Clement Vandenkerckhove, the son Prince Laurent fathered outside his marriage and kept largely hidden from public life for two decades, has been formally recognised by the Belgian royal family and now holds the title Prince of Belgium.
The recognition was completed in February at a civil registrar's office, where father and son appeared together to make the legal change official. Under Belgian law, a legitimation of this kind automatically confers the princely title, giving Clement the formal style His Royal Highness Prince Clement of Belgium, even though palace officials say he has no plans to use it day to day.
No line of succession, no royal income
The title comes with real limits. Belgium's constitution restricts the line of succession to children born within marriage, so Clement gains no claim to the throne. The palace has also confirmed there are no plans to grant him a state endowment, the annual public funding that supports working members of the royal family.
Clement, who was born in August 2000 to the Flemish singer Iris Vandenkerckhove, known by her stage name Wendy Van Wanten, first reconnected with his father in 2020. Prince Laurent, the younger brother of King Philippe, publicly acknowledged him as his son in September last year, ending speculation that had followed the family for years.
Speaking about his decision to keep his mother's surname rather than adopt a royal one, Clement said he is proud of the Vandenkerckhove name and that giving it up would betray what his mother did in raising him. He has two half siblings on his mother's side, and three more through his father's marriage to Princess Claire: Princess Louise, Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric.
The story echoes an earlier paternity case involving Clement's grandfather, former King Albert II, who was ordered by a Belgian court to recognise his daughter Delphine Boel after she pursued a lengthy legal battle to establish her parentage.