{"id":7063,"date":"2026-08-21T07:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7063"},"modified":"2026-08-21T07:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:11:49","slug":"car-salesman-26-becomes-belgian-prince-after-being-recognized-as-secret-son-of-kings-brother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7063","title":{"rendered":"Car salesman, 26, becomes Belgian prince after being recognized as secret son of king’s brother"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Belgian car salesman became a prince after Prince Laurent formally acknowledged Cl\u00e9ment Vandenkerckhove, 26, as his secret son.<\/p>\n

Read more Beware Iran\u2019s most devious weapon \u2014 another \u2018October surprise\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Vandenkerckhove was legally recognized by 63-year-old Laurent \u2014 the younger brother of King Philippe \u2014 as his son and heir at a quiet town hall ceremony about six months ago, with details only now emerging, The Telegraph reported Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The new prince now has equal inheritance rights to Laurent\u2019s private estate with his half-sister Princess Louise, 20, and half-brothers Prince Nicolas, 20, and Prince Aymeric, 19.<\/p>\n

But despite Vandenkerckhove\u2019s new title, he won\u2019t receive a royal allowance, take on official duties or gain any rights to the Belgian throne.<\/p>\n

Vandenkerckhove has not decided whether to take Laurent\u2019s Saxe-Coburg family name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might want to do that, but I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove,\u201d he recently told Het Nieuwsblad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to sacrifice that family name, it would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The royal secret stayed buried for years until Vandenkerckhove appeared in a TV documentary on Belgian network VTM last September and publicly confirmed that Laurent was his biological father.<\/p>\n

Vandenkerckhove was born in August 2000 to Belgian singer and socialite Wendy Van Wanten, whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove.<\/p>\n

She and Laurent had a high-profile relationship in the 1990s after meeting at a fashion show in Paris, before he married Princess Claire in 2003.<\/p>\n

Read more Pennsylvania university soccer star Karoline Heintz stabbed to death by boyfriend who had his mom help dump teen\u2019s body<\/a><\/p>\n

In the documentary, Vandenkerckhove said his mother finally told him Laurent was his father when he was 16.<\/p>\n

Four years later, he worked up the nerve to call the prince, and the pair eventually took a DNA test that showed a 99.5 percent match.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to the hospital together and I remember him saying \u2018I\u2019ll go first so you\u2019re feeling at ease,’\u201d Vandenkerckhove told VTM.<\/p>\n

Laurent later confirmed that Vandenkerckhove was his biological son, saying they had been having \u201copen and honest conversations\u201d privately in recent years.<\/p>\n

Vandenkerckhove had actually crossed paths with Laurent at a shopping center in 2013, without realizing the man was his biological father.<\/p>\n

Before becoming a prince, Vandenkerckhove worked as a car salesman at an Opel dealership in Deinze, building a life far removed from the Belgian royal family, according to Het Nieuwsblad.<\/p>\n

He studied graphic design and is known for his love of fast cars and horses.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The latest royal family secret echoes Laurent\u2019s own family history.<\/p>\n

His father, former King Albert II, 92, spent years fighting a paternity battle before admitting in 2020 that he had fathered a daughter during an affair.<\/p>\n

Delphine Bo\u00ebl, 58, eventually won her legal fight and was granted the title of princess.<\/p>\n

Read more Jacob deGrom makes strikeout history against familiar foe<\/a><\/p>\n

She now uses the name Delphine de Saxe-Coburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former car salesman Cl\u00e9ment Vandenkerckhove, 26, has been officially recognized as the secret son and heir of Belgium\u2019s Prince Laurent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCar salesman, 26, becomes Belgian prince after being recognized as secret son of king's brother - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7063\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Car salesman, 26, becomes Belgian prince after being recognized as secret son of king's brother - 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