In the press release published on January 27 by the lawyers of King Albert, acknowledging that he was indeed the biological father of Delphine Boël, a small sentence in particular does not pass: “Since the birth of Mrs. Delphine Boël, he (Albert II) has not been involved in any family, social or educational decision whatsoever”.
Really ? This is not at all what Delphine’s mother lived and confided in 2013, Sybille by Sélys Longchamps. In Our daughter is called Delphine, a confessional film, produced by the Flemish channel Vier and rebroadcast this evening on RTL / TVI, and in a long interview on the RTBF program C’est du Belge, the mother of Delphine Boël recounted his relationship with Albert.
A thunderbolt in Athens
In 1966, Sybille de Sélys’ marriage to Jacques Boël went downhill. She takes refuge with her father, Belgian ambassador in Athens. It is there that she meets Prince Albert, himself in the throes of marital difficulties. “I saw a lightning bolt in his eyes. He certainly fell in love at first sight.”
Some time later, they start a relationship, which will last… 18 years! “It was a story between a man and a woman, and it was love with a capital A”.
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From this relationship was born Delphine, February 22, 1968. Sybille de Sélys says: “I had to give birth and I lied about the date, because I didn’t want my husband to be present at the delivery. Just before I confided in a good friend. I asked her to call Albert directly after. Normally a birth is a happy event. For me, it was a disaster. “
But this birth does not bother Albert. At that time, her marriage to Paola was sinking. They live apart, and they plan to divorce. King Baudouin no longer objects. For Albert, it is even a question of recognizing Delphine. Lawyers work under divorce. The government agrees. But finally, Baudouin asked Albert to wait.
Delphine: he came to our house almost every day
At the time, Albert, Sybille and Delphine saw each other regularly. “He came to our house almost every day, told Delphine Boël on the set of a French television channel, he spent his weekends with us. It lasted until I was nine years old. “
But for Sybille by Sélys Longchamps the pressure is too strong. She is afraid it will be known. There are rumors of Delphine. She would be the illegitimate daughter of Prince Albert. Her school friends point the finger at her. She then decides to go and live in London. But Albert doesn’t want to. He will do everything to keep her. He will start his divorce proceedings.
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In agreement with the government and the king’s cabinet, Albert’s and Paola’s lawyers negotiate. Albert will have to renounce the succession to the throne, King Baudouin will be responsible for the training of Prince Philippe. We almost agree, but one of the provisions will get stuck. Sylys of Sélys: “I was not allowed to see Albert’s children. And for me, not being able to see the children of the man we love means that we are a bad woman. And I didn’t want to not be that bad woman. “
Looking back, Delphine’s mother says she couldn’t have handled this divorce. She is convinced that Albert would not have supported it either. She announces that she is waiving the procedure and is leaving for London.
In London, Albert continues to visit him regularly. But in 1984, Albert and Paola celebrated their 25 years of marriage. Reconciliation, under the leadership of charismatic renewal, is underway. Albert breaks ties with Sybille and his daughter.
The Delphine Boël case: I had to hide my daughter
The Delphine Boël affair broke out in October 1999, with the publication of a biography of Paola by the Flemish journalist Mario Daneels. He reveals the existence of the illegitimate daughter of Albert II.
Sylys of Sélys: “The Palace’s reaction was completely negative. It was complete panic. They did not know how to react. I had to hide my daughter, when she was already over 30 years old … Albert could have told me: do not Don’t worry, we’re going to do something to make it better. They didn’t do anything. I felt a total abandonment. “
In 2001, Delphine calls her father. “You are not my daughter, he replied. “You know I look like your mother Queen Astrid, she says. And there, says Delphine’s mother, he “Freaked out. It was their last call.”
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At the age of 15, she learns that Albert II is her father
At that time, Delphine had known for only a few years that Albert was her father, “Papillon”, as she called her when she was a little girl and that she did not know who this mother’s friend was. One day in London his mother said to him: “You know, Jacques Boël is not your father. It is Papillon your, father. So much the better, replied Delphine, “Like that I won’t have his long nose”.
A few years later, in 2013, Sybille de Sélys emerged from silence. “The fruit of this love is Delphine. Through my daughter and her resemblance to her father, I live this relationship still regularly. She looks like him in every way: she laughs like him, she walks like him , she has the same sense of humor, the same form of intelligence. “
When Delphine contacted her father, her reaction was terrible. “I never imagined that he would have done that. It hurts a lot. I contacted psychiatrists to manage Delphine’s reaction. I was told: when a child is denied by a parent, there is two situations: where he demolishes himself, where he reacts, and that’s what Delphine did. She reacted violently.
In June 2013, she began legal proceedings to prove that she was the daughter of Albert II. This Monday, January 27, 2020, King Albert acknowledged that he was indeed his biological father, by way of a press release. Coldly, taking the trouble to point out that he had not intervened in his education. Delphine Boël is unreachable. “She needs time to realize what’s going on, one of his lawyers, Yves-Henri Leleu, told us, recalling that the legal proceedings were not over. On June 4, the Brussels Court of Appeal held a hearing to confirm that Albert II is legally Delphine’s father, because legally, the king’s declaration is not enough. “He can also go and declare his daughter to the municipality, and in this case, the procedure ends”, Yves-Henri Leleu tells us. Between Delphine and her father, ties have been broken for 20 years. The pain of a girl “beatsarde “, as she likes to say, will she be softened by Albert’s message? Not so sure.
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