Belgium’s royal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is no stranger to controversy, but even by palace standards, the latest revelation has stunned the country.
A DNA test has verified a rumour long dismissed by many as improbable: that a modest provincial man, who once worked at times as a car salesman, is in fact the secret son of one of Belgium’s most senior royals.
Clément Vandenkerckhove, 26, whose most recent role was a minimum-wage commis chef, has now been recognised as the son of Prince Laurent of Belgium, formally accepted into the royal family and granted the title of Prince.
Speaking in his first interview, Clément told the Daily Mail how his life was upended by the remarkable discovery and his sudden entry into royal circles.
‘Once I became prince, a lot of stuff changed,’ Vandenkerckhove says. ‘I became a celebrity overnight. Now people recognise me all the time when I’m walking down the road.’
As if to prove the point, our interview with Clément was conducted during a walk in parkland and backstreets surrounding the unassuming block of flats in Aalter, a small town in Flemish Belgium, where he lives – avoiding the town centre in case he was spotted.
‘I’m not a normal person any more,’ he acknowledges. ‘When I go out now, there are people who say “Look! It’s Clément. How are you?'”They are happy to see me. I can no longer hide myself.’
And this is something that this naturally shy – indeed nervous – young man is struggling to adapt to, a characteristic he is perfectly open about.
Clément Vandenkerckhove spent the first 20 years of his life being brought up by his single mother in Flanders, Belgium. In 2020 he took a DNA test that confirmed that his father was Prince Laurent of Belgium (pictured together)
Clément is the lovechild of a passionate fling between his model and actress mother Iris Vandenkerckhove, whose stage name was Wendy Van Wanten and Prince Laurent – pictured together during their relationship in the 90s
The first inkling Clément had that there may be a connection between his mother and the royal came when, aged 13, and out with his mother to buy shoes, they ran into Prince Laurent in a shopping centre
Former car salesman Clément told his incredible story of how he is now a member of the Royal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the Daily Mail’s Imogen Garfinkel (pictured)
But first, some background to explain how he got here.
If he is now, in UK newspaper parlance a ‘love child’, Clément’s mother Iris was in her younger days more a ‘wild child’ – a beautiful partygoing model who became a regular both on chic guestlists and in the gossip columns reporting on those parties.
It was through this that she met the man who would three decades later be confirmed as Clément’s father, Prince Laurent of Belgium, with whom she was soon in a passionate relationship.
When Ms Vandenkerckhove and Prince Laurent met at a Paris fashion show in 1995, the model was soon ‘immediately addicted’, according to Belgian royalty expert Wim Dehandschutter.
Photographs of the couple at high-society functions from the late 90s capture the socialite gazing lovingly into Prince Laurent’s eyes and clutching his shoulder, a chemistry between them palpable.
But it was not as Iris Vandenkerckhove that Clément’s mother became notorious – but by her modelling name Wendy Van Wanten.
It was by this stage name that she appeared in the Noughties TV show ‘De PinUp Club’, a title that gives a taste of its content and an indicator as to why ‘Wendy’ was not seen as suitable marriage material for the brother of the future king.
‘It was an impossible relationship of forbidden love,’ Mr Dehandschutter explains. ‘The royal family disapproved of the affair.
‘Wendy had a very erotic, very sexy image. She was not the kind of woman that the royal family wanted to embrace.’
So Prince Laurent’s parents, King Albert II and Queen Paola, pressured him into finally breaking with Wendy/Iris, and finding someone more suitable.
That replacement was a young English woman with Belgian heritage, Claire Coombs.
Prince Laurent and Ms Coombs became a couple in 2001, encouraged by his family.
Mr Dehandschutter explained that the English land surveyor was not only beautiful but was perceived as ‘classy’ and the ‘perfect daughter-in-law’ by Prince Laurent’s parents, in much the same way that Princess Diana was initially perceived as an ideal match for the young Charles.
Two years later Prince Laurent, who was previously seen as the enfant terrible of the family, married Princess Claire at the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in Brussels.
And the royal family breathed a sigh of relief, wrongly thinking this was the last they would hear of the name Vandenkerckhove.
But if ‘Wendy’ seemed to have disappeared from the social scene by this point, there was a reason – she had given birth as a single mother to baby Clément, in a water bath at Henri Serruys Hospital in Ostend.
But she hadn’t disappeared forever – and was soon trading in on her notoriety in low-rent reality TV shows in the early 2000s. One was called ‘Wie Wordt De Man Van Wendy?’ – or ‘Who will be Wendy’s husband?’ – in which various men competed for the star’s affections. A more pertinent question might have been ‘Who is Clément’s father?’
There were always rumours that the father was the black sheep of the royal family, Prince Laurent, but in time these suggestions faded – and certainly no one ever told Clément about them.
The first inkling Clément had that there may be a connection between his mother and the royal came when, aged 13, and out with his mother to buy shoes, they ran into Prince Laurent in a shopping centre.
