Prince Laurent, Princess Claire & Family - News & Events, Part 6; Dec 2016 - Aug 2023

[REAL COUNTESS]

Lovely Family.I think his daughter Louise looks so much like Claire. the twin boys are really grown a lot. Even Laurent looks happy.

 

[leidi]

For all their ups and downs Laurent and his family have always seemed very close. Also there's no way that the rumours about Laurent's parentage are true. He looks a dead ringer for Albert.

Those Coburg genes are STRONG, his own sons look like a young Baudouin and a young Laurent (aka Albert).

Any news on how Princess Claire is these days?

The photo is lovely but what struck me is how old and unhealthy Laurent looks. I do wish he would lose 30lbs and start taking better care of himself physically and mentally. He has alot to live for!

It's weird, he looks much older than Philippe and there's only 3 years between them, but the King has stayed fit and seemingly takes much better care of himself.

 

[Marengo]

It seems that there is some movement in the issue of Laurent's Libyan foundation. Money had been freezed by the Belgian government

Today Finance minister Vincent van Peterghem declared in a chamber commission that he sees no objection in de-freezing Belgian accounts of Libya. This means that Prince Laurent's foundation that can claim the 47 million Euros. The money was promissed to Laurent's foundation due to involvement in deforestation projects but the contract was ended by Libya. A Belgian court decided in 2010 that this cancellation was illegal.

We now have to wait for the Foreign Affairs minister Sophie Wilmès to notify the UN about the matter.

https://www.msn.com/fr-be/actualite...nce-laurent-d-c3-a9blocage-en-vue/ar-BB1cIn2A

Interview with sudinfo:
https://www.sudinfo.be/id308825/art...e-voici-le-plan-du-prince-laurent-pour-sauver

The prince says that he is impatient to restart the projects against deforestation in Libya once the thing is sorted.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

It seems that there is some movement in the issue of Laurent's Libyan foundation. Money had been freezed by the Belgian government

Today Finance minister Vincent van Peterghem declared in a chamber commission that he sees no objection in de-freezing Belgian accounts of Libya. This means that Prince Laurent's foundation that can claim the 47 million Euros. The money was promissed to Laurent's foundation due to involvement in deforestation projects but the contract was ended by Libya. A Belgian court decided in 2010 that this cancellation was illegal.

We now have to wait for the Foreign Affairs minister Sophie Wilmès to notify the UN about the matter.

https://www.msn.com/fr-be/actualite...nce-laurent-d-c3-a9blocage-en-vue/ar-BB1cIn2A

Interview with sudinfo:
https://www.sudinfo.be/id308825/art...e-voici-le-plan-du-prince-laurent-pour-sauver

The prince says that he is impatient to restart the projects against deforestation in Libya once the thing is sorted.

That is good news for his foundation, but how workable is his plan to restart operations in the current political climate of Libya? I hope he will have counsel from the Palace.

I have a question...hope it is okay yo ask, if not mods can delete. Is Prince Laurent jealous of his brother the King? Jealous because he, Laurent would hav3 like to be king but also jealous because if a rivalry? Thanks. I just get the impression because of what Laurent saids and dies at times.

He touched on the subject in his Politico interview some time ago.

Ever since he was a young child, Laurent has felt like the odds were stacked against him. He struggled with dyslexia while attending a Dutch-speaking secondary school. He resented the decision to send him there as he was brought up speaking French.

The youngest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola, Laurent admitted that his parents were not around much as he grew up and that he struggled to understand why so much more opportunity and attention was given to his elder brother Philippe, who was a direct heir to the throne.

Though his relationship with his brother, he said, "is much better now", he admitted the pair were raised very differently. "Kids don't understand that. If you have an older brother and you see he is treated differently, then you would ask yourself a lot of questions," he said in a telephone interview.

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-prince-laurent-fight-with-national-government/

 

[Skippy]

That is good news for his foundation, but how workable is his plan to restart operations in the current political climate of Libya? I hope he will have counsel from the Palace.




He touched on the subject in his Politico interview some time ago.



https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-prince-laurent-fight-with-national-government/

I can very well imagine that Laurent resented that decision. It was only made after Flemish political interference. King Baudouin and then-Minister of Education Herman De Croo made that decision together.
It got so bad for Laurent that he ran away and was found hitchhiking to Brussels.

This was told in the documentary about his brother's long way to the throne.

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

Prince Laurent and Princess Claire's Valentine's Day card:

Les voeux de Saint Valentin de Laurent et Claire de Belgique – Noblesse & Royautés

 

[REAL COUNTESS]

Nice to see them both. Laurent seems to be very connected to his animal charity,

 

[eya]

"The Province of Liege and the Prince Laurent Foundation are joining forces for the well-being of animals and their companions.

The Province of Liège and the Prince Laurent Foundation on Monday 15 March signed a lease agreement which will allow the famous animal dispensary to in turn integrate the network of partners of the Carrefour Santé-Social (CaSS) of the Province, on the site of the Saint-Laurent barracks in Liège."

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmSc6tWYAMT6e0?format=jpg&name=900x900


Actualités | Province de Liège

 

[eya]

Prince Laurent with Princess Louise at the opening today 25 June of the Prince Laurent Foundation Veterinary Dispensary in Liege


https://www.rexfeatures.com/livefee...rent_foundation_veterinary_dispensary,_liege?


https://www.rtl.be/people/royautes/le-prince-laurent-1308669.aspx

 

[Prinsara]

Laurent, that mask... Not great for anyone, let alone a public, photographed figure.

