Princess Delphine doesn’t come from your usual royal background. Her birth was the result of an shocking, years-long affair between King Albert II of Belgium with Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, and she didn’t know her real father—known to her as a family friend—was actually the king until she was 18. Armed with DNA, Delphine, 57, fought for nearly two decades to prove that King Albert was her dad and won her legal battle in 2020. While speaking to the “It’s Reigning Men” podcast, Princess Delphine shared her incredible story—but she also opened up about how she relates to Prince Harry.
Explaining that she was a “politically exposed person” and “had no protection,” Delphine—who, like Prince Harry, is not a working royal—said she understood how the Duke of Sussex felt. After being asked about Harry, she said, “I think Harry suffered so much, and I think he was traumatized and it’s coming out now.”
Referencing the Duke of Sussex’s recent court battle in the U.K. over his security, Delphine said, “I think there is this thing about security. I think it’s to do with what happened to his mother. I understand the guy. He’s just traumatized.”
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Princess Delphine is seen in February 2024.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Duke of Sussex is seen outside court in April 2025.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“And I understand, so he’s doing these things, and everybody’s bullying him, but not thinking about his trauma,” Delphine continued. “And I just find it terrible because he’s just been kind of left.”
Princess Delphine—whose half brother, Philippe, became King of the Belgians after King Albert abdicated—is familiar with the concept. When a book was published in 1999 claiming that King Albert had an illegitimate child, she was tracked down by the Belgian press. The media firestorm completely changed her life, as Delphine shared on the podcast.
“My career suffered enormously,” Delphine, who is a professional artist, said, explaining that the public turned against her, even though the affair was not her fault. Although the princess fought to be officially recognized as the former king’s daughter and be “equal” to her siblings, she said that titles aren’t important to her.
“To tell you the truth, it’s not really my thing,” Princess Delphine said when asked if it was ever “normal” to be called “your royal highness.”
She continued that “it has a heavier weight” when it comes to charity events, which makes her “feel very proud,” but otherwise the title doesn’t make her “very happy.”
