The Belgian prince loses a legal battle to receive social security benefits in addition to the royal allowance | Belgium

A Belgian prince has lost a legal battle to demand social security benefits in addition to his royal allowance, with a court declaring his request – the first of its kind in the history of almost 200 years of the country – “unresolved”.

Prince Laurent, the youngest of three children of the former king and the queen, had argued that his work was entitled to the coverage granted to independent entrepreneurs – and that he was acting from the “principle” rather than for money.

But a Brussels court concluded on Monday that the functions of 61 years are more like those of the public service, where the categories of workers benefit from specific advantages but there is no global social security system.

A prince’s lawyer, Olivier Rijckaert, said his client planned to appeal. “We are not where we wanted to be, but the judgment is very detailed, very reasoned, I understand the reasoning,” Rijckaert told Agency France-Press.

In 2018, its annual state allowance was reduced by 15% for one year because it met foreign dignitaries without the approval of the federal government.

Laurent received € 388,000 (£ 333,000) last year from state chests and lives in his house without rent. “These are not financial means but in principle,” he told the Belgian RTBF broadcaster. “When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has the right.

The prince did not take legal action on a “whim”, said lawyer Rijckaert in an article in the newspaper Le Soir. Social security is “a right granted by Belgian law to all residents, from the poorest to the largest billionaire,” he said.

He declared that Laurent received only a salary worth 25% of his allowance, because the rest has circumvented professional expenses, including travel and wages for a staff member.

Rijckaert said that this translates into a monthly net salary for the prince of € 5,000, comparable to the “average salary of a senior manager in Belgium”, but without the usual “complete social security coverage”.

Laurent and his British wife Claire now have three children in their twenties. He underlined the medical costs and his concerns concerning the financial well-being of his family, because the royal allowance will be reduced to his death.

Without social security coverage, Laurent cannot claim the reimbursement of certain medical expenses or disease wages if it is unable to work.

The prince has had an animal protection foundation offering free veterinary care in clinics for 10 years. He said that foundation work, alongside dozens of visits representing Belgium and participation in several advice, meant that he had a busy schedule.

He is not the only Belgian Royal to be unhappy with money. When King Albert II abdicated in favor of his son Philippe in 2013 after having reigned for 20 years, the ex-monarch found his € 923,000 per year insufficient.