Belgium’s Princess Delphine attends first official
royal event since recognition
Wednesday,
17 February 2021
On
Wednesday, Belgium’s Princes Delphine and her husband were present at a
traditional ceremony for the deceased members of the royal family in the royal
crypt of the Notre-Dame church in Laeken.
Every year
since 1935, a mass has been held on 17 February to commemorate all deceased
members of the Royal Family.
“Princess
Delphine was invited, like her siblings, and responded positively,” Francis
Sobry, a spokesperson for the palace, told Het Nieuwsblad.
This year,
however, the mass could not take place due to the coronavirus measures, and the
members of the family followed each other into the crypt, separately and per
social bubble.
In early
2020, after years of legal battles and a court-ordered DNA test, King Albert
acknowledged that he was Boël’s biological father.
On 1
October 2020, Delphine Boël was also officially recognised as the legitimate
daughter of King Albert II, according to a ruling by the Brussels Court of
Appeal. She officially became a Princess of Belgium, putting an end to a legal
battle that dates back to 2013.
Following a
previous meeting with Albert II and Paola at the Château Belvédère, and a
separate one with King Philippe at Laeken Castle, this is the third private
meeting that has been made public since Delphine was officially recognised as
Princess of Belgium.
Delphine Boël is now officially a Belgian princess
Thursday,
01 October 2020
As of today, Delphine Boël, the illegitimate daughter of King Albert II, is officially a princess of Belgium, the Brussels Court of Appeal decided.
The
judgment was not expected until 29 October, but has already been handed down
today, reports RTBF and was confirmed to VTM News and VRT.
Delphine is
now changing her name to that of her father, namely ‘of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha’. Her
children, Joséphine and Oscar, also become princess and prince of Belgium, and
should be addressed the same way.
At the
beginning of this year, and after years of legal battles and a court-ordered
DNA test, King Albert acknowledged that he was Boël’s biological father.
However,
Boël did not settle for that and wanted to be treated like the other children
of Albert (Belgium’s current King Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince
Laurent), and also bear the name ‘of Saksen-Coburg’.
Additionally,
she wanted to be addressed as Royal Highness and princess of Belgium. The Court
of Appeal has now proved her right.
Maïthé Chini
The
Brussels Times
Belgian King Philippe meets half-sister Princess
Delphine for the first time
Published15
October 2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54552055
Belgium's
Princess Delphine finally met her half-brother King Philippe for the first
time, following her successful legal battle to use a royal title.
The
siblings enjoyed a "warm encounter" last Friday, the royal family's
official Facebook account says.
The
princess, who is 52, spent years fighting to be recognised as a child of former
King Albert.
He admitted
paternity in January. A court later granted her the same rights and titles as
his children by marriage.
The
decision was announced on 1 October.
A message
issued by King Philippe and Princess Delphine said on Thursday they had met for
the first time at the Castle of Laken the previous week.
"This
long and rich discussion gave us the opportunity to learn to know each other.
We talked about our respective lives and areas of shared interest," they
said.
"This
bond will further develop within the family setting."
Delphine
Boël, an artist, won her court case on 1 October. According to the ruling, she
and her two children can now hold the surname of her father, Saxe-Cobourg.
She will be
entitled to receive an inheritance after Albert's death, along with his three
other children - Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid and King Philippe.
Despite her
new title, Princess Delphine will not receive any royal endowment. But Albert
must pay nearly €3.4m (£3.1m) to cover her legal fees, according to local
outlet De Standaard.
What is the
background?
Princess
Delphine's mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, says she had an
18-year affair with Albert before he was king.
Rumours
first emerged that he had fathered a child with another woman after it was
disclosed in an unauthorised biography of Albert's wife, Queen Paola, published
in 1999.
The
princess first alleged on the record that King Albert was her biological father
during a 2005 interview, but it was not until he abdicated in 2013 - when he
lost his immunity to prosecution - that she opened court proceedings.
The
86-year-old had resisted court orders to undergo DNA testing until he was
facing fines of €5,000 per day for refusing to do so. In January, he announced
that he accepted her as his fourth child after he had "learnt the results
of the DNA tests".
Belgium has
a constitutional monarchy in which the king plays a largely ceremonial role.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAll's well that end well.
ReplyDeleteBut a rather unsavoury attitude by someone who had a nearly two decades relationship with his child's mother and involved Delphine in such a costly and emotionally draining pursuit of justice. The ghost of Leopold of the Belgians lives on.