Hidden family members of the Belgian royal family

Cheating husbands are everywhere, among your neighbors, rock stars, and... royals. The Belgian monarchs have no choice but to confirm it, as their family has had quite a few extra children to welcome in its history.

Let's have a look at the adventures of several Belgian kings, from Leopold to Albert, and the secret new members the royal family acquired over the years.

The artist Delphine Boël (1968) maintained for years that she was the illegitimate daughter of King Albert II, the father of the current Belgian king. Despite pushback, she wouldn't give up, and her lengthy DNA research captivated Belgium for years.

On paper the daughter of Sybille de Selys Longchamps and businessman Jacques Boël, Delphine went to court in 2013 to force King Albert II to undergo a DNA test, the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports.

It turned out that Delphine was indeed the biological daughter of King Albert II. Her motive was not financial gain or a title, but recognition by her father.

Delphine is not the first illegitimate child in the Belgian royal family. King Leopold III (left in the photo), the father of King Albert (right in the photo), is said to have had several illegitimate children, according to the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

Leopold II, his father, also had several adventures. He had a relationship with the much younger Blanche Delacroix, who was 48 years his junior. They reportedly met at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.

After his wife's death, he housed Blanche in a villa with a secret tunnel from his royal residence to her room. Together they had two children, Lucien and Philippe, with considerable titles. Leopold eventually married Blanche. After Leopold died, she remarried her former lover.

Of course, when you think of Leopold II, there are worse things to remember than a secret affair. Ask the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Leopold II may have gotten his adventurous nature in love affairs from his father, Leopold I. According to the Belgian newspaper De Standaard, Leopold I also had illegitimate children.

His twenty-year relationship with Arcadie Claret resulted in two sons, Georg and Arthur, both of whom were given the title of Baron van Eppinghoven.

Image: Royal Collection of Belgium, Public domain / Wikimedia