The nation was formed in 1776 when Luxembourg and Belgium came under the monarchy of Leopold II of Belgium. Leopold wanted to unite the Benelux region but the highly independent Netherlands government refused to enter fully into the union. The Netherlands did not join the kingdom until the Netherland Recession 1865 which resulted in the collapse of the Netherlands' economy and government. The monarch at the time Benjamin who was first cousin of Queen Fien was invited in to restore order in the country and in 1867 the Netherlands officially joined the kingdom.