LOVE CHILD OF BELGIUM’S FORMER KING SEEKS ROYAL STATUS

The love child of the former king of Belgium, Albert II, is asking a court to grant her royal status, months after the erstwhile monarch recognized her as his fourth child, Rory Sullivan and Barbara Wojazer wrote for CNN on Friday, September 11, 2020. 

Back in January, Albert's lawyers acknowledged that Delphine Boël, a 52-year-old Belgian artist, was his daughter, seven years into a legal battle over her paternity. The former king had contested Boël's claim that she was conceived during an affair between him and her mother, Sybille de Selys Longchamps, but reversed his position following the results of a court-ordered paternity test.

Albert's lawyers said in a statement at the time that "legal paternity is not necessarily a reflection of biological paternity," pointing out that the former king had not been involved in Boël's upbringing and that he'd respected her relationship with her "legal father." Speaking in January, Alain Berenboom, Albert's lawyer, told CNN affiliate VTM News that the former monarch would "treat all his children as equal," saying Boël would be included in his will. 

Boël has now brought legal proceedings "to be considered fully as Albert II's child, with the same titles and the same rights" as her siblings, her lawyer, Marc Uyttendaele, told CNN on Friday. This will include being given the title "princess of Belgium," Uyttendaele said, according to the AFP news agency. In response, Berenboom, representing Albert, told CNN: "We believe that she has the right to be recognized but these requests do not fall within the competence of the court." He added that Boël's request for a title should be made to either the reigning king, Philippe, or the Minister of Justice.

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