Prince Laurent: I do not need my parents

A visibly weakened Prince Laurent of Belgium spoke to a reporter from the Sudpresse news group, telling them he does not need his parents.

"I am 50 years old.  I do not need my parents", Prince Laurent said. 

He made his first public appearance on Easter Sunday, when he accompanied his wife, Princess Claire, at a service in Bonerz, where Princess Claire's parents reside.

Prince Laurent looked very weak when he attended the service,  and was supported by his wife.  

"My recovery will be slow, very slow,"  Prince Laurent  said.  Yes, it is true, I was at the Easter Mass, but that was only possible because of Claire.  I can only move very slowly.  I won't better by tomorrow."

The prince, the younger brother of King Philippe, spent three weeks in a Brussel's hospital, where he was treated for a severe case of pneumonia.  He was placed in an artificial coma for several days.  When asked about the reports that he attempted suicide, he responded that he had not known about the reports that "I was in a coma."

Laurent's parents, King Albert II and Queen Paola, then on vacation in France, were criticized for not returning to Brussels immediately after learning of their son's illness.

"When you are fifty do you need your parents.  I am 50, and I do not need my parents," was Prince Laurent's response to the reporter's question about Albert and Paola's delay in visiting him.

As for his mental health, Prince Laurent said:  "I have told that my recovery will take a long time."

http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/1.1949518

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