Belgium: The hidden daughter of ex-King Albert is now princess (Archives) -

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For seven years, she has been fighting to have her parentage and her rights recognized.

Justice proved him right on Thursday: Delphine Boël, daughter long hidden from the former Belgians Albert II, was granted the title of princess and the name of Saxe-Coburg.

The judgment delivered by the Brussels Court of Appeal "gives him full satisfaction", reacted his lawyer Marc Uyttendaele by confirming a decision that fell four weeks before the date announced and revealed by the RTBF channel.

During the final hearing of a long series with twists and turns, on September 10, Albert II's lawyers had contested that she could demand the title of princess.

Born of a liaison between Sibylle de Sélys Longchamps and Prince Albert

A 52-year-old plastic artist, Delphine Boël was born from the almost twenty-year relationship that her mother, Sibylle de Sélys Longchamps, had with Albert in the 1960s and 1970s.

The latter was then crown prince, married since 1959 with the future queen Paola.

The former ruler - on the throne from 1993 to 2013 and father of the current king, Philippe - denied this parentage for years, until the courts forced him to undergo a DNA test in 2019. The test result finally came out. was made public on its initiative on January 27.

"The scientific conclusions indicate that he is the biological father of Mrs. Delphine Boël", then announced his lawyers Mes Alain Berenboom and Guy Hiernaux.

"She doesn't want to be a cheap kid"

Now Delphine Boël "wants to have exactly the same prerogatives, titles and qualities as her two brothers (Philippe and Laurent) and her sister" (Astrid), explained in September Me Uyttendaele.

“She doesn't want to be a cheap kid,” he hammered.

Delphine Boël, who had renounced the surname of Jacques Boël, the husband of her mother, will henceforth be named "Her Royal Highness Delphine of Saxe-Cobourg", ruled Thursday the court of appeal.

"The court affirms that King Albert II is her father and that she will henceforth bear the patronymic name of Saxe-Cobourg", commented Me Uyttendaele in a press release.

The content of the decision was confirmed to AFP by a judicial source who specified that his children, adolescents, "will also be Prince and Princess of Belgium".

Delphine Boël will speak on Monday

"This judicial victory will never replace the love of a father but offers a feeling of justice, further reinforced by the fact that many children who have gone through the same ordeals will find the strength to face them there", he added. Me Uyttendaele.

The existence of the king's hidden daughter was revealed in 1999 by a journalist.

She is due to speak to the press next Monday with her lawyers.

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