Prince Laurent from Belgium has gone through a very talked-about court case, and unfortunately, he didn’t win. The final decision came out on April 7, 2025. This case was about whether he could get the same kind of financial help that many regular people get from the government, known as social security, on top of the $376,000 he already receives each year just for being a member of the royal family.
King Philippe’s younger brother was trying to convince everyone that he should be allowed to have these extra benefits even though he also gets to live in a fancy, government-provided house without paying any rent.
“This is not about financial means but principle,” said Laurent, who is 61 years old, while speaking with a TV station from Belgium called RTBF. “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.”
The judge thought the Prince might deserve a pension, but there were some missing pieces in the laws that stopped them from saying yes to his request.
🇧🇪 Prince Laurent loses bid for social security benefits on top of €397k royal allowance.
🧑⚖️ His lawyer showed me the verdict of the court.
💬 “The prince isn’t where he wanted to be but he isn’t dissatisfied. The judge rules that he works for the monarchy and is paid for it.” pic.twitter.com/Qbq7QoOgbF
— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) April 8, 2025
Prince Laurent’s lawyer, Olivier Rijckaert, has been working hard to fight for his client’s rights. They didn’t just decide to take this to court on a whim. They believe it’s all about fairness under the law. After the court’s decision, Rijckaert said, “Social security is granted by Belgian law to all residents, from the most deprived to the richest.”
Now, the Prince’s team made it clear that his monthly allowance isn’t all fun and games. Most of it goes to things like paying his employees and traveling for work stuff. So, when it comes to his spending, he’s left with roughly $5,400. And unlike most folks, when he gets sick or needs a doctor, he can’t just get his expenses covered, as per The New York Post. He has to pay for it himself.
Yet the sight of a royal person looking for welfare aid caused a lot of negative comments. People from Belgium talked about it on social media and wrote in the papers, saying it was like Laurent was “tone-deaf” to everyone else’s feeling during a hard time with money.
This social security fiasco isn’t the first time Prince Laurent has been in the middle of a public issue. Some newspapers in Belgium have called him the “cursed prince” because he’s been in trouble before. In 2018, he went to a party at the Chinese embassy wearing his full navy clothes without permission, and the government decided to stop giving him money each month for a whole year as a punishment for that.
He also had to repay a substantial amount of $18,500 to the government for using public money to buy food, go on skiing holidays, and even send his children to school. In 2011, things turned worse for him when he got involved in an unauthorized business deal with the son of the well-known Libyan Muammar Gaddafi. This decision led to his financial privileges being taken away for a short time.
Laurent is married to a lady named Claire Coombs, who was born in Britain, and they have three children together. He’s also worried that when he’s no longer here, the special money that comes from being a royal might not be given to his wife and kids.
🇧🇪 “Don’t sit down, Laurent!”
😖 Princess Claire is mad at her husband Prince Laurent, who behaved grumpily during Belgium’s National Day (playing with this smartphone, yawning, closing his eyes).
👸 It was the only time I saw her lose her good mood during the 90-minute parade. pic.twitter.com/8PucndCHSa
— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) July 21, 2022
Belgium’s monarchy is dealing with a lot of criticism for the financial perks they get.
Even ex-King Albert II said that the $1 million he receives every year after stepping down isn’t enough. With the country still working through money troubles and the cost of living going up, more and more people are unhappy with the idea of the royal family getting special money help.
The current status is that the Belgian royal family hasn’t talked yet about what a court decided or what Prince Laurent plans to do next.
