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After years of paternity dispute with the former king of Belgium, Albert II, the responsible court in Brussels has finally ruled in favor of the artist Delphine Boël. The 52-year-old is now officially the Princess of Belgium.
Boëls’ lawyer confirmed the verdict. He said his client was “completely satisfied.” He added that winning a legal battle “can never replace a father’s love” but can “create a sense of justice.”
Her two children, Joséphine and Oscar, would also become princesses and princes, respectively. Boël himself takes his father’s surname: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha.
Albert denied romance
The court’s decision was preceded by years of litigation. The artist Boël had already claimed in 1997 that she was the illegitimate daughter of the monarch. According to her account, her mother and Albert had a long affair decades ago, which Albert had always denied. In January she relented after years of litigation and admitted paternity. The court had previously ruled that he had to submit to a test.
After the last hearing on September 10, the appeals court announced its decision for October 29.
Boël was born in 1968 as the daughter of the Belgian noblewoman Sybille de Sélys Longchamps. Boël made a name for himself as an artist with, among other things, papier-mâché figures.
