Clément, acknowledged by Prince Laurent as his son


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Adda

Adda

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Adda said:
Prince Laurent acknowledges being the biological father of Clément, the 25-year-old son of Belgian singer Wendy Van Wanten.

www.rtl.be

Fils caché du prince Laurent : les révélations intimes de Wendy Van Wanten, « je n’ai jamais pris de contraceptif »

Le prince Laurent l’a confirmé ce mardi. Clément, l’enfant de Wendy Van Wanten avec qui il a vécu une idylle très médiatisée, est bien son fils.
www.rtl.be www.rtl.be
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Did he know of Clements existence before this or was his head in the sand like his father over the matter?
https://www.belganewsagency.eu/prince-laurent-and-wendy-van-wanten-a-long-rumoured-story
 
I guess he learned from his father that pretending it’s not true is much worse than acknowledging the truth. We’ll see whether he follows Delphine’s route and requests to become a prince of Belgium.

It’s interesting that the prince signed the press release as ‘Laurent von Sachsen-Coburg’.

An Ard Ri said:
Did he know of Clements existence before this or was his head in the sand like his father over the matter?
Prince Laurent and Wendy Van Wanten: a long-rumoured story
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Given that they apparently had a well-known relationship in the 90s and his son was named after his villa (Clementine), I suppose he knew. According his press release, they’ve had open and honest conversations over the last few years and it seems to have been a mutual decision to make it public.
 
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Tweets from @RickEversRoyal: *

* the translations to English do not post, below are copy/paste of the translations - auto-translated from Dutch by Grok:
==
Belgium is thus richer by one prince: His Royal Highness Clément, Prince of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg.

King Filip wanted to limit the granting of titles, but since Clément is a descendant in the male line of King Albert, the Royal Decree of 12 November 2015 applies.
--
"I am always smart enough to say that I don't care about it. I've been doing that for 20 years," Clement explains. The confession turns out to be a genuine relief. "So that it no longer keeps haunting me," says Clement, for whom the entire father story "stirs up a lot of emotions." (VRT, 2021)
--
For 25 years the rumor circulated, Prince Laurent now confirms: he is the father of a son with former model, singer, and TV personality Wendy Van Wanten.
--
Clément does with his mother Wendy Van Wanten tonight story in first part of docu on VTM.
Wendy: "naive that I thought I could keep it quiet."
Clément: “She said: “your daddy is a prince.” If HE is a prince, what am I then? That means my uncle is the king of Belgium.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/1965412908801949758

https://twitter.com/x/status/1965409559713132837

https://twitter.com/x/status/1965406972397957537

https://twitter.com/x/status/1965430875690336719
 
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That Is really surprising but at least It seemed he was more "responsible" with Clement than his father was with Delphine. Does this mean that Laurent officially recognizes Clement as his son and he Will be treated the same as Louise and the Twins in the eye of the law (not for Royal succession of course)?
 
Given that the son's name is Clément Vandenkerckhove, his legal father (edit: or his legal mother) must be surnamed Vandenkerckhove, as the Belgian Civil Code then and now requires that children be given the surname of one of their (legal) parents.

Lady Chiara said:
Laurent officially recognizes Clement as his son and he Will be treated the same as Louise and the Twins in the eye of the law (not for Royal succession of course)?
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The statement acknowledges biological, not legal, paternity. I suppose we must wait to see whether his biological son seeks to become his legal son as well.
 
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Tatiana Maria said:
Given that the son's name is Clément Vandenkerckhove, his legal father must be surnamed Vandenkerckhove, as the Belgian Civil Code then and now requires that children be given the surname of one of their (legal) parents.



The statement acknowledges biological, not legal, paternity. I suppose we must wait to see whether his biological son seeks to become his legal son as well.
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Vandenkerckhove is the mother's surname.
 
Tatiana Maria said:
Given that the son's name is Clément Vandenkerckhove, his legal father must be surnamed Vandenkerckhove, as the Belgian Civil Code then and now requires that children be given the surname of one of their (legal) parents.



The statement acknowledges biological, not legal, paternity. I suppose we must wait to see whether his biological son seeks to become his legal son as well.
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Does clement has to file law suit to be legally acknowledged as Laurent’s son or he can simply change his surname if Laurent is not disputing the paternity of his son?
 
Adda said:
Vandenkerckhove is the mother's surname.
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Thank you and my apologies, I overlooked that detail (that Wendy Van Wanten's legal name is Iris Vandenkerckhove).

