Belgium’s Prince Laurent has lost a legal bid to receive social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal allowance, in the latest setback for the ever-controversial prince.
The 61-year-old — the younger brother of King Philippe — had argued that his work should entitle him and his family to welfare on top of his €388,000 royal allowance and rent-free accommodation.
Laurent had maintained that he was partly self-employed due to his role as a royal and because he had run an animal welfare charity for the past decade.
“This is not about financial means but principle,” Laurent told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
“When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to (social security),” he added. “I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place.”
However, a court in Brussels on Monday ruled against his claim, calling it “unfounded”. The court said that Laurent cannot be classified as self-employed or an employee.
Nevertheless, the judge presiding over the case said the prince should be entitled to a pension but that gaps in Belgian legislation made this impossible, local media reported.
Laurent’s lawyer, Olivier Rijckaert, told Belgian newspaper Le Soir that the prince’s request had not been based on a “whim” and said he was considering whether to appeal.
He said most of Laurent’s allowance is spent on professional expenses such as travel and an assistant’s salary, leaving the prince with a net monthly wage of about €5,000.
That figure is comparable to the “average salary of a senior executive in Belgium” but without the normal “full social security coverage,” Rijckaert told Le Soir.
Laurent — who has three adult children with his Anglo-Belgian partner Claire Coombs — has voiced his fears over his family’s financial security since the royal allowance will stop upon his death.
The prince, who is 15th in line for the Belgian throne, has a long tradition of courting controversy and has been dubbed “the cursed prince” for various gaffes and scandals.
In 2018, his allowance was cut after he attended an event at the Chinese embassy in full naval uniform without the Belgian government’s consent.
Laurent had to pay back €16,900 in 2014 after invoicing the state for grocery bills, skiing holidays and his children’s school fees.
In 2011, Laurent earned the wrath of then-king Albert II when he visited Congo, Belgium’s former colony, against his father’s wishes and those of the state. He was also criticised for attending meetings in Libya when the late Muammar Gaddafi was still in power.