Under some pressure to find a suitable wife Prince Laurent wed a young English woman with Belgian heritage, Claire Coombs. The couple (pictured) had three children – Prince Aymeric (centre), Prince Nicolas (top right) and Princess Louise
All three children were educated at the eminent, fee-paying Lycée Français Jean Monnet
Clément will be entitled to equal inheritance rights to Prince Laurent’s private estate, alongside his legitimate half-siblings (pictured with their parents)
He recalls that, to his immense surprise, his mother was soon chatting animatedly to the brother of the new king – but he still didn’t guess that the grand and imposing man he was staring up at was his biological father.
Clément’s single-parent childhood had left him in search of a father figure, he says.
This was particularly the case after the moment when, at just six, he lost the central male figure in his life, his mother’s longtime professional manager, Danny De Waele, who died of cancer.
‘For me at that time, that seemed like the end of the whole world,’ he says. It was also the start of the anxiety issues which he is open about having suffered intermittently ever since.
Meanwhile, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire soon had three children themselves, a girl and twin boys.
All three were educated at the eminent, fee-paying Lycée Français Jean Monnet – whereas Clément went to Aalter’s equivalent of a comprehensive, the free local Emmaüs Aalter high school.
It was not until the day of his 16th birthday that his mother finally told Clément about the identity of his father, which had until then been the central mystery of the lonely teenager’s life.
It was a shocking discovery, he recalls. But he remained too shy to take any action on the basis of this dramatic news for another three years.
Finally, in 2020, he mustered the courage to contact Prince Laurent.
The royal responded warmly and suggested they should undertake a paternity test together to check for sure – and the DNA results from the laboratory were definitive – they shared their DNA.
Clément finally had a father.
It was not until the day of his 16th birthday that his mother finally told Clément about the identity of his father, which had until then been the central mystery of the lonely teenager’s life
The scandal resurfaced earlier this month when, on August 19, it was revealed that Prince Laurent had formally sworn legal ties to his born-out-of-wedlock son before a civil registrar
Ms Vandenkerckhove and Prince Laurent met at a Paris fashion show in 1995
His mother appeared in the Noughties TV show ‘De PinUp Club’, a title that gives a taste of its content and indicates as to why ‘Wendy’ was not seen as suitable royal marriage material
‘It’s so unbelievable,’ he says.
‘It was not always easy at the beginning. But I have had a deep connection with my father since the first moment.’
Behind the scenes the pair began to forge a relationship, meeting regularly, with Clément gradually welcomed into the royal family.
‘The media always talks about my father in a certain way, but the most beautiful thing about it is that he’s just my father, I don’t see him as “Your Highness”,’ he says.
His parentage only finally became public knowledge in Belgium last year when Clément took part in a TV documentary following years of rumours about the possibility of a royal lovechild.
The scandal resurfaced earlier this month when, on August 19, it was revealed that Prince Laurent had formally sworn legal ties to his born-out-of-wedlock son before a civil registrar.
The abrupt transition from private to public figure has been one he admits he has found immensely difficult.
Clément didn’t even leave his flat for the first seven days following the announcement – and when he finally did he realised his life had changed forever.
‘Once I became prince, a lot of stuff changed,’ he says.
‘There are a lot of people who I haven’t heard from for a thousand years, and now they say I’m their good friend, and that they know me — even the people I didn’t like!’
His modest rented flat, worth around £175,000, is in Aalter, the town where he grew up, located above a bank and a wellness centre – just walking distance from his mother, who, her years in the spotlight now over, lives more quietly.
Aalter is a far cry from the opulent Villa Clémentine in Tervuren – the royal trust-owned mansion southeast of Brussels where his father and half-siblings Princess Louise, Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric live rent-free.
Clément shares his home – and his life – with his Venezuelan girlfriend, 24-year-old Guadalupe Borrero Ferreira, the daughter of a truck driver, whom he met online six years ago.
Guadalupe is extremely protective of her royal boyfriend, accompanying us on our walk with him around the outskirts of the town, and explaining: ‘Clément is never going to be where a lot of people are.
‘He doesn’t like attention; if there is a crowded table with tourists and people, and an empty one, Clément will choose to be on the empty one every time.’
The couple deliberately pick a route away from the small town centre, comprising a pavilion and a handful of cafes, and head instead towards a secluded woodland area, as he tells us the story of his adult life.
On leaving school, his initial ambitions for a career in graphic design soon left him feeling burned out, he recalls.
He changed tack, taking a job in the motor trade as a junior car salesman at Garage Dhont, set on a busy main road opposite industrial warehouses, a Chinese restaurant and a Lidl, in nearby Deinze.
This was a nod to his passion for fast cars – one he shares with his paternal grandfather, Albert II, who abdicated in 2013 to allow Clément’s uncle Philippe to become King.
