As we explained to you this Friday (see link below), Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid are no longer called “from Belgium”. Following a decision administrative, they had to change their name, and are now called “Saxe-Coburg” in official documents.
A decision that does not please the first interested party, Prince Laurent. Contacted by our colleagues from the Nieuwsblad, King Philippe’s brother sent a message that could not be clearer: “It was in March 2022 that we had to change our identity cards. We had no choice. Only Philippe, Mathilde and their children can still be called “from Belgium”, “he said.
“Claire, our children and I are now called “from Saxe-Cobourg”. And I’m very angry,” he said. Why ? Because in Dutch, “of Saxe-Coburg” is called “van Saksen-Coburg”. And yet: “We are called ‘von Saksen-Coburg’ and not ‘van’. But hey, it’s not that on our identity cards.
The prince then gives a concrete example to make it clear what bothers him: “What would you think if you were called Solis instead of Selis? My sister Astrid is now called “van Habsburg” [du nom de son mari, le prince Lorenz, ndlr] and not ‘von Habsburg’”, he concludes.