Belgium’s ‘black sheep’ Prince Laurent who was friends with Colonel Gaddafi and slammed British royals over ‘unacceptable’ treatment of Duke of Sussex considering ‘new life’ abroad after string of business failures and gaffes

The black sheep of Belgium’s royal family is considering a ‘new life’ abroad after a string of business failures.

Prince Laurent, 60, is the younger brother of King Philippe and a third cousin once removed of King Charles.

In 2020 he slammed the ‘unacceptable’ treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and accused Buckingham Palace of treating the Duke of Sussex as ‘property’.

Laurent is known as the ‘cursed prince’ after a series of failed business ventures and gaffes, including when he likened life as a Belgian royal to living under a dictatorship.

Now he plans to leave the country he grew up in. Laurent, a friend of the late Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi, told Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws: ‘I am preparing a new life. 

The black sheep of Belgium’s royal family is considering a ‘new life’ abroad after a string of business failures. Prince Laurent, 60, is the younger brother of King Philippe and a third cousin once removed of King Charles. Above: Laurent speaking on his phone during National Day celebrations in Brussels in 2022

‘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 recently complained 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 Colonel Gaddafi’s fall in 2011. 

Laurent hopes to be more useful if he lives abroad. He said: ‘I am convinced that I will be able to develop better in that new life than in the life I am experiencing now

‘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 environment charity which planted trees in Libya to combat desertification.

The organisation lost up to €50 million when Gaddafi was toppled during the Arab Spring series of protests.

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

Prince Laurent rides a three-wheeled scooter during a parade in Brussels in 2003

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

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

Laurent went on to press the Belgian government to help him get compensation. 

He once questioned why he is so ‘stigmatised and crushed’. ‘I am very worried because there is not only a will to harm me, to harm my family, but to harm everyone who supports me,’ he told broadcaster RTBF. 

In 2019 he was told off by his wife, British-born Princess Claire of Belgium, 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.

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

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. 

In 2020, the prince defended Belgium’s King Leopold II, who was blamed for 10million deaths in the Congo.

He claimed 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 murder of George Floyd.