Belgian car salesman becomes prince after royal parentage confirmedClément Vandenkerckhove was quietly brought into Prince Laurent's family at a town hall ceremony.42 mins agoEurope

Belgian car salesman becomes prince after royal parentage confirmed.

Key points

• His father had been in a relationship with Wendy Van Wanten, whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove, before he went on to marry Princess Claire in 2003.
• Belgium's Prince Laurent has legally recognised 26-year-old former car salesman Clément Vandenkerckhove as his son and heir.
• He will not be part of Belgium's royal line of succession, unlike his half-sister Princess Louise and half-brothers Prince Aymeric and Prince Nicolas.
• During the VTM documentary, Clément described session the prince unexpectedly in a shopping centre in 2013, without realising who he was.
• Albert II abdicated as king of the Belgians in 2013 as the paternity matter became a royal scandal.

Although details have only just emerged, vandenkerckhove, the result of a relationship between the royal and Belgian singer Wendy Van Wanten, was quietly brought into Prince Laurent's family at a town hall ceremony six months ago.

While he formally becomes a prince, he will not receive a royal allowance.

For context, the new prince has had a number of years to secure applied to the idea of having a royal father, and he remarked lately he was not yet sure he would commence using his father's name Saxe-Coburg.

"I might want to do that, but I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove, " he informed Het Nieuwsblad.

"If I were to sacrifice that family name, it would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me."

He will not be part of Belgium's royal line of succession, unlike his half-sister Princess Louise and half-brothers Prince Aymeric and Prince Nicolas. Nor will he take part in public royal activities.

Vandenkerckhove is already well known to Belgians, having been the focus of a Flemish TV documentary last September, in which he described how he obtained to know his father.

During the VTM documentary, Clément described session the prince unexpectedly in a shopping centre in 2013, without realising who he was. It was only when he was 16 that his mother made public his father's identity.

Four years afterwards he plucked up the courage to ring him up, and after a number of more calls they met in person and eventually Prince Laurent suggested they take a DNA test.

"We went to the hospital together and I remember him saying 'I'll go first so you're feeling at ease', " he informed VTM. Then he received an email from the laboratory which informed him of a 99.5% DNA match.

Prince Laurent's DNA test is reminiscent of his father, former King Albert II. This person had a test after a lengthy paternity battle. Albert admitted in 2020 that he had fathered a daughter during an affair and eventually recognised her as his own.

Delphine Boël, a well-known artist, eventually won her court battle and gained the right to the title of princess, and now calls herself Delphine de Saxe-Coburg.

Under changes to Belgian law in 2013, only a few members of the royal family are entitled to public allowances – King Philippe, his father King Albert II, Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid. Belgian ex-king's love child wins royal titles. DNA test forces Belgian ex-king to admit paternity.

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For now, belgian car salesman becomes prince after royal parentage confirmedClément Vandenkerckhove was quietly remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.