Princess Delphine of Belgium has declared she forgives her father, the former King Albert II, for refusing to acknowledge her royal status for more than five decades.
The 57-year-old, who was born from Albert's extramarital relationship, shared her feelings in an interview with a Belgian broadcaster that was filmed half a decade ago but only made public this week.
The princess, once known as Delphine Boël, secured legal recognition as a member of the Belgian Royal Family in 2020 following years of court battles.
Delphine was the product of an affair between Albert II and Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, who is now 84 years old.
Royal princess says she forgives her father after decades of rejection
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For years, the princess and her mother maintained a close relationship with Albert, but this changed dramatically in 1984 when he chose to distance himself from them in order to protect his marriage.
Nearly a decade later, in 1993, Albert ascended to the Belgian throne, further complicating any prospect of reconciliation with his illegitimate daughter.
Her pursuit of recognition through the courts spanned decades before finally concluding successfully in 2020, granting her the right to bear the Saxe-Coburg surname and official status within the Belgian royal household.
Albert, now 91, stepped down from the throne in 2013 as a constitutional crisis mounted over his continued refusal to submit to DNA testing in his daughter's legal proceedings.
Belgium's Princess Delphine and her husband James O'Hare attend Belgian National Day celebrations | REUTERSFollowing her courtroom triumph, father and daughter met briefly.
They subsequently released a joint statement describing a "long and rich discussion" that allowed them to become acquainted and explore common interests.
In her interview, Delphine reflected on her journey towards understanding her parents' decisions.
"Has the wound completely disappeared? No. A wound like that never completely disappears and becomes a scar," she said.
Royal slammed for 'inappropriate' outfit after spotlighting non-binary designer | GETTYShe explained that putting herself in her mother's and father's positions helped her comprehend why events unfolded as they did, and why the path to recognition proved so lengthy when it needn't have been.
The princess also suggested Albert might have behaved differently under other circumstances. "I don't think he was surrounded by good people," she remarked.
Despite her reconciliation with Albert, tensions with the wider royal family persist.
Princess Delphine of Belgium told the It's Reigning Men podcast that she 'feels sorry' for King Charles's younger son
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Last year, Delphine publicly criticised the institution as "cruel" after being excluded from King's Day celebrations at St Michael & St Gudula Cathedral in Brussels, where her father and half-siblings, Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid, attended.
She attributed her exclusion to the fact that her parents were unmarried at her birth, noting she does not receive a dotation like her siblings.
The princess continues advocating for children to be treated equally, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.