Will Clément Vandenkerckhove become a Prince of Belgium?

Prince Laurent of Belgium has admitted to being the father of 25-year-old Clément Vandenkerckhove. Clément’s mother is Iris Vandenkerckhove, who is better known as Wendy Van Wanten.

Prince Laurent also has three children with his wife, Princess Claire, whom he married in 2003.

Photo: VTM

But will Clément become a Prince of Belgium?

We have precedence with Prince Laurent’s half-sister, Princess Delphine. She was born Delphine Boël as the legal daughter of Jacques Boël and Sybille de Selys Longchamps. After a decade-long struggle to be recognised as the biological daughter of King Albert II of Belgium, Delphine obtained confirmation through DNA.

The former monarch consented to a DNA test after a Belgian court ordered that he be fined 5,000 euros a day until he complied. The test proved he was the father of Delphine Boël, and the Brussels Court of Appeal recognised Delphine as a princess and gave her the surname of Saxe-Coburg.

The same would need to happen for Clément in order to receive a princely title. If he is granted the title, he will not be included in the line of succession, nor will he receive a royal allowance. It is yet unclear if Clement intends to start a court case.

Perhaps this will be revealed in the documentary “Clément, zoon van…”(Clément, son of…), which airs on 9 and 18 September on VTM.

In a preview of the documentary, Clément says, “Everyone knows who my mom is. Only a few know who my dad is. I was only born, and things were already being said about me. That was my normal life. Now I can say it in my own words. I’m 25 now, and I just think: we’re all human. My dad didn’t do anything wrong, my mom didn’t do anything wrong. I want to be able to live a normal life and not constantly hear, “Do you even know who your dad is?” “Is he dead yet?” I want to be done with that. I just want to go for a beer with my dad.”