A Belgian prince has 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”.
Prince Laurent, the youngest of three children of the former king and queen, had argued 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 on Monday that the 61-year-old’s 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 judgment is very detailed, very reasoned, I understand the reasoning,” Rijckaert told Agence France-Presse.
In 2018, his annual state allowance was cut by 15% for a year because he met foreign dignitaries without the federal government’s approval.
Laurent received €388,000 (£333,000) last year from state coffers and lives in his home rent-free. “This is not about financial means but principle,” he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF. “When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to it. I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place,” he added.
The prince did not take legal action on a “whim”, lawyer Rijckaert said in an article in Le Soir newspaper. Social security is “a right granted by Belgian law to every resident, from the poorest to the biggest billionaire”, he said.
He said Laurent received a salary worth only 25% of his allowance, because the rest went on covering professional expenses including travel and wages for a staff member.
Rijckaert said this results in a monthly net wage for the prince of €5,000 which is comparable to the “average salary of a senior executive in Belgium” but without the usual “full social security coverage”.
Laurent and his British wife, Claire, have three children now in their 20s. He pointed to medical costs and his concerns over his family’s financial well-being, since the royal allowance will be cut when he dies.
Without the social security coverage, Laurent cannot claim reimbursement for certain medical expenses, or sick pay if he is unable to work.
The prince has had an animal welfare foundation offering free veterinary care in clinics for the past 10 years. He said the foundation work, alongside dozens of visits representing Belgium and participation on several boards, meant he has a busy schedule.
He is not the only Belgian royal to have been unhappy about money. When King Albert II abdicated in favour of his son Philippe in 2013 after reigning for 20 years, the ex-monarch found his €923,000 a year insufficient.
