Prince Laurent has legally recognised 26-year-old former car salesman Clément Vandenkerckhove as his son, bringing a quiet family arrangement into the open. The recognition gives Vandenkerckhove a formal place in the royal family, but not the practical benefits that usually matter most.
Vandenkerckhove was quietly brought into Prince Laurent's family at a town hall ceremony six months ago. He is still excluded from Belgium's royal line of succession, will not receive a royal allowance and will not take part in public royal activities.
Wendy Van Wanten and the DNA test
Vandenkerckhove is the result of a relationship between Prince Laurent and Belgian singer Wendy Van Wanten. He first met Prince Laurent unexpectedly in a shopping centre in 2013 without realising who he was, then learned at 16 that Wendy Van Wanten had revealed his father's identity.
Four years later, Vandenkerckhove rang Prince Laurent. After several more calls, Prince Laurent and Vandenkerckhove met in person and agreed to a DNA test. Vandenkerckhove said Prince Laurent went first for the hospital DNA test so he would feel at ease, and he later received an email from the laboratory saying there was a 99.5% DNA match.
Clément Vandenkerckhove and Saxe-Coburg
Vandenkerckhove said, "I might want to do that, but I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove." He added, "If I were to sacrifice that family name, it would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me." He has not decided whether to begin using the name Saxe-Coburg.
The recognition lands in a royal family already familiar with paternity disputes. Prince Laurent's DNA test recalls the test his father, King Albert II, had after a lengthy paternity battle. King Albert II admitted in 2020 that he had fathered Delphine Boël during an affair and eventually recognised her as his own; Delphine Boël later won her court battle and now calls herself Delphine de Saxe-Coburg.
King Albert II and Delphine
Under changes to Belgian law in 2013, only King Philippe, King Albert II, Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid are entitled to public allowances. That means Vandenkerckhove's new status changes the family title, not the material terms attached to royal life. For him, the practical question is narrower: whether to keep the name Vandenkerckhove, or adopt Saxe-Coburg and step further into the royal frame.
