Prince Laurent, Princess Claire & Family - News & Events, Part 7; Aug 2023 -


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Princess Claire appears on this week's cover of Paris Match Belgium, alongside
Sophie Wilmès (Vice-President of the European Parliament).
 
If he wants to "leave Belgium behind " will he renounce his Prince of Belgium title and simply be Laurent Saxe-Coburg?
 
If he wants to "leave Belgium behind " will he renounce his Prince of Belgium title and simply be Laurent Saxe-Coburg?
I don't think it is legally possible to renounce the title of Prince of Belgium as the title is conferred by royal decree and the current relevant royal decree in force (King Philippe's decree of 2015) makes no provisions for renunciation.

The Belgian government can, however, propose that Laurent's state funding be discontinued if he abandons the country. In fact, I would expect that to happen.

How will Laurent support himself and his family in Italy?
 
To mark World Animal Day Prince Laurent attended an event of the Charleroi animal shelter on October 5:



 
Yesterday, Princess Claire visited a project of the association "De Verhalenweverij" at the Fedasil center in Broechem. Winner of the Queen Paola Prize 2024, "De Verhalenweverij" seeks to promote the pleasures of reading among refugee children in Belgium.


 
Sounds like a lovely initiative and worthy winner of Paola's Prize. Also no surprise that an activity by Claire is related to Paola...
 
Here are a some more photos of Claire's visit:



 
If he wants to "leave Belgium behind " will he renounce his Prince of Belgium title and simply be Laurent Saxe-Coburg?

I don't think it is legally possible to renounce the title of Prince of Belgium as the title is conferred by royal decree and the current relevant royal decree in force (King Philippe's decree of 2015) makes no provisions for renunciation.

Losing the title Prince of Belgium by any method would not leave him titleless. He would remain a Prince. The title Prince of Belgium was not adopted until 1891 (prior to that, the royal princes were simply styled HRH Prince without the use of a territorial designation), and King Philippe's 2015 decree makes clear that the titles of Prince and Prince of Belgium remain separate: the title Prince(ss) of Belgium is limited to children and grandchildren per Articles 1-2, but the title "Prince(ss)" remains unrestricted per Article 4.



Prince Laurent and his older siblings already are de jure Italian citizens through their mother Queen Paola. It would be more accurate to speak of seeking to have his Italian citizenship recognized.
 
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I'm afraid Paola doesn't qualify as ancestral tie... as she was born before 1948 and probably also gave up her Italian citizenship?! However, it seems that he can still apply based on his Italian grandparents. That doesn't mean imho that they are de jure Italian citizens but that there is a possi ility to request citizenship based on his descendance from Italian (great)grandparents.

Well, it means that obtaining Italian dual citizenship (...) is not exactly difficult but there are rules which can prevent an individual from proceeding with a particular ancestral claim. For example, females born prior to 1st January 1948 and ancestors who renounced their right to Italian citizenship cannot qualify as an ancestral tie.
Source: Italian Citizenship by Descent in Canada | Canadian Consulate Locations

What does Belgian law specify about people opting for another citizenship? Are they ok with dual citizenship or does he run the risk of loosing his Belgian citizenship?
 
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I'm afraid Paola doesn't qualify as ancestral tie... as she was born before 1948 and probably also gave up her Italian citizenship?! However, it seems that he can still apply based on his Italian grandparents. That doesn't mean imho that they are de jure Italian citizens but that there is a possi ility to request citizenship based on his descendance from Italian (great)grandparents.


Source: Italian Citizenship by Descent in Canada | Canadian Consulate Locations

Thanks for the link! Ordinarily, I would trust a business specializing in assisting with citizenship applications to provide accurate information. However, in this case, what they say appears to be at odds with information I read elsewhere in also seemingly reliable sources, so I feel less certain.

My understanding from those other sources was that although Paola automatically lost her Italian citizenship upon marriage to a non-Italian, the Italian Constitutional Court ruling no. 30 of January 28, 1983 determined that the law stripping women who married non-Italians of their citizenship violated the Constitution, and as a result of the ruling, women who married non-Italians after the Italian Constitution became law on January 1, 1948 are retroactively deemed to have retained their Italian citizenship. If my understanding is correct, that would include Paola, as she did not marry Albert until 1959.


The official website of one Italian consulate says:


RECOGNITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS OF ITALIAN DESCENT BORN ABROAD

[...]

There are many possible categories of Jure Sanguinis lines; here are the most common:

Category n. 2: Your mother was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth or was born in the United States or in another foreign country, but she was recognized as an Italian citizen by the Consulate General in Los Angeles. You were born after January 1st, 1948. CHECK LIST

[...]

FAST FACTS

· Italian Citizenship is based on the principle of “jus sanguinis”, meaning that your father, your mother or your ancestor is or was an Italian citizen. In fact, Italian citizenship can be passed through generations without any limit unless there was an interruption in the line of descent due to naturalization or renunciation.

[...]

· A woman can transfer citizenship only to her children born after January 1st, 1948, if she was not a naturalized citizen of another country before her child’s birth.

· An Italian citizen who acquired a foreign citizenship before August 16, 1992 automatically lost his/her citizenship according to art. 8 of the law 555/1912.

· The acquisition of a foreign citizenship by an Italian citizen on or after August 16, 1992 does not cause the loss of his/her Italian citizenship.


Note that Paola did not need to be naturalized as a Belgian: Under the Belgian law at a time, a woman who married a Belgian automatically received Belgian citizenship unless she made a declaration refusing it.


What does Belgian law specify about people opting for another citizenship? Are they ok with dual citizenship or does he run the risk of loosing his Belgian citizenship?

Since 2007, even voluntary acquisition of another nationality no longer incurs the loss of Belgian nationality. But if Laurent is an Italian citizen jure sanguinis, then he did not voluntarily acquire the citizenship but acquired it automatically.

 
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Thanks for the link! Ordinarily, I would trust a business specializing in assisting with citizenship applications to provide accurate information. However, in this case, what they say appears to be at odds with information I read elsewhere in also seemingly reliable sources, so I feel less certain.

My understanding from those other sources was that although Paola automatically lost her Italian citizenship upon marriage to a non-Italian, the Italian Constitutional Court ruling no. 30 of January 28, 1983 determined that the law stripping women who married non-Italians of their citizenship violated the Constitution, and as a result of the ruling, women who married non-Italians after the Italian Constitution became law on January 1, 1948 are retroactively deemed to have retained their Italian citizenship. If my understanding is correct, that would include Paola, as she did not marry Albert until 1959.

Yes it's accurate, in my opinion. Thanks for including the reference to the 1983 ruling of the italian Constitutional Court, which I've read with interest.
That ruling specifically determines that article 1 of an old law (no.555/1912), which established that only an Italian father (but not an italian mother) could pass his citizenship to his children, violates articles 3 and 29 of the Italian Constitution. An earlier ruling of the constitutional court is also relevant to the discussion: no.87/1975, which declared that article 10 of the same 1912 law (which stripped Italian women who married foreign men of their citizenship) violated the same articles, 3 (equality before the law) and 29 (equality between spouses) of the constitution.
The rulings of the constitutional court have retroactive effect.
I've found a description of a case which can be similar to what we are discussing (with links to various rulings):
Cittadinanza italiana per discendenza in linea materna | Saccucci & Partners
 
Yesterday, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire attended a dance performance by the Roots Compagnie in Ghent.
This dance group, with the support of the Queen Paola Foundation, organizes workshops, lessons and performances to encourage cultural participation among young people in difficulty.

 
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