According to Wim Dehandschutter, Delphine will now be considered one of Albert's legal children and will be able to claim her inheritance when he passes away, he and his lawyers will no longer fight the paternity claim on court.
The court hearing where Delphine Boël requested a declaration of paternity was held today, but the court has not delivered its ruling as of now.
I don't think the ruling is expected to be delivered immediately. Until then, Delphine is not considered Albert's legal child.
The big mystery (according to him) is which surname is she going to adopt? She cannot use Boël anymore due to the ruling, so WD is wondering if she's going to take "De Belgique" or "Saxe-Coburg" (as a nod to the old German family roots).
He is mistaken.
Firstly, the ruling confirming that Jacques Boël was not the legal father of Delphine was already delivered this past December. (It was discussed in this thread here:
https://www.theroyalforums.com/foru...er-of-king-albert-ii-6319-65.html#post2273915)
Secondly, it is Delphine's own wish to be rid of the Boël name. The
Civil Code protects her legal right to keep it:
The FPS also summarizes the Civil Code provisions dealing with the surnames of adults whose parentage is legally changed by a court judgment. (These laws will eventually have jurisdiction over the surname of Delphine Boël, a Belgian, if, as is expected, she becomes the legal child of King Albert II as a result of the forthcoming court session in September 2020.)
As indicated in Article 335, § 4, of the Civil Code, the legally available options for a new surname (if the adult child chooses not to keep her or his current surname) are the same options which are available to parents naming their firstborn child: the legal father's surname, the legal mother's surname, or a combination of both.
Finally, as explained in the above summary, Delphine will be restricted to four name options once she is recognized as King Albert's legal child. These will be to continue bearing the Boël surname, to adopt the surname of her mother, to adopt the surname of her father, or to adopt a combination of her parents' surnames. Her lawyers have confirmed that her choice will be her father's surname.
It follows that whether she becomes "of Belgium" or "of Saxe-Coburg" will be dependent on which one the court considers to be Albert's legal surname.
Over the last few years, the Royal Court and the lawyers for both parties have all expressed the view that "of Saxe-Coburg" is the legal surname. The sources are posted in the this thread:
https://www.theroyalforums.com/foru...elgian-royal-family-38975-17.html#post2186636
"Delphine Boël wants "exactly the same privileges, titles and capacities as her two brothers and her sister," her lawyer stated after the final hearing in the lawsuit against King Albert. Note word usage: "brothers and sister" (Filip, Astrid, Laurent), not "half-brothers and -sister"."
That represents a reversal of her views, as she has taken the opposite position in the past - although as Mbruno pointed out, the comments earlier this year hinted at this.
So her goal is apparently HRH Princess Delphine of Saxe-Coburg, I think? Now, with the biological admission already there, she wants the complete package, it seems. Wanting is one, granting is two and I'm not sure how I feel about this. It does seem a change of attitude.
"The same titles as her two brothers and sister" would be HRH Princess Delphine, Princess of Belgium, Duchess of Saxony, Princess
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The part that I have bolded would be considered the surname.