Wallonia is short for The Kingdom of Wallonia. Before the Kingdom it was a region in The Netherlands inhabited by Walloons, a French speaking people. The Kingdom of Wallonia gained independence in 1842 as a Small Catholic Nation. The Independence happened after the end of the Wallon Revolution or The War of Independence/La guerre de l'independance :1838-1842. After the War of Independence, Wallonia decided to become a Monarchy. They elected Prince Francis of The Two Sicilies to become Francois the First, King of the Walloons. Francois/Francis ruled from 1842 until his death in 1900. His Wife Princess Marie-Sophie of Bavaria became Queen Marie-Sophie of Wallonia and Bavaria a new Kingdom uniting the large Catholic German State and the smaller French Catholic State.