Leopold II owned the Congo personally, married his 26-year-old mistress five days before he died, and his daughters sued for the money

From 1885 to 1908 King Leopold II ruled the Congo Free State as his own property. Forced labour for rubber caused millions of deaths^†. Under international pressure Belgium annexed the territory in 1908. Leopold had moved much of his wealth into a Royal Trust (1900) and other foundations that his three daughters could not reach. From about 1900 he lived with Caroline Delacroix, whom he met when she was 16 and he was 65. They had two sons. On 12 December 1909 they married in a religious ceremony with no civil effect, and he died five days later. She received property, Congo bonds and cash; a 1912 report put her share at about $7 million of a $65 million estate^†. His daughters Louise, Stéphanie and Clémentine sued. The Belgian government sued too and recovered a $10 million trust in Delacroix's name; each princess received about $1 million^†. The Royal Trust still holds palaces and land for the Belgian monarchy.