Court decides: Prince Laurent from Belgium does not get any social benefits

Prince Laurent of Belgium, brother of King Philippe and Cousin from Grand Duke Henri, receives hundreds of thousands of euros from the Belgian state treasury and complains that he cannot do normal work due to his nobility title.

Therefore, he wanted to benefit from social security for the self -employed. This would guarantee him and his family the reimbursement of medical costs and certain compensation in the event of incapacity to work.

400,000 euros as an annual allowance

But with his request, he now failed in court, for the second time. The tasks of the 61-year-old cannot be classified as an independent activity. The prince’s demands are « permissible but not justified », a Brussels court decided in a judgment that the news agency AFP has.

After all, he was a member of the royal family through his status as a member of the royal family who has a allowance that is grossed at almost 400,000 euros in 2024, the court judged an official, but not an independent.

« We will see whether we will accept this and make an appeal or not, we have to decide that with the prince in peace, » said Laurent’s lawyer Olivier Rijckaert from the French news agency AFP. With all his travels within Belgium and participating in various board meetings, he, according to the lawyer, had to take on « an average of two to three representative tasks per week ». And this full schedule gives him a monthly net income of an estimated 5,000 euros, comparable to the « average salary of a manager in Belgium », but without the associated advantage of « full social security ».

Compare his situation with Holocaust

Prince Laurent is not a blank sheet and has already been criticized in the past. In 2018, Prince Laurent was deleted 15 percent of his annual state donation because he had participated in a celebration in the Chinese embassy without the government’s approval.

Laurent denied a way of wanting to « control » him and compared his situation with that of Jews who experienced the Holocaust. But also unauthorized trips and contacts, including the son of the former Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi, go to his account.

Prince Laurent is also called « Prince Vollgas » by the Belgians, alluding to his preference for fast cars. To this day, these have also brought him numerous criminal tickets.