A bid by a Belgian prince to receive social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal stipend has been turned down by a court.
Royal Stipend and Claim for Benefits by Belgian Prince
Prince Laurent the younger brother of King Philippe earned €388,000 (£295,850; $376,000) from state funds in the past year but claimed his work makes him and his family eligible for social security.
He had claimed to be partially self-employed due to the work he performs as a royal, and also because he works for an animal welfare charity for ten years now.
Laurent, aged 61, claimed he was doing it “out of principle” and not for gain. The court did not agree.
“When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to [social security],” he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
Controversial Justification
“I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place.” But on Monday a Brussels court rejected Laurent’s application on the basis that the prince may be neither an employee nor self-employed.
Yet, reports VTM broadcaster, the judge agreed that the prince should in theory be entitled to a pension – but stated it was impossible to do so in the absence of gaps in the law and insisted the law had to be changed.
His attorney, Olivier Rijckaert, said in a statement to Belgian newspaper Le Soir that Laurent’s application had not been made on a “whim” and emphasized its symbolism, adding that social security is “awarded by Belgian law to all residents, from the poorest to the wealthiest”.
Concerns for Family Welfare
Mr Rijckaert also explained that the majority of the prince’s allowance goes towards his assistant’s salary and other travel-related expenses.
That leaves Laurent with roughly €5000 (£4300; $5500) per month but without social security entitlements, including the ability to claim back some of his medical costs.
The prince who has three grown-up children with British-born wife Claire Coombs has also weighed in on his family’s welfare now that the royal allowance will cease when he passes away.
Legal Proceedings and Future Plans in Belgian Prince Case
Laurent sued the Belgian state after being denied social security. The case had its first hearing in November 2024.
RTBF reports that the prince and his lawyers have yet to make up their minds regarding an appeal against the court’s ruling.
Laurent, the 15th in the line of succession to the Belgian throne, is no stranger to scandal and is sometimes referred to as the prince maudit the “cursed prince” in Belgium.
In 2018, the Belgian federal parliament voted to withhold his monthly stipend for a year after he attended a Chinese embassy reception without government approval, in full naval uniform.
He has also accumulated several speeding fines and has been criticized for attending meetings in Libya when the late Muammar Gaddafi was still in power.