Belgium prince loses bid for benefits after whining his £333,000 royal allowance wasn’t enough for him and his British-born wife

The ‘black sheep’ of Belgium’s royal family has lost a legal battle to claim social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal allowance.

Prince Laurent, 61, the younger brother of King Philippe and a third cousin once removed of King Charles, received €388,000 (£333,000) last year from state funds and doesn’t pay rent for his home.

But the royal, who is known as the ‘cursed prince’ after a series of failed business ventures and gaffes, reportedly argued that his work entitled him and his family to social security.

He said because he was partly self-employed due to his royal duties and his work running an animal welfare charity for the past decade he should be given the same benefits as independent entrepreneurs. 

However, a Brussels court on Monday rejected Laurent’s claim – the first of its kind in the country’s history – as ‘unfounded’, according to reports.

The court found that the prince cannot be considered self-employed nor an employee and that his duties were more alike to those in the civil service, where this is no overall social security system and instead workers receive specific benefits according to the category they belong to. 

But the judge said the prince should be entitled to a pension, but that gaps in legislation made that unattainable and called for the law to be amended, according to broadcaster VTM, via the BBC. 

In 2020, Laurent, who is married to British-born Princess Claire, criticised the ‘unacceptable’ treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and accused Buckingham Palace of treating the Duke of Sussex as ‘property’.

Prince Laurent (pictured), 61, the younger brother of King Philippe and a third cousin once removed of King Charles, received €388,000 (£333,000) last year from state funds and doesn’t pay rent for his home

The Belgian prince, who previously said that he was so unhappy in Belgium he once sought ‘exile’ in Libya, also likened life as a royal to living under a dictatorship. 

‘This is not about financial means but principle,’ Laurent told Belgian broadcaster RTBF about his legal battle. 

‘When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to [social security]. I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place,’ he added.

The prince’s request was not based on a ‘whim’, according to his lawyer Olivier Rijckaert, who told Belgian newspaper Le Soir that social security is ‘granted by Belgian law to all residents, from the most deprived to the richest’.

Mr Rijckaert reportedly said most of the royal’s allowance went on wages for his staff and travel expenses, meaning Laurent is left with around €5,000 (£4,300) a month. 

But while his monthly wage is similar to the ‘average salary of a senior executive in Belgium’, the prince doesn’t have the ‘full social security coverage’, like the right to claim back some medical expenses.

Laurent – who has three adult children with his British-born wife Claire – also reportedly raised concerns over his family’s financial wellbeing since the royal allowance will be cut when he dies. 

The prince started his legal bid against the Belgian state after his application for social security was denied – and a first hearing was held in November 2024. 

Prince Laurent and his wife Claire with their children Sophie, Nicolas and Aymeric

Belgium’s Prince Laurent kisses his Belgian-British wife Claire Coombs on their wedding day, 2003

Mr Rijckaert reportedly said his client was considering whether to appeal the court’s decision, adding to Agence France-Presse: ‘We’re not where we wanted to be, but the judgment is very detailed, very reasoned, I understand the reasoning.’

In May 2024, Laurent, who is 15th in line to the Belgian throne, revealed how he was considering a ‘new life’ abroad after a string of business failures.

He told Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws: ‘I am preparing a new life. I would like to change my current position. I want to be less involved in public activities. It is no secret that one day I want to live abroad, in Italy.’

He added: ‘I don’t compare myself to Prince Harry. I have always been an entrepreneur. But it is true that I would like to start a new life.’

Laurent also suggested that his human rights are being breached because he has to ‘ask the government for permission’ if he wants to see Luxembourg’s head of state Grand Duke Henri, who is his cousin.

The errant prince previously said that he was so unhappy in Belgium he once sought ‘exile’ in Libya before the late Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi’s fall in 2011. 

Laurent hopes to be more useful if he lives abroad. He said: ‘I think I can do more for society and make myself more useful if I can live that new life. I’m not proclaiming this because I’m angry.’ 

The prince previously headed up an environmental charity which planted trees in Libya to combat desertification.

Belgium’s Prince Laurent, Queen Mathilde and King Philippe attend a mass in memory of former members of the royal family at Notre Dame de Laeken church in Brussels, Belgium, on February 19, 2019

Belgium’s Prince Laurent is helped to his feet after falling over at the wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco in July 2011

The organisation lost up to €50million when Gaddafi was toppled during the Arab Spring series of protests. Laurent went on to press the Belgian government to help him get compensation.

In another controversial moment, the prince defended Belgium’s King Leopold II, who was blamed for 10million deaths in the Congo.

He claimed in 2020 that Leopold could not have ‘made people suffer’ because he never visited his African colony.

The prince spoke out after Statues of Leopold, who ruled over what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo for 23 years until 1908, were vandalised by activists as part of the global Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd.

In March 2018, Laurent had his monthly allowance cut by 15 per cent for a year, after he attended a Chinese embassy reception without government permission.

The royal was caught out when he tweeted an image of himself at the Chinese embassy party in full naval uniform. 

He also visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, a former Belgian colony, in 2011 without permission, and met with Colonel Gaddafi in Libya, who he says promised him £42million for a forestry scheme. 

The black sheep of the family, the prince has also accused his own family of ‘sabotaging’ his life and monitoring him ‘like the Stasi’. 

Prince Laurent is scolded by his wife as he speaks on the phone during National Day celebrations in 2022

The royal (pictured in 2019), who is known as the ‘cursed prince’ after a series of failed business ventures and gaffes, reportedly argued that his work entitled him and his family to social security

His various gaffes and scandals have led to the former military helicopter pilot being nicknamed The Cursed Prince (Le Prince Maudit).

In 2014, he was forced to pay back £14,500 after invoicing the state for supermarket bills, skiing holidays and his children’s school fees.

In 2016, it was decided that Prince Laurent’s children were not allowed to carry the name ‘of Belgium’.

Prince Laurent’s involvement in animal welfare and environmental issues, as well as him ignoring protocol, have earned Laurent the nickname of ‘ecolo-gaffeur’ (‘the eco-blunderer’).

The prince is also known for his love of speed, having racked up several speeding tickets.

Prince Laurent is married to British-born Princess Claire, who was born in Bath as Claire Coombs and who worked as a land surveyor.

In 2019 he was told off by his wife when he was pictured talking on his phone during an event celebrating his country’s independence.

He was spotted on his smartphone as the Belgian national anthem was played, prompting his wife to touch him on the arm and give him a stern look. The couple then appeared to have an animated conversation about the gaffe. 

Laurent engaged in similar antics at the same event in 2022 and was again scolded by his other half.