Belgian prince loses legal quest for social security

BRUSSELS, Belgium: An unconventional Belgian prince on Monday lost a legal battle to claim social security benefits on top of his royal allowance, with a court ruling his claim -- the first of its kind in the country´s nearly 200-year history -- “unfounded”.

The 61-year-old Prince Laurent, youngest of three children of the former king and queen, had insisted that his work entitled him to the coverage granted to independent entrepreneurs -- and that he was acting out of “principle” rather than for money.

But a Brussels court found that his duties were more akin to those in the civil service, where categories of workers receive specific benefits but there is no overarching social security system. A lawyer for the prince, Olivier Rijckaert, said his client was considering whether to appeal.

“We´re not where we wanted to be, but the judgement is very detailed, very reasoned, I understand the reasoning,” Rijckaert told AFP.

Laurent has a long list of antics that have embarrased others in the royal family, including likening his relatives to East Germany´s Stasi secret police in 2015. In 2018, his annual state allowance was cut by 15 percent because he met foreign dignitaries without the federal government´s approval. It was not his first faux pas, but the punishment was unprecedented.