Princess Delphine of Saxe-Coburg will participate in the third season of "Dancing with the Stars", broadcast on the Dutch-language channel Play4, in the coming weeks.
Princess Delphine's participation will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which aims to fulfil the wishes of critically ill children, the Belga News agency reports.
She will be joined by the Dutch professional dancer Sander Bos throughout the adventure. Together they will try to master the different dance styles, with the Princess admitting that her "experience is limited to a few steps at weddings and receptions."
Credit: Belga
"Through this adventure, I hope to draw even more attention to the important work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the positive influence it has on sick children and their families," Princess Delphine reacted. "I am aware that this adventure will be mentally and physically challenging but that is nothing compared to the challenges faced by sick children."
"We are proud that Princess Delphine and Dancing with the Stars are giving Make-A-Wish a stage, literally and figuratively," said Hilde Vander Stichele, CEO of Make-A-Wish Belgium. "We are committed to making children forget for a moment that they are ill and that they can be ordinary children," she concluded.
Local media have been quick to point out that Delphine is not the first Royal family member to appear on a version of the dancing competition. In 2009 the then prince of Venice Emanuele Filiberto took part and won the Italian 'Ballando Con Le Stelle.'
Belgium's newest princess?
The princess – previously known as Delphine Boël – was officially recognised as a Belgian Princess in 2020 after years of legal battles and a court-ordered DNA test to prove that King Albert II of Belgium was her biological father.
She then set out to gain equal treatment to Albert's other children (Belgium's current King Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent), to bear the name of Saksen-Coburg, and to be addressed as Royal Highness and Princess of Belgium.
On 1 October 2020, the Brussels Court of Appeal degreed she was officially a princess of Belgium. With this, she was to change her name to 'of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha'. and her children became princess and prince of Belgium.
