Prince Laurent’s solicitor writes to the PM

Prince Laurent is still waiting to see what measures the Federal Government will take against him in response to his having attended a reception at the Chinese Embassy without having informed the government first.

The government will soon decide how much money the Prince will be given from the state coffers next year. The incident at the Chinese Embassy was the third in a series of incidents in which Prince Laurent has had contact with foreign governments without permission from the government.

He has been warned in the past that this was not allowed and that measures would be taking if there were any further incidents.

Since the controversy broke, Prince Laurent has been off sick. The Federal Government is currently working on measures that will see the amount of money he is given by the state cut. A decision on this is expected soon.

However, Prince Laurent’s solicitor says that the Federal Government is in danger of threatening Prince Laurent’s human rights. The law that states that Prince Laurent has to ask for permission to meet foreign officials is open to interpretation.

According to his solicitor, the government is interpreting the law so strictly that Laurent can’t enjoy a normal social life.

Speaking about the presence of the Prince at the embassy, his solicitor told VRT News that "It is something the Prince is allowed to do, as long as his actions don’t have any political consequences”.

"There has been good cooperation between Belgium and China for many years now and our King has been on a trade mission there several times. There are good ties between both countries, so a visit to the embassy has no political implications”.