(Prince Laurent with Clément Vandenkerckhove, the son (photo from Clément Vandenkerckhove/Instagram)),
A 26-year-old former car salesman has become a new prince of the Belgian royal family after Prince Laurent officially recognized him as his legal son and heir.
Foreign news agencies report that Clément Vandenkerckhove, a 26-year-old former car salesman, has become a prince of the Belgian royal family after Prince Laurent, the second son of King Albert II of Belgium, formally acknowledged him as his son and legal heir.
Vandenkerckhove was born from a relationship between Prince Laurent and Wendy van Wanten, a Belgian singer. He was quietly welcomed into Prince Laurent's family in a ceremony held six months ago, but details have only now been made public.
Although Vandenkerckhove has been officially made a prince, he will not receive any allowance or stipend from the royal family.
The new prince has spent several years coming to terms with the fact that his father is a prince in the Belgian royal family. Recently, he said he remains uncertain about adopting his father's surname, Sachs-Coburg.
“I might want to do that, but I am proud of the surname Vandenkerckhove,” he told the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. “If I were to give up that family name, it would betray everything my mother has done for me.”
Vandenkerckhove will have no rights in the Belgian line of succession, unlike his half-siblings Princess Louise, Prince Emmanuel, and Prince Nicolas, and he will not participate in the royal family's public duties.
Vandenkerckhove is already well known among Belgians because he appeared in a Flemish-language television documentary last September, where he shared the story of how he came to know his father.
Prince Laurent had a relationship with Wendy van Wanten, whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove, before marrying Princess Claire in 2003.
In the documentary, Vandenkerckhove recounted unexpectedly meeting Prince Laurent at a shopping center in 2013 without knowing who he was. At age 16, his mother revealed the identity of his father to him.
Four years later, he gathered the courage to call his father. After several phone conversations, they met in person, and Prince Laurent suggested a DNA test.
“We went to the hospital together, and I remember him saying, ‘Dad will test first so you can feel at ease,’” Vandenkerckhove told VTM. He then received an email from the lab confirming a 99.5% DNA match.
Prince Laurent publicly acknowledged in September 2025 that he has a son out of wedlock, Clément Vandenkerckhove, which led to the official recognition as son and legal heir in February.
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Source:bbc