Belgian ex-king Albert concedes claimant is his daughter

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s former King Albert II has finally conceded that he has a child out of wedlock. He is no longer fighting a claim that he is the father of artist and sculptor Delphine Boel, bringing a major breakthrough in the decades-old royal paternity scandal. Boel’s lawyer said Monday that “her reaction was one of relief, emotion but also shows a wound that will not heal.” The case was popularly known as the nation’s worst kept secret since the resemblance to the former monarch was striking. Rumors about Albert and Boel’s mother, the aristocratic wife of a well-heeled industrialist, had been around for years.