Clément Vandenkerckhove Becomes Belgian Prince After Royal Recognition

How a Car Salesman Discovered His Royal Lineage

The journey from an Opel car dealership in Deinze to the Belgian royal family began when Clément Vandenkerckhove was 16 years old. Born in August 2000, Vandenkerckhove is the son of Belgian singer and socialite Wendy Van Wanten—whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove—and Prince Laurent of Belgium, the younger brother of King Philippe. The pair had shared a high-profile relationship during the 1990s after meeting at a fashion show in Paris, years before Prince Laurent married Princess Claire in April 2003.

For years, rumours surrounded Vandenkerckhove’s parentage, fueled in part by his physical resemblance to Prince Laurent, hints dropped in Van Wanten’s songs, and his name being interpreted as a nod to the prince’s Tervuren residence, Villa Clémentine, as ABC reported. Yet the reality remained hidden until his mother disclosed the truth of his lineage during his adolescence. My entire childhood, I struggled with the question ‘Who is my father?’ When I found out, the secrecy weighed incredibly heavy, he told Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. Imagine this: you know who your father is, but you aren’t allowed to tell anyone.

The DNA Test and Public Confirmation

At age 20, Vandenkerckhove worked up the courage to contact the prince directly. The two eventually underwent a medical examination to verify their biological ties. We went to the hospital together and I remember him saying ‘I’ll go first so you’re feeling at ease,’ Vandenkerckhove recalled during an interview with Belgian network VTM. A DNA test reportedly produced a 99.5 percent match.

The secret stayed buried until September last year, when Vandenkerckhove appeared in a television documentary on VTM to publicly confirm that Prince Laurent was his biological father. Prince Laurent later acknowledged him, noting that the two had engaged in open and honest conversations privately over recent years. Before the legal recognition came to light, Vandenkerckhove had actually crossed paths with his father at a shopping center in 2013 without knowing his true identity.

Inheritance Rights Versus Royal Duties

The formal acknowledgement took place at a town hall ceremony, with details initially emerging through the Belgian weekly news magazine Soir Mag before gaining broader attention. While the legal change grants the 26-year-old prince an equal share of Prince Laurent’s private estate alongside his half-sister Princess Louise, 20, and half-brothers Prince Nicolas, 20, and Prince Aymeric, 19, the title comes with distinct limitations. The BBC reported that the former car salesman will not receive a state-funded royal allowance, take on official public duties, or gain any rights to the Belgian throne.

For Vandenkerckhove, the technicalities of the law matter far less than the personal resolution.

Deciding on the Saxe-Coburg Surname

As of late August 2026, Vandenkerckhove has not decided whether to adopt his father’s dynastic surname, Saxe-Coburg. Having spent his life building an independent path—studying graphic design and working at an Opel dealership in Deinze—he remains deeply attached to his upbringing.

“Giving up this family name would be a betrayal of everything my mother has done for me.”

Clément Vandenkerckhove, via Het Nieuwsblad and ABC

He added to Het Nieuwsblad: I might want to do that, but I am proud of the name Vandenkerckhove.

Parallels Within the Belgian Royal Family

This royal revelation echoes recent history within the Belgian dynasty. Prince Laurent’s father, former King Albert II, spent years fighting a paternity battle before publicly admitting in 2020 that he had fathered a daughter, Delphine Boël, during an extramarital affair. Delphine subsequently won her legal battle to secure the title of princess and now uses the name Delphine de Saxe-Coburg. King Albert II had previously abdicated the throne in 2013 as that paternity scandal unfolded, handing power over to his son, King Philippe.