sent to United Kingdom while King Albert I remained in Belgium behind the Yser Front. In 1915 Prince Charles began attending Wixenford School in Wokingham, Berkshire, and in 1917 proceeded to the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and two years later to Dartmouth. In 1926 he received the rank of sub-lieutenant in the British Royal Navy. Later that year he returned to Belgium and began attending the Royal Military School of Brussels. Regency Prince Charles was appointed Regent of Belgium when the German occupation of his country ended in 1944. The role of his elder brother King Leopold III during the Second World War, as well as Leopold's marriage to Mary Lilian Baels, was questioned and he became a controversial monarch. Charles's regency was dominated by the events resulting from the German occupation and the controversies around his brother Leopold. This period had an important impact on events in later decades. During his regency, important economic and political decisions were taken. Belgium managed to jump-start its national economy with the aid of American assistance provided under the Marshall plan. The building sector was stimulated by government grants to repair war-damaged buildings and to build social housing. The financial sector was sanitized through the "Operation Gutt" (after its architect, Camille Gutt), whereby illegally gained profits during the war were targeted. A social welfare system was introduced and