Albert II is not Delphine Boel's legal father, court rules, but battle is not finished
The judge took into account that Delphine Boël grew up with her father and mother, in the Boël family. For that reason, she can be considered as his legal daughter, because she was raised in the Boël family and lived there as a child.
For the outside world, it was clear that they were father and daughter, and in this case, the parenthood cannot be questioned, judges argued.
In a nutshell: paternity is not just a biological thing, it's also about who raises you as a child and takes care of you. The judge ruled on this account that Jacques Boël is Delphine's father, and since she can't have two dads, her second claim can't be treated.
Albert and his baroness
The ruling means that the court didn't get down to the bottom of things: Boël's claim that she is the daughter of the retired King Albert II of the Belgians, after her mother - baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps - had a 16-year relationship with Albert. The former king was married Queen Paola all this time.
The first speculation of Delphine being a love child of King Albert emerged in 1999 in Mario Danneel's biography of Queen Paola. However, Albert has always rejected Delphine's claims and says this is a private matter. Delphine wanted to use DNA evidence to prove she is right, but it will not come to this just yet.
However, Jacques Boël already agreed to have DNA samples taken. These show he is not her biological father.