EXCLUSIVE: Belgian Prince Laurent Officially Recognizes His Secret Son
Belgian Prince Laurent has officially recognized his secret son, publicly acknowledging their relationship.
Sept. 21 2026, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Fairy tales do come true.
A 26-year-old car salesman is now a prince – after his father, Prince Laurent of Belgium, officially recognized him as his son and heir, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Secret Son Gains Royal Recognition
Wendy Van Wanten revealed Prince Laurent's identity to Clément Vandenkerckhove when her son was 16.
Clément Vandenkerckhove's true paternity was kept secret for decades until Prince Laurent legally acknowledged him in a low-key town hall ceremony about six months ago.
But his new royal title doesn't mean Vandenkerckhove – who worked as a salesman at an Opel dealership – will be wearing a crown.
He'll have equal inheritance rights to the private estate of Prince Laurent – the younger brother of Belgium's King Philippe – along with his father's three children. But he won't receive a royal allowance, take on official duties or gain any rights to the throne.
Vandenkerckhove was born in 2000, but only learned of his father's identity when he was 16 and his mother, Belgian singer and socialite Wendy Van Wanten, revealed the truth.
His mother, whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove, had a high-profile relationship with the Belgian royal in the 1990s.
They dated after a chance encounter at a fashion show in Paris, but the romance didn't last amid speculation Prince Laurent's father, the former king, disapproved. Laurent has been married since 2003 to Claire Coombs, the mother of his three children.
DNA Test Confirmed Prince’s Paternity
Prince Laurent confirmed Clément Vandenkerckhove was his biological son after the pair took a DNA test.
Four years after learning the truth about his paternity, Vandenkerckhove contacted the prince. The two eventually took a DNA test that showed a 95.5 percent match.
Vandenkerckhove revealed the secret in a Belgian TV documentary last September and publicly confirmed Prince Laurent was his biological father.
"We went to the hospital together and I remember him saying, 'I'll go first so you're feeling at ease,'" Vandenkerckhove recalled.
Prince Laurent later confirmed that Vandenkerckhove was his biological son, noting they'd engaged in "open and honest conversations" privately in recent years.
Royal Family Has Faced Paternity Scandal Before
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Former King Albert II admitted in 2020 that he fathered Delphine Boel, who later gained the title of princess.
Vandenkerckhove is entitled to take his father's Saxe-Cobourg family name but hasn't decided whether he will.
"I might want to do that, but I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove," he said. "If I were to sacrifice that family name, it would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me."
The paternity secret isn't the first for Belgium's royal family.
Prince Laurent's father, 92-year-old former King Albert II, who abdicated in 2013, fought a paternity battle for years before admitting in 2020 that he'd fathered a daughter.
Delphine Boel, 58, eventually won her legal fight. She was granted the title of princess and goes by Delphine de Saxe-Cobourg.
