The First Visit to Hong Kong by a European Royal

Hong Kong became a British colony in 1841, after the Qing Dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island to Great Britain in perpetuity. Yet, it would be nearly a quarter of a century before a European royal eventually visited the territory. Surprisingly, the first European royal to do so was not British.

In March 1865—the very same month HSBC was founded—the 29-year-old Duke of Brabant and Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium landed in Hong Kong during an extensive tour of India and China. Obsessed with the idea of building his own colonial empire, Leopold was fascinated by how a "barren rock" had been transformed into a highly profitable free port and financial hub in less than three decades.

Nine months after his visit, Prince Leopold was crowned King Leopold II of Belgium following the death of his father, King Leopold I—who, incidentally, was the maternal uncle of Queen Victoria.

Leopold’s time in Hong Kong convinced him that a nation’s greatness relied heavily on colonial exploitation. Because the Belgian government prevented him from acquiring territories in Asia, he set his sights on Africa instead. In 1885, exactly twenty years after his visit to Hong Kong, he successfully claimed the Congo Free State as his private property.

As for Hong Kong, it was not until 1869—four years after Prince Leopold's departure—that Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, finally became the first British royal to officially visit the colony.