Clément Vandenkerckhove, the 26-year-old son of Prince Laurent of Belgium, has officially acquired the title of Prince of Belgium after formal recognition by his father.
The paternity was formally registered in 2026 following a public acknowledgment by Prince Laurent in 2025. Although Vandenkerckhove now holds royal status and rights to his father's inheritance, he has no place in the Belgian line of succession, receives no royal allowance, and undertakes no official duties.
Vandenkerckhove was born in 2000 to Belgian singer and former model Iris Vandenkerckhove, who is widely known as Wendy Van Wanten. Prince Laurent had a relationship with her during the 1990s, though the identity of the boy's father remained unconfirmed publicly for decades. Vandenkerckhove stated that it is not certain he will abandon his mother's surname to use the family name Saxe-Coburg.
The case echoes long-standing European monarchical traditions where children born out of wedlock were acknowledged through court proceedings, DNA testing, or royal decrees. While some historical monarchs granted titles and property without dynastic succession rights, others altered royal laws to secure the crown's future.
Belgian royal precedent and legal battles
Five years prior to the official recognition of Vandenkerckhove, the Belgian monarchy experienced a lengthy legal struggle involving Delphine Boël. Born in 1968, the visual artist maintained for years that her biological father was former King Albert II.
The legal dispute escalated into one of the most discussed paternity cases in the history of the Belgian monarchy. King Albert II finally recognized Boël as his biological daughter in 2020, granting her the right to use the title of Princess of Belgium.
The two recent Belgian cases share a direct family connection. Princess Delphine is the half-sister of Prince Laurent, tying the royal house's most recent out-of-wedlock recognitions together.
Monaco princely family acknowledgments
In Monaco, Prince Albert II officially acknowledged two children born prior to his marriage to Princess Charlene. The first was Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, born to American Tamara Rotolo.
Paternity claims concerning Jazmin initiated legal proceedings during the 1990s. Following a DNA test, Prince Albert officially confirmed that he was her father in 2006. Under Monaco's specific legal rules regarding birth and marriage, Jazmin did not gain succession rights to the throne.
Prince Albert faced a second paternity case involving Alexandre Coste, born in 2003 to former Air France flight attendant Nicole Coste. Coste asserted that the prince was the father and noted that DNA testing had been conducted.
In July 2005, shortly before his formal enthronement, Prince Albert confirmed through his lawyer that he was Alexandre's biological father. The son now uses the surname Alexandre Grimaldi, though he also holds no position in the line of succession.
Tudor and Stuart royal dynasties in England
Centuries before modern DNA testing, English monarchs recognized out-of-wedlock offspring through formal royal acts. Henry FitzRoy was born in 1519 to King Henry VIII and Elizabeth Blount.
King Henry VIII recognized FitzRoy as his son and bestowed upon him the titles of Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Although FitzRoy could not legally succeed his father, he held an exceptionally prominent position. The official British royal family website refers to the illegitimate son of Henry VIII and records his death at St James's Palace in 1536.
King Charles II created a distinct historical record by acknowledging at least 12 children born to various women, despite having no surviving legitimate heirs. His sons were granted elevated titles within the nobility.
Henry FitzRoy became the Duke of Grafton, Charles Beauclerk was made Duke of St Albans, and Charles Lennox became Duke of Richmond and Lennox. James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, became the most prominent son after leading an unsuccessful rebellion against his uncle, King James II, following the death of Charles II. These recognitions granted public royal lineage and privileges without legitimizing throne claims.
Habsburg empire and Hanoverian era successors
In the Habsburg Empire, Emperor Charles V fathered Don Juan of Austria out of wedlock. Raised without legitimate dynastic standing, Don Juan was formally recognized in the emperor's 1558 will, which commended him to the service of legitimate heir King Philip II of Spain.
Don Juan subsequently became a prominent military commander. He achieved historical fame in 1571 by leading the Holy League fleet to victory at the Battle of Lepanto.
In Britain, prior to ascending the throne, Prince William, Duke of Clarence, fathered ten children with actress Dorothea Jordan. The children were given the surname FitzClarence, and the eldest surviving son, George FitzClarence, was created Earl of Munster in 1831.
Unlike modern cases involving secrecy, William's relationship with Jordan was widely known. The FitzClarence children held prominent places within the broader royal household, though they possessed no rights to the crown.
Monaco dynastic reform and Spanish monarchy claims
At the start of the 20th century, Prince Louis II of Monaco faced a dynastic crisis because he lacked a legitimate heir. He had previously fathered an out-of-wedlock daughter named Charlotte.
Monaco passed a law in 1911 recognizing Charlotte as Louis's daughter and integrating her into the princely family. Prince Louis officially adopted her in 1919, making her Princess Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi, Duchess of Valentinois, which directly resolved the principality's throne succession.
In Spain, King Alfonso XIII fathered seven children with Queen Victoria Eugenie alongside several children from external relationships. Among them was Leandro Ruiz Moragas, who secured the legal right to use the title of Prince in 2003.
King Alfonso XIII also had other reported out-of-wedlock descendants, including Roger Marie Vincent Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin and Juana Alfonsa Milán y Quiñones de León.
