After Years of Denial, Ex-King Must Take Paternity Test

Belgium's former king has to undergo a paternity test. Per the Telegraph, a mandate just handed down by a Brussels appeals court will force King Albert II, who gave up his crown in 2013 so his son Philippe could sit on the throne, to have his saliva tested to see if he's the father of 50-year-old multimedia artist Delphine Boel. The ex-monarch has denied for more than 10 years that he's Boel's dad, but a 1999 biography on Albert's wife, Queen Paola, tells a different story.

That tome alleges Albert had a long-time affair with aristocrat Sybille de Selys Longchamps, a relationship that allegedly resulted in the birth of Boel in the late '60s; the affair reportedly ended in 1976, when Albert chose to stay with Paola so he wouldn't have to abdicate. Albert has admitted his marriage to Paola, which produced three children of their own (all older than Boel), wasn't always smooth, per Reuters. The man Boel grew up believing was her father, Jacques Boel, has already been determined via DNA testing to not be her biological father. The court order, which overturned an earlier ruling and can't be appealed, says Albert has three months to comply with the testing. If he refuses, he'll be legally deemed Boel's father. (Salvador Dali, you are NOT the father of this Spanish woman.)