Princess Delphine of Belgium, the love child of the country’s former king, has forgiven him for denying her royal birthright for more than half a century.
Delphine, 57, was born following an affair Albert II had with Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps.
The once-jilted princess, formerly known as Delphine Boël, and her mother, now 84, were close with Albert until 1984, when he distanced himself to preserve his marriage, before he was crowned in 1993.
Delphine, the half-sister of the current king Phillippe, fought a decades-long legal battle for recognition that she won in 2020, allowing her to use to Saxe-Coburg surname and be recognised as a member of the Belgian royal family.
She told a Belgian broadcaster in an interview that was recorded five years ago, but was only released this week: ‘Has the wound completely disappeared? No. A wound like that never completely disappears and becomes a scar.
‘But the more I put myself in my mother’s or my father’s shoes – not completely, but I understand it better.
‘It became clear to me why and how things happened. And why it was such a long road, when it didn’t have to be that way. And when you understand that, you realise you can’t put all the blame on them.’
Albert, now 91, abdicated the throne in 2013 amid a growing constitutional crisis over his refusal to take a paternity test in Delphine’s legal case.
Princess Delphine of Belgium, pictured in July 2024, says she forgives her father for denying her birthright
Former King Albert II, pictured in November last year with Princess Astrid of Belgium, distanced himself from Delphine in 1984 to preserve his marriage
The pair met briefly in 2020 following her win in the courts and released a statement which read: ‘This long and rich discussion gave us the opportunity to get to know each other. We talked about our respective lives and areas of shared interest’.
She said in her interview that she does not blame Albert for the troubles she went through: ‘I think in a different, normal environment, he would have been a different man.
‘I don’t think he was surrounded by good people’.
She previously told Tatler that she brought about the legal action to stand by her ‘principles’.
Last year, Delphine launched fresh attacks on the ‘cruel’ royal family, claiming she was left hurt’ not invited to celebrate King’s Day last week because her parents weren’t married when she was born.
Her father and her half-siblings Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid were pictured at the St. Michael & St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels.
The celebration is to honour the monarch, however, her half-brother King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their four children were not present as the King does not traditionally celebrate it.
But Princess Delphine of Belgium was snubbed for the annual celebration and took to her Instagram account to write an emotional post about why she was not there.
Belgium’s King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and King Albert attend a Holy Mass held by Pope Francis at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, September 29, 2024
Princess Delphine could not hide her emotion after she won her legal battle in 2020
(L-R) Prince Laurent, Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid and King Albert II of Belgium take part in ‘Te Deum’ to celebrate King’s Day in the Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedralin November 2024
The artist, 56, said she continues to speak up about not being treated the same as her other siblings because ‘children do not choose the circumstances into which they are born’.
Princess Delphine shared the post alongside a black and white image of herself as a child wearing a t-shirt with her name printed on the front.
She wrote: ‘I was reminded again… by the press why I was not invited to celebrate kings Day [sic]. The reason is that I do not take a dotation like my brothers and sister.
‘So the fact is that I am not welcome because, in essence, at the time I was born, my parents were not married to each other.
‘I write this again and I continue to speak up because children do not choose the circumstances into which they are born.
‘Our society and laws should reflect values that welcome children equally whether they are born in marriage, third marriage, fourth marriage, outside marriage or adopted or whatever.
‘I remain hopeful that one day our leaders in government, society, and church take these truths to heart.’
Princess Delphine then ended the emotional post with: ‘#everychildmatters #equalityforchildren #nochildleftbehind #siblingrights.’
A dotation refers to the grants that members of the working Belgian royal family receive.