Delphine Boël, daughter of King Albert II

[Duc_et_Pair]

It appears so !!! I find this completely insane to blame someone for who her parents are and her wanting to know for sure who her father is.


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She knows who her father is. Albert de Belgique. Or is she doubting her darling mommy's words? Mommy will know best.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

[...] As a child she has the moral right to get recognition, the reasons why she wants this are irrelevant to such a case. It seems that for now the Belgian court agrees.

[...]

Is there such a moral right? Maybe for knowing who her natural father is but for recognition? That is not what I have understood from the ruling: the Court of Appeal thinks a child has a right to know his/her afstamming (descendance) and has filed it back to a lower Court of Justice. The right to know someone's descendance is not the same as a right to be recognized! This ruling has opened Pandora's Box by the way because what happens with donors who have been granted total anonimity, which was guarenteed under Belgian Law? The last word has not been spoken and of course all parties have a long road to go with various possibilities for appeals to higher instances.

But hey... doesn't Delphine already know she is Albert's daughter? Hasn't mommie-dearest told her so? Or must this be shouted all over in thick neon-letters all over Brussels? And then? What is her objective then? Being Delphine de Belgique, one in a handful of Princes and Princesses in a dysfunctional family?

 

[leidi]

I don't think anyone could defend Albert here (or Sybille or Paola for that matter) but what I have always found strange is the timing of Delphine's demand, like I said before, DNA tests weren't created last year and she could have asked for one a long time ago, yet she decided to finally go through it when it was known that her legal father was going to disinherit her?

Why now? Maybe because she knows Albert doesn't have much time left? Because that happens a lot, stranged "children" that only appear when it is time to collect their inheritance.

Has she done this when DNA was possible, I would have not said anything, after all, she has all the right in the world to know whose man sired her but she never went for it until she started to have financial issues, that's my biggest beef with this.

Honestly as a Belgian I think no one really cares as there are more important things in people lifes nowadays....

There are celebrity scandals that are more interesting than the worst kept secret in Belgium plus I guess people would be more interested if it was an economic thing, like Laurent's failures or Albert complaining about his dotation

 

[Nice Nofret]

My point is: she won't get out of the lawsuit what she wishes for most, because that can't be provided by any ruling.

And she will never be a 'Princess de Belgue' - what she knows very well - as some seem to think in this forum - because she is not 'lawfully begotten'.

For me it looks like 'mummy dearest' is behind all this - and that 'mummy dearest' has not her daughters best interest at heart, but revenge. In most cases all lose by revenge - there won't be any winners. Delphine has allready lost hugely by all this. I pitty her, she had not much luck with a revengfull mother and a such a father.

But one can distance oneself from an overbearing mother and live your own live.

 

[tommy100]

Everyone has the right to know for sure who their father is, I don't have an issue with Delphine asking for a DNA test. However, equally I think its up to the father to decide if they want any contact or not. Yes, they probably should do what many see as the 'decent thing' but no one can say they HAVE to.
In this case bear in mind Albert possibly thought Delphine had the best any could hope for an illegitimate daughter of a king, a mother and 'father' who loved her, Mr Boel seemed to have provided everything he could to her and treated her as his own...up until she choose to pursue being recognised as Albert's daughter.

As much as I think she has the right to know who her father is I do think she has been silly in turning the man who raised her against her but that is just my opinion.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

[...] I pitty her, she had not much luck with a revengfull mother and a such a father. [...]

I think had Delphine just remained her private herself and continued her life, she would not have had issues with her father and she was Madame Boël for whom all doors in the Belgian salons sway open.

Thanks to her own actions the once magic name "Madame Boël" is synonymous to that of a Leper and all doors of the Belgian salons remain firmly shut. Maybe the doors of Laurent's villa (nicely decorated at the cost of the Navy) would sway open but even that is not sure because I except Princess Claire will overrule her impulsive husband.

Anyway, Delphine Boël, go on, in your hopeless quest for eh... whatever you want to achieve.

 

[maria-olivia]

All will take such a lot of time that we will never see the end of the Story.

That is the meaning of a lot of Belgians including the Lawyers of both parts.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

All will take such a lot of time that we will never see the end of the Story.

That is the meaning of a lot of Belgians including the Lawyers of both parts.

I have the idea too. The whole process will go on and on and on. Suddenly King Albert is no more amongst us. Delphine is then left with nothing and left aside as a social cast-out.