He was good at the job – and former colleagues remember him fondly – but it was the job itself rather than the cars that proved too fast: he left the role after just a year when his anxiety proved debilitating.
For the next six months, he recalls, he retreated entirely from the outside world, barely leaving his apartment except for therapy sessions for his anxiety and resulting panic attacks.
His next job was deliberately less demanding. A friend who runs a restaurant offered him a break in its kitchen, prepping food. He now describes that kitchen as having been his ‘safe place’.
Clément previously worked at Garage Dhont, set on a busy main road opposite industrial warehouses, a Chinese restaurant and a Lidl, in Deinze
Clément shares his home – and his life – with his Venezuelan girlfriend, 24-year-old Guadalupe Borrero Ferreira, the daughter of a truck driver, whom he met online six years ago
Having rebuilt his confidence he then began a property business, buying, selling and renting out commercial properties – mostly garages.
It would be quite a leap from this to performing royal duties – but thankfully this is not part of the plan.
Nor will he take up residence in the prince’s home, Villa Clémentine – that name providing a chiming reminder of the new family member.
It is a sprawling property shielded by a towering gate and surrounded by imposing security cameras atop 10ft poles on the affluent south of Brussels.
In fact Clément is intent on changing as little as possible – he is still insistent on continuing to earn his own money and only intends to use his new found public profile for charitable causes, particularly those benefiting young people with mental health issues.
But he does have one vice – that love of fast cars.
His pride and joy is his Mercedes AMG C43, which he bought with his own savings and frequently posts photos of to his 6,500 Instagram followers.
‘I have never thought that I won’t have to have a job just because I’m now a prince,’ Clément insists.
That puts him in rather stark contrast with one of his half-sibling princes.
Prince Aymeric is already being seen as the new ‘rock ‘n’ roll rebel’ royal in Belgian media, after he dropped out of military school two years ago to pursue his passion for motorsports. He now spends his time partying in Saint-Tropez nightclubs and lounging on boats in Venice.
The other two half-siblings are more studious: Prince Nicolas hopes to become an engineer, while Princess Louise recently completed a liberal arts and sciences degree at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
But when asked about the status of his relationship with his younger half-siblings, Clément is too discreet to comment on royal family matters.
He is very open – unguarded even – about himself, however.
He recounts how to this day he suffers from misophonia, a sensory condition in which some everyday noises can trigger intense negative reactions so that even a simple trip to the corner shop can cause anxiety, which in turn can lead to abrupt panic attacks.
The newly instated prince often locks himself away for days indoors when life proves overwhelming – and he thinks this ensures he will always be grounded and never succumb to social pride.
‘For me, I could be friends with a homeless person or whatever,’ he says. ‘Anyone – it doesn’t matter. I hate people who think they’re above others.’
While he won’t be part of Belgium’s royal line of succession, Clément is focused on making the most of his new public platform, explaining: ‘I still feel very normal, but I know I’m in a special position, and I want to think about what I can do for people around me.’
But while he won’t benefit financially from his new status just now, he may eventually – Clément will be entitled to equal inheritance rights to Prince Laurent’s private estate, alongside his legitimate half-siblings.
And that could eventually be a considerable sum. The mansion alone, in the sought-after Hoogvorst district, is thought to be worth around £5million.
That mansion was the subject of one of the many media storms that his gaffe-prone father has been caught up in when, in 2006, it was revealed that £150,000 used to renovate the private residence has come from stolen military funds.
Prince Laurent made history when he became the first modern Belgian royal to be dragged into court as a witness in the resulting fraud trial.
As well as his reputation as a womaniser, Prince Laurent has found himself at the centre of a series of financial and diplomatic scandals throughout his life.
In 2025, he lost his legal battle to claim top-ups in addition to his £330,000 royal allowance, with a court ruling his claim – the first of its kind in the nation’s history – ‘unfounded’.
He once caused a diplomatic storm by making a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo – the notorious colonisation of which was perhaps the darkest episode in Belgian history – without oversight.
On another occasion he appeared to minimise the controversy of Belgium in Africa by saying that Leopold II, his ancestor ‘never went’ to the Congo and thus questioned ‘how he could have made people suffer’?
Clément reflects on the way his life has changed since he became a member of the royal family
Clément’s mother Iris was in her younger days more a ‘wild child’ – a beautiful party-going model who became a regular both on chic guestlists and in the gossip columns
Leopold II’s regime in the Congo Free State was notorious for forced labour, kidnappings and the killing of rebels, with as many as 10million deaths linked to the monarch’s brutal occupation between 1885 and 1908.
In 2018, Belgium’s parliament voted to reduce the prince’s annual endowment by 15 per cent as punishment for attending an event at the Chinese Embassy in full military uniform without foreign ministry permission.
So what does Clément think of his controversial parent? ‘I have a lot of respect for my father,’ he insists. ‘Because he was always honest. Everything he said to me was always true.’
