EUROPEAN DIARY:King Albert's second son, 12th in line to the throne, is in the headlines again for his forays into sensitive areas of foreign policy
OLD LORE has it that a well-known Belgian blue-blood was once pulled over for speeding by a woman state trooper near Washington DC. “You can’t do this to me: I’m the prince of Belgium,” he says. “Yeah,” says the cop, “and I’m the queen of Sheba.”
Welcome to the singular world of Prince Laurent, second son of King Albert, 12th in line to the throne, a high-octane man of drama who refuses to live a life of aristocratic solemnity. Once again he is in the headlines, rebuked by the prime minister after a series of diplomatic solo runs. Once again the wayward prince is fighting with his father. His annual stipend from the state – €310,000, tax-free – is on the line.
It says a lot about royalty and even more about Laurent that a 47-year-old man with three young children is still described as an enfant terrible. But it's been that way for decades.
Trouble follows him. In his hard-living bachelor days, this Ferrari aficionado was famous for having acute financial problems. He has lost his licence more than once for speeding, most recently in February.
He has also been criticised for taking business class seats on flights, according a regal upgrade to himself when travelling on economy class tickets. He reportedly refused to pay for drinks on a flight to a royal wedding in Sweden last year, prompting indignant Swedish passengers to do the same.
Although many of the controversies surrounding Laurent have centred on aspects of his personal life, what has become known as l'affaire Laurentin recent days centres on his incursion into sensitive international dossiers.
In question first was an unauthorised visit he made last month to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In doing so he trampled on Belgium’s ultra-sensitive diplomacy with its former colony, advice from the country’s caretaker government and warnings from his father.
Laurent said he was there to discuss deforestation and sustainable development, issues close to his interests as an environmental campaigner, but his critics questioned whether anyone in the DRC would want advice from the prince. He insisted there was no intrusion into local politics, but he was greeted by President Laurent Kabila.
It was enough to trigger something close to public criticism from Albert himself as the palace confirmed reports that the monarch was angry about the visit.
Adding to the controversy was news that the prince had met a Libyan diplomat who has joined the country’s opposition.
Again the sensitivities are acute as Belgium, even though the acting government has only limited powers, is involved in Nato’s military campaign against Muammar Gadafy. There was no Belgian diplomatic oversight of the meeting and the prince stood accused of engaging in a form of parallel diplomacy. Caretaker prime minister Yves Leterme said it was all “very risky and unwise”. Cue humiliation for Laurent as Leterme told parliament he would have to agree to be bound by new rules. With politicians clamouring for the stipend to be stopped, Leterme said that adherence to new conditions should make “unacceptable” behaviour impossible.
Laurent was accompanied by his wife, Princess Claire, at a private meeting with Leterme for two hours on Friday. He agreed to set out the parameters of his future activities in a personal letter to the prime minister.
The prince has a seat in the Belgian senate, but the country’s constitutional monarchy places strict limits on royal power. In this system the king serves a largely ceremonial and symbolic role as titular head of state and his main political function is to designate a political leader to form a cabinet after an election or when a government collapses.
The king, of course, has been very busy on this front. No fewer than 303 days have passed since a general election last June, but politicians have been unable to form a powersharing coalition. A dubious anniversary looms this day fortnight when a year will have passed since the implosion of the last government.
Not for the first time, therefore, the errant Laurent provides a distraction from humdrum politics. In 2007, one of his former advisers was sent to prison for six months after he was found guilty of using some of €175,000 embezzled from the navy in a lavish refurbishment of the prince’s private villa.
Noel Vaessen, a retired naval captain, claimed in court that Laurent knowingly benefited from the illegal scheme but the prince denied being aware of the origin of the funds. The case made history as Laurent, who testified for the defence, became the first royal to appear as a court witness. He promised to pay back the €175,000.
Neither are his recent troubles the first entanglement with a prime minister. A few years back yet another speeding incident led to a rebuke from then premier Guy Verhofstadt. A little later, however, Verhofstadt was a passenger in his own official car when it was stopped going at 180km per hour in a 120km zone. Ouch.