 

[Osipi]

Maybe not so much as a social pariah but will always be remembered as part and parcel of the history of King Albert II as the "supposed" illegitimate daughter he refused to recognized. That is the most likely scenario in my book unless there's a resolution to the "is he or isn't he the father" battle.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

In a normal situation Madame Delphine Boël, with a grandpapa as Maximilian Boël (one of the richest men of Belgium), with a grandmaman as Anne Guinotte (on her own one of the richest women of Belgium), with a grandpapa as Raymond Baron de Selys Longchamps (Ambassadeur in the Netherlands, in Luxembourg, in the United States) and with a grandmaman as Pauline Countess Cornet de Ways-Ruart she would have been so immensely deeply rooted in haute société.

It is hard to imagine but there seems to be a sort of invisible layer in society, even in 2016. Look at Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn, the first spouse of Princess Margarita de Bourbon de Parme. He comes from a respected backround, Since his public fought conflict with the Oranges he is really, really totally broken, outcasted and bankrupt. I believe he is living somewhere in Portugal from minimal incomes. All this while he is a talented man but once your name is widely known in a conflict with the royal family... pfff... be careful! I am sure this phenomenon is even more stronger in Belgium where the us-knows-us is more close-knit and entangled.

 

[Osipi]

My point was to denote that although, as you have pointed out, society circles can and do exclude people for committing le grande faux pas deemed as big no-nos and unacceptable, it will be in the history of Albert II of the Belgians that Delphine will reside forevermore whether or not this issue is ever resolved. Especially with avid genealogists in centuries to come.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Mwoah... Albert II has seen so much drama in his life: the untimely death of his mother, the house arrest during WWII, the exile after that War, his father's forced abdication, his brother's unability to procreate the royal dynasty, the deep problems in his marriage, the sudden death of his brother and his unexpected kingship, that all by all Delphine will most likely just be one of the many footnotes of a full and eventful life.

 

[rominet09]

Mwoah... Albert II has seen so much drama in his life: the untimely death of his mother, the house arrest during WWII, the exile after that War, his father's forced abdication, his brother's unability to procreate the royal dynasty, the deep problems in his marriage, the sudden death of his brother and his unexpected kingship, that all by all Delphine will most likely just be one of the many footnotes of a full and eventful life.

Yes you are right !

 

[GracieGiraffe]

In a normal situation Madame Delphine Boël, with a grandpapa as Maximilian Boël (one of the richest men of Belgium), with a grandmaman as Anne Guinotte (on her own one of the richest women of Belgium), with a grandpapa as Raymond Baron de Selys Longchamps (Ambassadeur in the Netherlands, in Luxembourg, in the United States) and with a grandmaman as Pauline Countess Cornet de Ways-Ruart she would have been so immensely deeply rooted in haute société.

It is hard to imagine but there seems to be a sort of invisible layer in society, even in 2016. Look at Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn, the first spouse of Princess Margarita de Bourbon de Parme. He comes from a respected backround, Since his public fought conflict with the Oranges he is really, really totally broken, outcasted and bankrupt. I believe he is living somewhere in Portugal from minimal incomes. All this while he is a talented man but once your name is widely known in a conflict with the royal family... pfff... be careful! I am sure this phenomenon is even more stronger in Belgium where the us-knows-us is more close-knit and entangled.

A pretty good reason why Mr. Boel did not sue for divorce...

 

[leidi]

A pretty good reason why Mr. Boel did not sue for divorce...

They are not comparable, Boël is almost as rich as Solvay was, plus he could have divorced Sybille by a number of reasons, without having to resort to make them public (aka she cheated on me with the King's brother).

 

[Lee-Z]

Ms.Boël's entourage has confirmed that she's not doing this because of the money "anyone who allege he is, is out to hurt her"
"Delphine Boël doet het niet om het geld van koning Albert" - HLN.be
Apparently there was a report on it in VTM show "royalty" last night, any belgian posters saw that?

 

[Marengo]

They are not comparable, Boël is almost as rich as Solvay was, plus he could have divorced Sybille by a number of reasons, without having to resort to make them public (aka she cheated on me with the King's brother).

They are not comparable indeed. Edwin de Roy -a self-proclaimed future CEO ánd a self-proclaimed baron- gives the impression of being a batty, paranoid con man with an inflated sense of self importance. After his antics in the media, even a snackbar would think twice before they hired him behind the friture. Edwin was ruined by himself, as his lies, phantasies and inflated ego have become obvious to all.

