Belgian’s former king, Albert II, abdicated the throne in 2013 due to health reasons, and the throne passed to his eldest son, Philippe. Now, the ex-monarch has agreed to a DNA test after decades of speculation. The 84-year-old has been followed by rumours of an illegitimate child for years after a biography revealed an affair.
Albert has agreed to a paternity test to determine whether a woman who claims to be his daughter is in fact related to him.
The former king had been facing a daily fine of €5,000 (£4,400) for failing to provide his DNA in a case 51-year-old Delphine Boel had brought to court.
Ms Boel has been trying to establish the truth of her paternity for years and her story has often made headlines.
Whilst Albert has never publicly denied being her father, he had so far refused to provide DNA.
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A statement from Albert’s lawyer, delivered to the Belgian media, said the former monarch had taken note of the judgment two weeks ago, which imposed the daily fine, and he would submit to the test “out of respect to the judicial authorities”.
It was made clear in the statement the move to allow testing did not imply any admission of guilt.
The former king was ordered by a Brussels court in February to give a sample within three months or risk being assumed to be the father of Ms Boël.
Ms Boel’s lawyer, Yves-Henri Leleu, said she “reacted very positively because, with the DNA test, the biological evidence is now there”.
The lawyer for the former monarch said the DNA results would have to be sealed until later in the legal case.
Rumours about Albert and Ms Boel’s mother, the aristocratic wife of a wealthy industrialist, had been circulating for years.
The news the king may have had a child with Ms Boel’s mother first surfaced when a biography of Albert’s wife, Queen Paola, was published in 1999.
In his Christmas message to the nation in 1999, King Albert indirectly confessed to a previous infidelity and said he and Queen Paola lived through a “crisis” in the late 1960s which had almost ruined their marriage.
However, he also added that “a long while ago” they overcame their marital problems.
Six years ago, Ms Boel, who has a striking resemblance to some members of the royal family, opened court proceedings to prove that Albert is her father.
Ms Boel first alleged on the record that King Albert was her biological father during an interview in 2005.
Her mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, alleged the two had an affair between 1966 and 1984, during which he was Prince Albert of Liège.
Artist and sculptor Ms Boel, has always said that she brought the paternity case due to anger since she was being cold-shouldered by the royal family.
King Albert was crowned in 1993 after the unexpected death of his older brother King Baudouin.
He and his wife Donna Paola Ruffa di Calabria have three children, two sons and a daughter.
Their eldest son Philippe is now the King of Belgium after Albert’s abdication in 2013.