King Albert and Queen Paola "delighted” about meeting between King Filip and Princess Delphine

In a press statement released early on Friday evening Belgium’s former Head of State King Albert II and his wife Queen Paola have said that they are “delighted” that their son King Filip has met with his half-sister Princess Delphine. The statement released by the Royal Court expresses the hope that the lunch at the King’s home Laken Castle on 9 October will be “The start of better times for us all and in particular for Delphine”. 

News of King’s Filip’s meeting with his half-sister a week ago today was released by the Royal Court on Thursday. It came as something of a surprise. Princess Delphine spent many years involved in a legal battle to be officially recognised as King Albert’s daughter. Two weeks ago, a court ruled that the woman who has lived through more than five decades known as Delphine Boël could use her father’s surname and the titles that come with being a child of a King.

In Friday evening’s press statement King Albert II says, “I completely back the communiqué that the King and Princess Delphine released and am in agreement with the thoughts behind their message”, King Filip's and Princess Delphine’s father wrote.

Even more surprisingly perhaps Queen Paola has also given the meeting her approval. “My wife and myself are delighted at the initiative taken by the King. It is the start of better times for us all and in particular for Delphine”.    

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