There is no reason to assume that mr. Boël has simular mental problems.

 

[leidi]

They are not comparable indeed. Edwin de Roy -a self-proclaimed future CEO ánd a self-proclaimed baron- gives the impression of being a batty, paranoid con man with an inflated sense of self importance. After his antics in the media, even a snackbar would think twice before they hired him behind the friture. Edwin was ruined by himself, as his lies, phantasies and inflated ego have become obvious to all.

There is no reason to assume that mr. Boël has simular mental problems.

Uri Geller has more credibility than Edwin, that is for sure
I'm old enough to remember all the BS he tried to put through, all the tantrums he threw, etc.
Really pathetic.

Mr Boël has never shown up to say anything about this whole mess, he could have called any TV station in Belgium and they would have happily given him a slot to put Sybille and Delphine through the grinder but has wisely stayed silent.

And I really doubt it is a "paid silence", he simply has no patience to deal with this mediatic issue, has never been a public figure and wouldn't want to get involved.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

A pretty good reason why Mr. Boel did not sue for divorce...

Mr Boël had ample reason for divorce and with his immense fortune and infuence in Belgium he would really not fall in disgrace. They -the Boëls- still are influential. All activities in the steel- and coal industry have been sold but the Boël family has cleverly invested all in large conglomerats and growing industries such as Sofina (amongst others a major owner of one of Europes biggest upmarket retail chains: the Carrefour hypermarchés), Solvay (an international chemical group), etc.. The family is extremely well-connected. A Boël is married to Étienne Viscount Davignon, one of the mastodonts of Belgian economy and fomer Vice-Chair of the European Commission.

With or without public shame: Mr Boël could (and still can) live as a King. His family owns Court-Saint-Etienne, a fabulous domain with a castles, a park, 14 farms, forests and a lot of upmarket real estate. But in the whole of Belgium, from the Flemish coast to the deep forests of the Ardennes as well in Brussels, the family owns lots of properties.

Château et Ferme de Falaën (picture)
Château Boël de La Louvière (picture)
Château Golbet d'Alviella Court-Saint-Etienne (picture)
Château et Ferme de Chenoy - outer court (picture)
Château et Ferme de Chenoy - main building (picture)
Lots of houses in the "Square des Milliardaires" (Square du Bois, Brussels, here seems to be the main residence of Delphine's legal father) (picture)
Etc.
Etc.

 

[Lee-Z]

Her people said just yesterday that she's not doing this because of the money (see my link in post 946 and several other newsarticles published yesterday in belgium)

I don't think there's much use in keeping going with flaunting Mr.Boël's wealth in this thread; can't we get back to Ms Boël herself without all the endless comparisons to other people?

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Her people said just yesterday that she's not doing this because of the money (see my link in post 946 and several other newsarticles published yesterday in belgium)

I don't think there's much use in keeping going with flaunting Mr.Boël's wealth in this thread; can't we get back to Ms Boël herself without all the endless comparisons to other people?

Tssk Tssk.... We were discussing how someone could become an outcast or not and the discussion went so that Mr Boël probably stayed in his almost 17-years long marriage to Delphine's mother to keep his social standing.

The argument was countered with the notion that the Boël family was (and is) so immensely rich, has a considerable influence and that Mr Boël had ample reasons to divorce his spouse. But I understand that we are here for one goal: naming and shaming the alleged father and all the rest around the Boëls is verboten?

 

[Marengo]

In that case you are arguing with yourself. In post #940 you are hinting that there may be repercussions due to an 'invisible layer in society'. GracieGiraffe assumed you were correct, after which you disagreed with her and thus with your own post.

Nobody named Mr. boël an 'outcast'. I did say -as did others- that divorces were not very common among the higher circles in those days and that many preferred to stay together to keep up appearances. I supported this by a work of Prof. Paul Janssens of the University of Gent, who is specialised in Belgian nobility.

I also listed the example of Viscount Philippe de Spoelberch and Diane de Jonge d'Ardoie as the couple (from a simular background in terms of nobility, connections, age and wealth as Mr. Boël and Sybille S de L.) did stay together in a very bad marriage despite them being extremely wealthy. At the trial of their son -who murdered a 12 y/o girl - it appeared that the wealth may have been a reason for them not to divorce.

 

[Lee-Z]

Tssk Tssk.... We were discussing how someone could become an outcast or not and the discussion went so that Mr Boël probably stayed in his almost 17-years long marriage to Delphine's mother to keep his social standing.