That clarifies that her son either had no legally acknowledged father at birth, or his legal father at birth was married to another woman at the time of his birth.

Today, the Civil Code allows parents a choice between giving the father's surname, mother's surname, or both. But in 1999-2000, when Clément was presumably born, the Civil Code automatically assigned newborn children the surname of their legal father - unless there was no legal father or he was married to a woman other than the legal mother, and in those two cases, the Civil Code automatically assigned the newborn child the surname of their mother..

Current and past versions of the Civil Code regulations on surnames may be found on Justel.

duke of poliganc said:
Does clement has to file law suit to be legally acknowledged as Laurent’s son or he can simply change his surname if Laurent is not disputing the paternity of his son?
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A legal procedure needs to be followed in order to change one’s legal parentage and/or one's legal surname.

The Civil Code does not allow Belgians to change their surnames as they please. Unless it is the surname of one of their legal parents, or a surname they legally bear as citizens of another country, it is relatively difficult to obtain permission for a legal name change.
 
I was wondering why Princess Claire doesn't seem to be around as much lately. She probably had some idea that this announcement was on the horizon.

Even though the relationship took place well before her marriage to Laurent, this can't be easy for her.🤔
 
Moonmaiden23 said:
Even though the relationship took place well before her marriage to Laurent, this can't be easy for her.🤔
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Not easy for Louise and the twins either. Although both Laurent and Clement have acknowledged being in contact, so it was known within the family (I'd guess).
 
OMG! What surprise!!
 
Tatiana Maria said:
Given that the son's name is Clément Vandenkerckhove, his legal father must be surnamed Vandenkerckhove, as the Belgian Civil Code then and now requires that children be given the surname of one of their (legal) parents.

The statement acknowledges biological, not legal, paternity. I suppose we must wait to see whether his biological son seeks to become his legal son as well.
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His mother's name is Iris Vandenkerckhove. Wendy van Wanten is not her official name but her 'artist name'.
 
Here's a very good article:

"The biological and public recognition of Clément as his son may be symbolically important for the son and his family, but it has no further family law consequences," said family law professor Ingrid Boone (KU Leuven).

If the prince decides to leave it at this public acknowledgement, Clément could, according to the professor, choose to take legal action. He could then enforce paternity through a lawsuit, as was previously done between Princess Delphine and her father, King Albert II.

Legal recognition has no consequences for the succession to the throne. According to constitutional expert Paul Van Orshoven, Clément has "no way" to claim it. "That's because he's an illegitimate child," he explains.


www.vrt.be

Nu prins Laurent Clément erkent als zoon: krijgen we een nieuwe prins? En wat met de erfenis van Laurent? | VRT NWS: nieuws

"Als prins Laurent Clément enkel biologisch erkent, is dat louter symbolisch." Dat zegt professor familierecht Ingrid Boone (KU Leuven) over de verklaring van prins Laurent dat hij de biologische vader is van Clément, de zoon van Iris Vandenkerckhove (Wendy Van Wanten). Maar wat als Clément ook...
www.vrt.be www.vrt.be
 
Just for a better understandig: Will Clément be styled as HRH and Prince of Belgium?
 
What a surprise!

There have been rumours for a very, very long time. Wendy never said a word about it though at the time she gave some hints to the press, Villa Clementine (Laurent's house) and Clement's name being the most obvious one.

I still remember her songs from back in the day! She was a big thing over there IIRC. I still remember the articles about her and 'Prince Woof' as well.

Moonmaiden23 said:
I was wondering why Princess Claire doesn't seem to be around as much lately. She probably had some idea that this announcement was on the horizon.

Even though the relationship took place well before her marriage to Laurent, this can't be easy for her.🤔
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She knew who she married. Laurent was known for all this, back in the day. IIRC he took several girlfriends to the wedding of Edward and Sophie - or that was written at the time. He also took Claire to Amsterdam for WA's wedding, their engagement would be a few months later in December 2002. I imagine they [Laurent and Claire] must have met when Wendy was pregnant or very shortly after Clement was born.

The rumours of Clément were around since the time he was born in 2000. Pss Claire must have known the full story for a very long time and has accepted Laurent for what he is - and he is a better man for it. It is easy to understand why Queen Paola is so fond of Pss Claire, she is an excellent woman.

