Prince Laurent of Belgium rushed to hospital

Prince Laurent of Belgium

We've learned from UnOfficialRoyalty that Prince Laurent of Belgium has been rushed to the hospital. An official statement from the Royal Palace confirmed that. He is now at the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc in Brussels since March 18. No further details was provided but some members of the Belgian press suggest the prince has been suffering from deppression. Prince Laurent is the younger brother of King Philippe. His parents are King Albert II and Queen Paolo.

In Picture: The Belgian Royals Takes a Day Off

The Belgian Royal Family are having a great time.

King Albert and Queen Paola(then Prince and Princess) with their children, (now king) Philippe, Astrid and Laurent. Image: Royal Families (Facebook)

Belgian royals to start paying taxes: What a great gift to birthday boy King Albert

Belgian Royal Family to start paying taxes. Image credit: Almanach de Gotha

Wednesday, June 5 – Happy birthday, King Albert! And his subjects in the government just gave him the best birthday gift ever—taxing his family member.

Finally, Belgium’s royals will have to pay taxes. Since the kingdom was granted independence in 1830, not a single member of the royal family has contributed a cent to the state coffers. Now, that is going to change.  

The coalition government has already approved the reform.

Expactica.com reports His Majesty, however, receives an annual tax-free allowance of 11.5 million euros ($15 million). This exemption has been possible because the constitution any rules for the reigning royal to be altered.

However, the other members of the king’s family will be hard-hit by this household reforms, including his children and his sister-in-law, Queen Fabiola.

Crown Prince Philippe, who receives receives around 923,000 euros a year, will have to adjust to a reduced circumstances. Under the new law, he will only receive a gross salary of 180,000 euros. And that could dwindle further after tax. However, any amount paid for staff and meeting household expenses in relation to their job as working royals shall be tax exempt, although the government will still keep a scrutinizing look at their accounts.

The king’s younger children, Princess Astrid and PrinceLaurent, will each receive a gross salary 90,000 euros.

Meanwhile, the king’s frail and wheelchair-bound sister-in-law, Queen Fabiola, window of King Baudoin, saw her annual stipend slashed from 1.4 million euros to 923,000 euros.

The dowager queen was criticized lately after she decided to set up a private foundation that will take charge in disbursing her estate to her nephews and for Catholic charities upon her death. However, critics were quick to point out that the foundation is actually intended to funnel the funds to her Spanish relatives so she could avoid paying 70 percent death duties currently implemented in Belgium.

The recent rules however provided that the surviving spouse of a sovereign will only receive an amount equal to two-thirds of what an heir to the throne receives for 10 years. Afterwards, the amount will be slashed to just half of it.

In the future, the government will only pay for the allowance of the heir to the throne.

You might also want to read:

• Prince Laurent discharged from hospital 
• Prince Laurent of Belgium hospitalized after skiing accident 
• King Albert attends tribute to the unknown soldiers 
• Princess Astrid of Belgiums Pleas for Support Against Malaria 
• Queen Fabiola's inheritance plan earns rebuke 

Prince Laurent discharged from hospital

Prince Laurent of Belgium was discharged from the hospital last Saturday but he seems to be facing an angry king. The prince, known as the black sheep of the Royal House of Belgium was reportedly facing the enmity of his father the King because he did not inform the Palace about his accident. When the press came calling about the injury the palace had no idea what had occurred. This may further fracture the already delicate relationship between not only the King’s offices, but the King himself.

Prince Laurent of Belgium hospitalized after skiing accident

Reports confirm that Prince Laurent of Belgium has been injured while skiing in Austria. He is currently admitted at an Austrian hospital to "monitor internal bleeding," reports The Associated Press.


The doctors are doing their best to make sure that the prince is free from the "risk of bleeding," which was reportedly near his liver. Palace official revealed that the accident happened in the afternoon of Feb. 19 near Innsbruck.

Prince Laurent, 49, is the third child of Belgium's King Albert.

Last year, Dutch Prince Johan-Friso also met an accident while skiing in Austria. He was buried under deep snow after an avalanche, leaving him in comatose until now.