Overview
- Prince Laurent formally registered his paternity earlier this year, making Clément Vandenkerckhove a Prince of Belgium under civil law.
- A 2015 royal decree allows children and grandchildren of King Albert II to use the title Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness, which governs Clément’s entitlement to the title.
- Clément will not receive public allowances and is not expected to undertake official royal duties, and he is not in the line of succession because he was born outside a marriage approved by the government.
- The registration makes Clément eligible for Prince Laurent’s inheritance and lets him legally adopt the dynastic surname Saxe-Coburg if he chooses, though he says he prefers his mother’s name.
- Clément says he now has a close, supportive relationship with Laurent, a change that resolves decades of public speculation about his paternity and formalizes his place in the prince’s family.