 

[maria-olivia]

Mrs Solvay is a great support for the Prince

 

[iceflower]

Here are some more photos and a video of Laurent and Louise at the opening in Liege:


** lavenir: PHOTOS | Le prince Laurent: «Le nouveau dispensaire liégeois est le plus complémentaire, le plus parfait..» **


** dailymotion: Inauguration du dispensaire de la Fondation Prince Laurent à Liège en présence du prince Laurent **

 

[Marengo]

Laurent, that mask... Not great for anyone, let alone a public, photographed figure.

I don't think a mask is obligatory any more, not in Brussels at least. Only inside and in certain designated areas we need to wear one.

 

[rominet09]

I don't think a mask is obligatory any more, not in Brussels at least. Only inside and in certain designated areas we need to wear one.

The mask was mandatory in Wallony till yesterday, the 25th of June. Today we can be in the streets without it. We still have to wear it in the shops and in the public transport.

 

[Marengo]

Ah, in that case prince Laurent was one day ahead of the change . In Brussels we still have to wear one in public transport, in (busy) shopping steets and inside public areas (shops, restaurants, gyms, etc.) as well. But in quiet areas outside half of the people stopped wearing the mask before the rule ended and many wore the masks the way the prince did: with the nose out. Fortunately Belgium is having a very rapid and succesfull vaccination campaign and it is likely that the prince and his escorte Mme Solvay are fully vaccinated.

Good to see princess Louise with him. For all his faults the prince and princess Claire seem to have built a loving family.

 

[leidi]

What has been going on with Claire? I think the last time she went anywhere with Laurent (in public acts at least) was at Elisabeth's 18th birthday celebrations?

 

[maria-olivia]

We don't know it is private but I think she recovers from an illness she already had before she got the Covid.

 

[rominet09]

What has been going on with Claire? I think the last time she went anywhere with Laurent (in public acts at least) was at Elisabeth's 18th birthday celebrations?

She has been very ill, nobody knows exactly what she had (or still has) but it is clearly very serious. I miss her.

 

[leidi]

We don't know it is private but I think she recovers from an illness she already had before she got the Covid.

But she was missing way before that, I can't honestly remember the last time she went anywhere with Laurent.
And why isn't she in like the hospital or something if she's that sick? Can't she go out every once in a while with her husband?
I don't know, this whole thing has been pretty strange

 

[Blog Real]

I don't know if Claire is sick, but Claire doesn't show up much in public.
When was the last time Claire appeared in public acts?
Is she still sick?

 

[rominet09]

I don't know if Claire is sick, but Claire doesn't show up much in public.
When was the last time Claire appeared in public acts?
Is she still sick?

Here in Belgium we don't know and it's nice that the journalists respect her (and their) privacy in difficult moments.

 

[Prinsara]

But Laurent has been extremely publicly ill, and has also complained about not being entitled to health insurance with Claire being ill. Why is Claire entitled to more privacy?

They don't have to say exactly what the matter is, but just "she is continuing to receive medical treatment" or "she is at home continuing to recover and everyone's kind thoughts are appreciated", or some kind of update would be a bit more enlightening. Also Claire is a nice woman and people like her and are no doubt getting worried at this point.

They're not private citizens. They have measures of privacy but not complete secrecy.

 

[maria-olivia]

Perhaps we will see her as before when King Albert and Queen Paola are on holiday on their "ALPA"

 

[leidi]

Perhaps we will see her as before when King Albert and Queen Paola are on holiday on their "ALPA"

So she's well enough to go on holiday but not to go out with Laurent on public acts every once in a while?

 

[Marengo]

Didn't she stop attending most things after there were some troubles with Laurent's dotation? At the time I believe it was said that Laurent's logic was that if you pay him less money, you only get to see half of the team. And it would mean some economizing as they would not have to buy expensive gowns, hairdressers etc. any longer. That was the story in 2018 at least.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

Didn't she stop attending most things after there were some troubles with Laurent's dotation? At the time I believe it was said that Laurent's logic was that if you pay him less money, you only get to see half of the team. And it would mean some economizing as they would not have to buy expensive gowns, hairdressers etc. any longer. That was the story in 2018 at least.

Yes, that's what I remember reading as well. With his reduced appanage, Laurent no longer wished to pay for Claire's wardrobe & hairdresser for royal appearances...

I hope Claire is well, she seems like such a lovely woman!

 

[Prinsara]

That would indeed make a great deal of sense as of 2018, but given that we know Claire definitely had Covid on top of dealing with something else (?) and she hasn't been seen doing much of anything (not just engagements), it seems less like Laurent-logic at work and more like something may not be okay.

Conversely, if Claire is perfectly well and healthy, why don't we know that?

 

[rominet09]

That would indeed make a great deal of sense as of 2018, but given that we know Claire definitely had Covid on top of dealing with something else (?) and she hasn't been seen doing much of anything (not just engagements), it seems less like Laurent-logic at work and more like something may not be okay.

Conversely, if Claire is perfectly well and healthy, why don't we know that?

I think she isn't yet. Some illnesses can last years to be cured. All I know is that I wish her the best?

 

[maria-olivia]

A belgian Poster saw Laurent's family and Delphine's family in an italian restaurant !

 

[rominet09]

A belgian Poster saw Laurent's family and Delphine's family in an italian restaurant !

Very very happy to read that !