Considering his constitutional position as commander-in-chief to take precedence over his civil role as head of state, he refused to leave his army and join the Belgian government in exile in France. Leopold's refusal to obey the government marked a constitutional crisis and, after having negotiated the surrender to the Germans on 28 May 1940, Leopold was widely condemned. During the subsequent German occupation, Leopold was held under house arrest in his palace where he was praised for stoically sharing the suffering of ordinary Belgians.