A Belgian car salesman becomes a prince after a DNA test confirms his royal lineage

Clément Vandenkerckhove, a 26-year-old Belgian car salesman, has officially become a prince of Belgium after a paternity test confirmed that his biological father is Prince Laurent, the younger brother of King Philippe.

The legal recognition took place at a discreet ceremony at the town hall six months ago, following a DNA test confirming that Vandenkerckhove was indeed the son and heir of Prince Laurent, aged 63. His mother, the Belgian singer Wendy Van Wanten (whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove), had a relationship with Prince Laurent in the 1990s after they met at a fashion show in Paris, but she only revealed the identity of his father to him when he came of age.

The legal procedure grants the new prince the same rights to Prince Laurent's private estate as his three half-siblings, Princess Louise, Prince Nicolas, and Prince Aymeric. However, Vandenkerckhove will not receive any royal allowance, will not hold any official position, and will not be included in the line of succession to the Belgian throne.

Vandenkerckhove was born in August 2000, several years before Prince Laurent's marriage to Princess Claire in 2003. In a television documentary, Vandenkerckhove recounted reconnecting with Prince Laurent four years after learning of his origins, after which they went together to the hospital to undergo the DNA test, which allowed for open and honest conversations between father and son.

Although he could bear his father's surname, Saxe-Coburg, Vandenkerckhove indicated that he intended to keep his own out of respect for his mother. He stated that relinquishing the Vandenkerckhove surname would be a betrayal of everything she had done for him during his childhood.

This constitutes another notable recognition of paternity within the Belgian royal family in recent years, following a highly publicized legal battle that concluded in 2020 when former King Albert II officially recognized Princess Delphine as his daughter.