Prince Laurent of Belgium legally acknowledged 26-year-old Clément Vandenkerckhove, a former car salesman, as his son about six months ago at a quiet town hall ceremony in Belgium [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The recognition followed a DNA test that revealed a 99.5% match between the prince and Vandenkerckhove [9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 6, 7, 8].

Vandenkerckhove is the son of Belgian singer Wendy Van Wanten, born Iris Vandenkerckhove, who had a relationship with Prince Laurent in the 1990s, before his 2003 marriage [1, 9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. His mother told him the truth about his paternity when he was 16 years old [1, 9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 6, 7, 8]. The two met in 2013 by chance in a shopping mall, though neither knew they were biologically related at the time [9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 6, 8]. Around age 20, after several phone calls, Vandenkerckhove contacted Prince Laurent and they underwent the DNA test together [1, 9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 6, 7, 8]. Vandenkerckhove recalled, "We went to the hospital together and I remember him saying, ‘I’ll go first so you’re feeling at ease.’" [1]

Despite now being legally recognized as a prince with inheritance rights to Prince Laurent’s private estate, Vandenkerckhove does not receive a royal allowance, has no official duties, and has no claim to the Belgian throne [1, 9, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 6, 7, 8]. He has expressed pride in the surname Vandenkerckhove and remains undecided about adopting the royal family name Saxe-Coburg. "I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove. If I were to sacrifice that family name, it would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me," he said [1, 9, 3, 5, 6, 8].

Prince Laurent, 63, has three other children with his wife Princess Claire: 20-year-old Princess Louise, 20-year-old Prince Nicolas, and 19-year-old Prince Aymeric [1, 9, 3, 7]. This admission recalls a 2020 case when former King Albert II acknowledged paternity of Delphine Boël after a long legal battle [1, 9, 3, 4, 5, 10, 6, 8].

On June 21, Vandenkerckhove posted photos on Instagram celebrating Father's Day with Prince Laurent and his adoptive father [8].