Albert this year finally announced the Princess was his daughter after years of refusing to take a DNA test to confirm it. The ruling meant the Princess became Albert’s fourth child in law, and grants her the right to an inheritance.
Now, the Royal Family have taken the next step of meeting with the daughter face-to-face.
Analysts have said the meeting is a sign of reconciliation between the parties involved.
The family’s official Facebook page called the meeting “warm,” while a photo posted online shows the former king, his wife Queen Paola, and Princess Delphine, 52, sitting together and smiling.
The princess launched a legal case against the king in 2013 after his abdication.
By that time, she had been claiming for nearly 10 years that the king was her father.
However, Albert refused to comply with a court order requiring him to take part in a DNA test to confirm the allegations.
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“During our meeting in Castle Belvédère, each of us, in serenity and empathy, managed to express their feelings and experiences.
“After the turmoil, suffering and injury, it is time for forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.
“Together we decided to take this new path. This will take patience and effort, but we are determined.”
Confirming Princess Delphine as the king’s daughter has a number of implications.
For one, it means the woman won the right to call herself Princess Delphine – which was as recent at October 1.
She, along with her two children, could also then use Albert’s surname – Saxe-Cobourg.
The fatherhood battle is also linked to alleged affair carried out by Albert during the 1970s, according to Vanity Fair.
Through the 2000s, Princess Delphine and her mother Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps discussed Albert’s alleged affair with the press.
Albert II was born in 1934, and reigned as king of Belgium between the years of 1993 and 2013.
He abdicated from the throne in 2013, allowing his son Philippe to take over.
Albert II and Queen Paola have two other children: Daughter Astrid and son Laurent.
Belgium’s current king, Philippe, was born in Brussels in 1960. He temporarily studied at Trinity College in Oxford.