The argument was countered with the notion that the Boël family was (and is) so immensely rich, has a considerable influence and that Mr Boël had ample reasons to divorce his spouse. But I understand that we are here for one goal: naming and shaming the alleged father and all the rest around the Boëls is verboten?

If they would hand out gold medals on these forums for twisting other people's posts into something they didn't say, you'd win hands down

 

[maria-olivia]

We all in Belgium admire the attitude of Baron Boël.
Since 1999 he remained silent.
Everybody knows in Belgium that there was an arrangement between the Prince de Liège and his friend Baron Boël.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

It's not a question of shaming or not admiring Boel, he is likely as much a victim as Delphine. But if Boel was wronged in all of this, his argument is not with Delphine, it's with his wife and King Albert.

 

[leidi]

Her people said just yesterday that she's not doing this because of the money (see my link in post 946 and several other newsarticles published yesterday in belgium)

I don't think there's much use in keeping going with flaunting Mr.Boël's wealth in this thread; can't we get back to Ms Boël herself without all the endless comparisons to other people?

Well, no one in their right mind would say it was about the money , I mean, it would only make her look like a goldigger if she admitted it.

But (and I say it again), she only tried to claim paternity when her business started to go sour and her legal father is doing his best to disinherit her, to think money wouldn't be a motivation?

 

[*Mara*]

I have the idea too. The whole process will go on and on and on. Suddenly King Albert is no more amongst us. Delphine is then left with nothing and left aside as a social cast-out.

The lawsuit will go on after Albert's death if there isn't a sentence during his lifetime.
And Delphine is far from being a social cast-out. She is part of Brussels high society crowd and attends lots of posh galas. Just flip through the L'Eventail society mag, you will find pictures of her posing with foreign minister Reynders, with Princess Lea and other members of the Belgian nobility.

 

[*Mara*]

All this story comes from a bibiography concerning Queen Paola by young dutch writer Mario Danneels in 1999 just before Prince Philippe's Wedding.

And just a few weeks later Philippe had his civil wedding conducted by one of Paola’s former lovers. Awkward to say the least.
Mario Danneels is a Belgian journalist who writes in Dutch. He still seems to have good sources and according to him Albert talked himself into believing that Delphine isn’t his daughter and now draws parallels between him and Yves Montand. He and his close friends label Sybille Selys as psychotic who is responsible for her daughter’s mental problems. They completely ignore Jaques Boel’s DNA sample or the fact that Albert and Sybille were a couple for almost 20 years. Albert and Paola were shocked by Sybille’s tv interview and react even harder since then. Delphine is also one of the reasons why Albert is giving Philippe the cold shoulder. Philippe asked Albert to come to an agreement with Delphine or to make sure she gets a share of his inheritance. But this fell on deaf ears.

Too bad that Albert and Paola again and again put their personal needs above everything. Albert has no time to waste and is just making matters worse with every day this is dragging on. In fact he would gain a lot of sympathy again if he just recognizes Delphine and he would spare his children to have to sort this out for him post mortem.

 

[leidi]

And just a few weeks later Philippe had his civil wedding conducted by one of Paola’s former lovers. Awkward to say the least.
Mario Danneels is a Belgian journalist who writes in Dutch. He still seems to have good sources and according to him Albert talked himself into believing that Delphine isn’t his daughter and now draws parallels between him and Yves Montand. He and his close friends label Sybille Selys as psychotic who is responsible for her daughter’s mental problems. They completely ignore Jaques Boel’s DNA sample or the fact that Albert and Sybille were a couple for almost 20 years. Albert and Paola were shocked by Sybille’s tv interview and react even harder since then. Delphine is also one of the reasons why Albert is giving Philippe the cold shoulder. Philippe asked Albert to come to an agreement with Delphine or to make sure she gets a share of his inheritance. But this fell on deaf ears.

Too bad that Albert and Paola again and again put their personal needs above everything. Albert has no time to waste and is just making matters worse with every day this is dragging on. In fact he would gain a lot of sympathy again if he just recognizes Delphine and he would spare his children to have to sort this out for him post mortem.

And didn't Delphine repaid Philippe by trash-talking him and his children?

This family, I swear.

It's a miracle that Philippe and Astrid ended up being adjusted adults having such dysfunction around them.

Neither one seems to have inherited the selfishness of their parents, something Laurent and Delphine had.

 

[maria-olivia]

Mara , you are well informed about the former Lord Mayor of Brussels !