Leopold and Astrid Coast (67°20′S 84°30′E) is that portion of the coast of Antarctica lying between the western extremity of the West Ice Shelf

West Ice Shelf

The West Ice Shelf is a prominent ice shelf extending about 288 km in an E-W direction along the Leopold and Astrid Coast in East Antarctica between Barrier Bay and Posadowsky Bay. Discovered and named by the First German Antarctica Expedition, 1901-03, under Dr. Erich von Drygalski. The toponym...

, at 81° 24' E, and Cape Penck

Cape Penck

Cape Penck is an ice-covered point fronting on the West Ice Shelf about 35 miles westnorthwest of Gaussberg, separating the Leopold and Astrid Coast from the Wilhelm II Coast. It was roughly charted by the Western Base Party of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-14, under Mawson, and named...

, at 87° 43' E. It is located in the eastern half of Princess Elizabeth Land

Princess Elizabeth Land

Princess Elizabeth Land is the sector of the Australian Antarctic Territory between longitude 73° east and Cape Penck 87°43' east. Princess Elizabeth Land is located between 64°56'S and 90°00'S and between 73°35' E and 87°43'E...

. It was discovered and explored in an airplane flight from the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 ship Thorshavn on January 17, 1934, by Lt. Alf Gunnestad and Capt. Nils Larsen.

The Leopold and Astrid Coast was named by Lars Christensen

Lars Christensen

Lars Christensen was a Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica.-Career:...

, Norwegian whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 magnate and leader of the expedition, for King Leopold

Leopold III of Belgium

Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...

 and Queen Astrid of Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.