A woman who successfully waged a seven-year legal battle to prove she was the daughter of former Belgium King Albert II will find out next month if, against her father's wishes, she will be able to use the titles Her Highness and the Princess of Belgium.
Delphine Boël, 52, an artist and sculptor whose mother had an extramarital affair with King Albert in the 1960s, argued in the Brussels Court of Appeals that she should also be able to use the surname of her biological father, Saxe -Coburg. Delphine's real name is Jonkvrouw Delphine Michèle Anne Marie Ghislaine Boël and is the half-sister of the current King of Belgium, King Philippe.
King Albert, 86, who abdicated in 2013, was forced to admit he was Boel's biological father following a court-ordered DNA test.
Boel, who spent time with her father as a child, has been seeking recognition for more than 20 years, but her requests were denied. She started a legal battle to prove paternity in June 2013, after her daughter, Joséphine, was hospitalized with pneumonia and she felt the absence of her biological father.
Delphine's claim received media attention last fall when the appellate court ruled that Jacques Boël, with whom Delphine grew up, was not her biological father, and instructed an expert to perform a DNA test.
The king agreed to provide a saliva sample - which proved paternity - after the court announced he would fine him € 5,000 for each day he refused.
Marc Uyttendaele, avokati i Delphine, tha se ajo thjesht donte të trajtohej njësoj si fëmijët e tjerë të mbretit Albert. “Titujt janë gjëra që i përkasin asaj, ashtu si u përkasin fëmijëve të tjerë të mbretit Albert. Klientja ime kurrë nuk kishte ndonjë qëllim tjetër përveçse të trajtohej saktësisht në të njëjtën mënyrë si fëmijët e tjerë të mbretit, vëllezërit dhe motra e saj.”
Ditën kur mbreti Albert u tërhoq nga froni shtatë vjet më parë, për shkak të problemeve shëndetësore, nëna e Delphine, baronesha Sybille de Selys Longchamps, dha një intervistë në televizion ku foli publikisht për herë të parë në lidhje me romancën e tyre.
"I thought I could not have children because I had an infection," she said of the relationship, which is thought to have lasted from 1966 to 1984. "It was a beautiful period. Delphine was a child of love. "Albert was not the figure of the father, but he was very dear to him."
The court will decide on October 29 whether Delphine will receive the biological father's surname as well as the royal titles.
Source: Guardian
