It was discovered yesterday that Prince Laurent of Belgium’s Twitter account (@Laurent_of_B) had been deleted. Members of the Belgian media made the discovery yesterday morning.
Many had wondered if King Philippe had pressured his younger brother to delete his account, but the Belgian Royal Court issued a denial saying to Belgian news Belga, “We also found that Prince Laurent’s personal Twitter account is not accessible.
“The palace did not ask the Prince at all, and we had no information about this.”
This comes after Laurent caused controversy earlier in the week when he met with foreign dignitaries without first notifying and gaining authorisation from the Belgian government – something he had been warned against previously. The government had warned the Prince that meeting with foreign governments without their permission could lead to Laurent losing his annual stipend (currently 308,000 euro per year).
Prince Laurent attended the 90th-anniversary celebration of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army at the embassy in Brussels. He later tweeted photos from his attendance at the event which drew attention to his unauthorised meeting.
His Royal Highness defended his actions saying he was there as a result of a “personal invitation” and not official business. He also added that his attendance was “nobody’s business.”
Prime Minister Charles Michel said that Prince Laurent would be facing “proportionate punishment.” A spokesman for the Prime Minister said, “It was in consultation with the King that the Prime Minister made the decision to apply for a sanction.” He will plead his case in September before Prime Minister Michel, but for now, Michel has asked that 10% be taken from his stipend.
Prince Laurent created a Twitter account, which was never verified by Twitter, a year ago where he regularly tweeted about his official events. His wife, Princess Claire’s Twitter account is still up on the social networking site, but she has not tweeted since July 2016.
Unfortunately, it seems as though there is a mis- communication between Prince Laurent and the government. If the Prince accepts an invitation by a foreign government and it may presumed by his hosts that he is representing either his family or the government – then it is indeed the business of the government.
(His Royal Highness defended his actions saying he was there as a result of a “personal invitation” and not official business. He also added that his attendance was “nobody’s business.”)
Especially so when he wears the uniform of the Belgian Armed forces – a suit denotes this is a private visit, the uniform makes it far more “official” and this is how it was probably interpreted by both the Government of Belgium, and more troubling – the Chinese government who were his hosts.
Prince Laurent has been around this scenario long enough to know what’s official and personal and if he wants a personal life and does not want the responsibility of answering to his brother the King, the Government and the country overall, there is a simple remedy – remove himself from being an official member of the royal family and he is then a private citizen – without the duties of representing Belgium, or the money he receives for his participation in said official duties.
Prince Laurent may surprise us all and actually prosper in the private sector but as we see often with extended members of reigning royal families – it’s difficult to have it both ways… a personal & business life and public duties.