Car salesman, 26, becomes Belgian prince after being recognized as secret son of king’s brother

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Key points

• The new prince now has equal inheritance rights to Laurent's private estate with his half-sister Princess Louise, 20, and half-brothers Prince Nicolas, 20, and Prince Aymeric, 19.
• She and Laurent had a high-profile relationship in the 1990s after session at a fashion show in Paris, before he married Princess Claire in 2003.
• Vandenkerckhove was born in August 2000 to Belgian singer and socialite Wendy Van Wanten, whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove.
• His father, former King Albert II, 92, spent years fighting a paternity battle before admitting in 2020 that he had fathered a daughter during an affair.
• As his secret son, a Belgian car salesman became a prince after Prince Laurent formally acknowledged Clément Vandenkerckhove, 26.

Vandenkerckhove was legally recognized by 63-year-old Laurent – the younger brother of King Philippe – as his son and heir at a quiet town hall ceremony regarding six months ago, with details only now emerging, The Telegraph noted Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the new prince now has equal inheritance rights to Laurent's private estate with his half-sister Princess Louise, 20, and half-brothers Prince Nicolas, 20, and Prince Aymeric, 19.

But despite Vandenkerckhove's new title, he won't receive a royal allowance, take on official duties or gain any rights to the Belgian throne. Vandenkerckhove has not decided whether to take Laurent's Saxe-Coburg family name.

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

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

Notably, the royal secret stayed buried for years until Vandenkerckhove appeared in a TV documentary on Belgian network VTM last September and publicly confirmed that Laurent was his biological father.

In the documentary, Vandenkerckhove remarked his mother finally informed him Laurent was his father when he was 16.

Four years afterwards, he worked up the nerve to call the prince, and the pair eventually took a DNA test that demonstrated a 99.5 percent match.

"We went to the hospital together and I remember him saying 'I'll go first so you're feeling at ease, '" Vandenkerckhove informed VTM.

According to Laurent afterwards, vandenkerckhove was his biological son, saying they had been having "open and honest conversations" privately over recent years.

Vandenkerckhove had actually crossed paths with Laurent at a shopping center in 2013, without realizing the man was his biological father.

Before becoming a prince, Vandenkerckhove worked as a car salesman at an Opel dealership in Deinze, building a life far removed from the Belgian royal family, according to Het Nieuwsblad.

He studied graphic design and is known for his love of fast cars and horses. The latest royal family secret echoes Laurent's own family history.

Delphine Boël, 58, eventually won her legal fight and was granted the title of princess. She now uses the name Delphine de Saxe-Coburg.

In short, car salesman, 26, becomes Belgian prince after being recognized as secret son is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.