The spokesperson of the royal palace confirmed to Le Soir that the Saxony titles are covered by the expression "the titles which their ancestry gives them the right to", appearing in articles 1-4 of the royal decree of 2015.
The statement clarifies why the spouses did not obtain the titles, as the royal decree of 2015 applied only to descendants of Leopold I.
Personally, I don't think they have the
right to use the Saxony titles based on their ancestry because those titles became extinct when Germany became a republic. I think they have the right though to use "prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha" as a family name, as one would use nowadays in Germany.
Going back to my previous post, allow me to rephrase my question to make it clearer.
Albert , Laurent and Philippe, in all legal documents I have seen so far (royal decrees, marriage certificates, etc.)
never used a family name. They are always referred to by their style (HM or HRH) followed by King/Prince, their given names (e.g.
Philippe Léopold Louis Marie), their dynastic titles (e.g. King of the Belgians or Duke of Brabant), and then their title of Prince of Belgium. The 2015 royal decree says that a family name
may be used between the given names and the dynastic titles, or , in the absence of the latter, between the given names and the title of Prince/Princess of Belgium, but only as long as the person bears a family name, as was the case of Mathilde, who is referred to in the royal decree who made her a Grand Cordon of the Order of Léopold as:
Son Altesse Royale la Princesse Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine comtesse d'Udekem d'Acoz, Duchesse de Brabant, Princesse de Belgique.
Are Philippe's younger children now using
Saxe-Cobourg as a family name, as their mother uses
comtesse d'Udekem d'Acoz and as
Le Soir is implying
, or do they continue to go only by
SAR le/la Prince/Princesse [prénom], Prince/Princesse de Belgique ?If the latter, do they now use their Saxony titles
after Prince/Princesse de Belgique (in accordance with the terms of the 2015 decree), even though those titles no longer exist legally in Germany ?