It was never clear why the relationship between Laurent and Wendy ended. But the court can not have been happy with it: a Flemish commoner, model/singer/tv personality - in the late 80s she was involved with a soft-erotic programme on Dutch tv, called the pin-up club, where people could write letters to her about sex and she would give advise. At the same time: the court not being happy is Laurent's modus vivendi, so the relationship may have run its course - or he met Claire.

From the trailer Clément seems a sympathetic young man, with a strong accent from West-Flanders which is the most difficult one to understand in The Netherlands and in Belgium too, as VTM is subtitling him. Let's hope this is a happy ending for him and that he has been able to form a connection to his biological father ans siblings, if he so wishes. It is fortunate the Prince does not repeat his father's debacle. I am sure the immediate family is relieved that there is a secret less. If anything Laurent should be praised for not repeating his father's mistake.

I have figured out how to watch VTM from here, so I will certainly be watching the interview tonight.
 
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This might also explain why he was the one noted to be “less-close” to Delphine again. Sheesh….
 
Interestingly, in 'Het Huis' in 2021 Clément both tried to deceive the public by talking about 'fairy tales are just fairy tale' while also acknowledging that he knows his father ("Have you ever known your father?" "Yes" "And actively as father, son-father?" "No"). So, at least at that point - but it sounds as if he knew from an early age - he was well aware that Laurent was his father (which was also made clear by the confirmation of his mother that it was up to Clément to reveal it or not) but at that point clearly his mother wasn't ready to let the world know and he seemed to cover for her. Any time the interviewer tries to get formal confirmation that he indeed is NOT Laurent's son, they either start to laugh nervously and/or talk around it without answering the question. So, the intent seemed to have been to create a 'smokescreen' without fully lying/denying the fact that Laurent was indeed Clément's biological father.

Rather concerning are the actions of one of the teachers in his primary school who displayed some news article suggesting that Laurent was his father... His step-father (Frans Vancoppenolle) went to school to set things straight. Clément considered him someone who always protected him and played the father-role in his life.

vrtnws.be

Prins Laurent erkent Clément Vandenkerckhove, zoon van Wendy Van Wanten, als zijn zoon | VRT NWS: nieuws

Prins Laurent erkent Clément, zoon van Iris Vandenkerckhove - beter bekend als de Vlaamse zangeres Wendy Van Wanten - als zijn zoon. "De afgelopen jaren hebben wij hierover open en eerlijk gesproken", schrijft hij in een mededeling aan Belga. Het Koninklijk Paleis wenst niet te reageren.
vrtnws.be vrtnws.be

I wonder if after this interview Laurent and Clément started to be in touch more often - as Laurent's press release references 'the last years'.
 
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Prinsara said:
This might also explain why he was the one noted to be “less-close” to Delphine again. Sheesh….
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As far as I know Delphine mentioned before that actually Laurent was the closest one to her of her half siblings!
 
I believe at some point there were talks of a certain froideur between Laurent and Delphine - after she reconciled with her father, while he is still not Albert's greatest fan.

-

An interview with Wendy -about her mother who died when Wendy was 19, among other things- from 2022. From 6.42 Clément enters the interview. The interviewer tells Wendy: 'You have often said, it is up to Clément who he [the biological father] is. Interviewer: so can I ask? Nervous giggles.. And the interviewer goes on, saying he looks like Danny [Dewaele, manager of Wendy, who died of cancer 19 years ago]. More giggles and they change the subject.


They go on saying that in her biography Wendy/Iris describes Prince Laurent as Joachim Stiller, the mysterious character from the book of Hubert Lampo.

Apart from prince Laurent and Danny Dewaele, the Irish singer and Eurovision legend Johnny Logan also featured in the list of potential biological fathers. The latter was 'revealed' in a book in 2007. Logan denied this at the time.

It must be a great relief that they are going public because -as Somebody referred to above- he must have been confronted with this very, very often and for most of his life.
 
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This article shared a quote from the documentary (translated to English):
Everyone knows who my mom is. Only a few know who my dad is. I was just born, and things were already being said about me. That was my normal life. Now I can say it in my own words. I'm 25 now, and I just think: we're all human. My dad didn't do anything wrong, my mom didn't do anything wrong. I want to be able to live a normal life and not constantly hear, "Do you even know who your dad is?" "Is he dead yet?" I want to be done with that. I just want to go for a beer with my dad.
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Marengo said:
I do not find the explanation very clear TBH. I fail to see the difference with Delphine's case.
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Clément is a male-line descendant. That's the difference.

He, just like Delphine, was not born from a marriage. So he could get a title, but no place in the line of succession.
 
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