According to his lawyer, former King Albert II of Belgium has agreed to take a DNA-test in the paternity case of his supposed natural daughter Delphine Boël. He decided to this, his lawyer said, because “he respects the legal system.”
However, the results will remain a secret until there is a verdict on the appeal the King made to the Court of Cassation. Late last year the Court of Appeals in Brussels ordered King Albert to undergo a DNA-test in order to determine if he is the father of Delphine Boël. The King then decided to take his case to the Court of Cassation, the main court of last resort in Belgium. This appeal is still open, but the former King was facing a 5,000 euro a day penalty for refusing to take the DNA-test.
Delphine was born in 1968 as the daughter of Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps and was officially recognised by her mother’s husband Jonkheer Jacques Boël (of which the English equivalent would be Esquire). The King made a reference to a crisis ‘thirty years ago’ in the 1999 Christmas speech but has otherwise remained silent on the subject. Delphine Boël has always claimed that it was not about any inheritance, as her legal father is much richer than the King.
In 2013, Delphine summoned King Albert and two of his children, the Duke of Brabant, now King Philippe and Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este to court in hopes of obtaining DNA for testing purposes. The King enjoyed immunity at the time, but his abdication in July 2013 opened the way for a new procedure. The former King of the Belgians was part of a great deal of Delphine’s childhood but has wanted nothing to do with her for the past 20 years. He has also refused to appear in court.
