DNA Test Confirms Illegitimate Daughter of Former Belgian King

Belgian King Albert II admits to fathering an illegitimate child while married to his wife, Paola. (Flickr)

Belgium’s former king, Albert II, recognized a daughter he fathered out of wedlock after court-ordered DNA testing. The daughter, an artist named Delphine Boël, was the product of an 18-year affair between King Albert and Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps. Boël, who is 51, has continually sought recognition as the fourth child of the former-king.  

According to the Washington Post, reports of King Albert’s affair surfaced in 2005 but were not investigated until 2013, when he abdicated for health reasons and lost immunity from prosecution. The former-king only agreed to conduct DNA tests after the court threatened to fine him €5,000 ($5,530) for each day he did not comply.

King Albert’s legal team said there are significant legal arguments that biological paternity does not necessitate legal paternity. However, the former-king did not feel the need to raise these in court in order “to put an end to this difficult procedure, in honor and dignity,” according to the New York Times.

The origins of the affair trace back to the 1960s, when King Albert was still a prince and married to Paola Ruffo di Calabria, an Italian princess with whom he had three children. Rumors of Delphine, King Albert’s illegitimate child, surfaced in a book published in 1999 by journalist Mario Danneels. In 2005, Boël said that King Albert was her father, a claim which the king did not acknowledge or deny. After he abdicated, Boël began her lawsuit to gain recognition of his paternity, claiming that her motivations for the suit were not financial but largely emotional.

The positive DNA results, according to Boël’s attorneys, “put an end to the social exclusion that [Boël] was subjected to and will prevent her children from having to bear this burden.” Moving forward, one of Boël’s attorneys, Marc Uyttendaele, said Boël “is open to dialogue, but without much hope,” considering the attitude of King Albert. As a descendant of the former-king, Boël is presumably entitled to a portion of his estate. However, under the Belgian constitution, only legitimate descendants are entitled to be entered into the royal line of succession.