Prince Laurent of Belgium has been seen pictured with his secret “love child” Clément Vandenkerckhove for the first time.
A series of photos were shared by Belgian TV channel VTM, with the company having created a documentary named Clément, son of… based on the decades-long saga which saw the royal, 61, fervently deny the rumours of Vandenkerckhove’s existence.
The photos, taken by Belgian royal journalist Wim Dehanschutter, were shared in the documentary, along with testimony from Vandenkerckhove and his mother, model, singer and actress Wendy Van Wanten.
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One shows the prince, the younger brother of King Philippe of Belgium, posing with the 25-year-old in a selfie, both of them wearing sunglasses.
Others shared included one of them standing side by side, and even one of them riding in the same car.
Dehanschutter also shared quotes from the documentary, with Vandenkerckhove revealing he first met his father at age 13 in a shopping mall, purely by coincidence.
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Prince Laurent of Belgium and his wife Princess Claire of Belgium. (Getty)
“I was standing with Clément in the store and suddenly Laurent walked in,” Van Wanten, 65, said.
Clément added: “I looked at the man and heard, ‘Clément, this is your daddy.'”
But Laurent reached out for the first time officially in 2020, Vandenkerckhove recalled.
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“I heard a deep voice say, ‘Hello, who am I speaking to?’ I said, ‘It’s Clément’. The first thing he said was, ‘And how are you?’ My heart was pounding. We talked for 40 minutes.”
They later conducted a paternity test, with the 25-year-old sharing: “My father suggested to take a DNA test. We went to the hospital together. He told me: ‘I’ll go first, so you feel comfortable.’
“A few weeks later we had the results. I received an email from the lab saying the DNA was a 99.5 per cent match.”
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With the release of the documentary, Vandenkerckhove admitted that all he wants is anormal relationship with his father.
“My father didn’t do anything wrong, nor did my mother. I want to be able to live a normal life and not be constantly asked: ‘Do you know who your father is? Has he died yet?’. I just want to go have a beer with my father,” he said.
Laurent only recently admitted that the son of Van Wanten was his own in a statement made four days ago.
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The royal said the decision to acknowledge his son now was a ”result of joint consultation”.
“With this announcement, I acknowledge that I am the biological father of Clement Vandenkerckhove,” Prince Laurent said.
“We have spoken openly and honestly about this in recent years.
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“This announcement is based on a sense of understanding and respect for those involved. It is the result of joint consultation.
“I kindly request that you receive this information with the discretion that the nature of this intimate matter requires.
“I will not make any further statements or provide any further explanation on this matter.”
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There is now potentially scope for Vandenkerckhove to be legally aknowledged as Prince Laurent’s son, which may allow him to be recognised officially as a Prince of Belgium by a royal decree signed by his uncle, King Philippe.
From left to right: Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Princess Delphine of Belgium, the King Philippe of Belgium, Princess Claire of Belgium, Albert II of Belgium, Prince Laurent of Belgium and Queen Paola of Belgium attend the annual mass at the Notre-Dame church in Laeken, in memory of the deceased members of the Royal Family on February 20, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images) (Getty)
However, King Philippe previously established a royal decree in 21015 that would only grant royal titles to those in the core of the royal family.
But this has already been overturned once in 2020 to recognise Delphine Boël, the illegitimate daughter of the former King Albert II of Belgium, as an official Princess of Belgium. She is also Philippe, Laurent, and their sister Astrid’s half-sister.
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Vandenkerckhove was born in 2000, before Laurent met his wife. (Getty)
Laurent has been married to his wife, Princess Claire since 2003, and the couple have three children – Princess Louise, 21, and 19-year-old twins Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric.
Vandenkerckhove was born in 2000, before Laurent met his wife.
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