Prince Laurent of Belgium

Contents

Prince Laurent of Belgium (Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie de Saxe-Cobourg; born 19 October 1963) is the second son and youngest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and younger brother of King Philippe. Currently, he is 15th in the Belgian line of succession. He had been as high as third in line, but the constitution was amended in 1991 to extend an equal right of succession to women, putting him behind his sister, Princess Astrid, and her descendants.

Early life and education

Prince Laurent was born on 19 October 1963 at the Belvédère Château in Laeken, northern Brussels. He was educated at the Royal Cadet High School and at the Royal Military Academy.

Marriage and children

Prince Laurent and Claire Louise Coombs were married in Brussels on 12 April 2003. Coombs was also given the title of Princess of Belgium upon her marriage. The couple have three children, who are sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth in the line of succession to the throne respectively.

  • Princess Louise (born 6 February 2004)
  • Prince Nicolas (born 13 December 2005, twin with Aymeric)
  • Prince Aymeric (born 13 December 2005, twin with Nicolas)

Prince Laurent also had a child out of wedlock with actress and singer Iris Vandenkerckhove (born 6 February 1960), better known as Wendy Van Wanten, whom he publicly recognised on 9 September 2025 and formally brought into the royal family:[1][2]

  • Prince Clément Vandenkerckhove (born 16 August 2000)[1][3]

The family live in Villa Clémentine, in Tervuren.

Prince Laurent is also a godfather to Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the daughter of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, a current pretender to the former throne of Two Sicilies and his wife, Princess Camilla, Duchess of Castro.

Alleged corruption scandal

In December 2006, Prince Laurent's name surfaced in a corruption scandal in which funds of the Belgian Navy were spent on his residence (Villa Clémentine) in Tervuren. Although the investigating magistrates denied that Laurent was personally implicated, some of the accused have implicated the prince in the press.

On 5 January 2007, it became known that King Albert II had signed a royal decree, making it possible for Laurent to be called up as a witness in the corruption trial which was to start 8 January. One of the defendants immediately used this to subpoena the prince. During the evening of 8 January, Prince Laurent was interrogated by federal police, appearing in court the following day where he testified at the trial that he had no reason to believe the funding of his renovations could be illegal.[4]

Media reports in March 2007 suggested that Laurent was no longer welcome at the Royal Palace, possibly due to his role in the corruption scandal.[5]

In March 2011, the prince visited the former Belgian colony of the Congo without receiving the required permission; the reported purpose of the visit was to promote awareness of deforestation. As a result, on 9 April he accepted conditions laid down by Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme regarding his future activities; had he not done so, the matter of his annual appanage would have been in question.

Finances

In 2025, Prince Laurent filed a petition asking that he be allowed to avail of social security benefits apart from his royal stipend, saying that he is self-employed as a royal and citing his work running an animal welfare charity. The petition was denied by a court in Brussels on 7 April 2025, which ruled that he cannot be considered as either self-employed or an employee.[6]

Health

In March 2014, Prince Laurent was hospitalised with pneumonia and depression.[7] He was voluntarily placed in a medically-induced coma on March 25, and was awakened on 27 March.[8] On 4 April, Queen Paola stated in a letter that Laurent's condition was improving, and that she felt he was 'the most vulnerable' of her three children.[9]

Titles, styles and honours

  • His Royal Highness Prince Laurent of Belgium

Prince Laurent does not hold a personal title as younger princes were previously accustomed to receive in the past (such as Count of Flanders or Prince of Liège).

Honours

National

Foreign

Dynastic orders

  • Two Sicilian Royal Family:

Military ranks

Source : www.monarchie.be, Prince Laurent

Arms

Coat of arms of Prince Laurent of Belgium
Notes As a Prince of Belgium and a descendant of King Leopold I, the Prince is entitled to use a coat of arms which was stipulated in the Royal Decree of King Philippe in 2019.[11] Adopted 12 July 2019 Coronet Princely crown of Belgium Escutcheon Sable, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules (Belgium), on the shoulder an escutcheon barry of ten sable and or, a crancelin vert (Wettin), overall a bordure or. Supporters Two lions guardant proper Motto French: L'union fait la force Dutch: Eendracht maakt macht German: Einigkeit macht stark Other elements The whole is placed on a mantle purpure with ermine lining, fringes and tassels or and ensigned with the Royal crown of Belgium.

References

  1. 1.[1.2]NWS, VRT (9 September 2025). "Prins Laurent erkent Clement Vandenkerckhove, zoon van Wendy Van Wanten, als zijn zoon | VRT NWS: nieuws". VRTNWS (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  2. 2.Kirby, Paul (20 August 2026). "Belgian car salesman becomes prince after royal parentage confirmed". BBC News. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  3. 3.NWS, VRT (10 September 2025). ""Ik was verliefd en verslaafd": 5 opvallende momenten uit het eerste deel van de documentaire 'Clement, zoon van' | VRT NWS: nieuws". VRTNWS (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  4. 4."Belgium turns critical eye to monarchy - CNN.com". CNN. 12 January 2007. Archived from the original on 12 January 2007.
  5. 5."No longer welcome". flandersnews.be. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2007.
  6. 6."Belgian prince loses bid for benefits on top of £300k royal allowance". BBC. 8 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  7. 7."Le prince Laurent a été placé en coma artificiel [French]". Le Soir.
  8. 8."Le Prince Laurent a reçu la visite du père Gilbert et est réveillé". 27 March 2014.
  9. 9."News report". www.wort.lu. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  10. 10.Royal Decree 783/2000. BOE no. 115, 13 May 2000, p. 17722
  11. 11.Philippe, Koning der Belgen (12 July 2019). "Koninklijk besluit houdende vaststelling van het wapen van het Koninklijk Huis en van zijn leden" (PDF). Belgisch Staatsblad. Retrieved 24 July 2019.