Prince Joachim, the youngest son of Princess Astrid and nephew to the king of Belgium, has tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) after attending a lockdown party in Spain.
The news was reported by the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, and has been confirmed by the royal palace.
The party took place in the city of Córdoba in Andalucia. The newspaper obtained a confidential document from the government of Andalucia which reports a party in a private residence involving 27 people, although that number is not confirmed.
Prince Joachim is said to have given 27 names to contact tracers, but not all of those may be party goers.
The number is important, because Spain is now in its second phase of relaxation of the lockdown, and private parties are permitted, on condition no more than 15 people attend. Those who are known to have been present will be investigated. In the meantime, all are quarantined.
El Confidencial did not reveal the names of those involved, but did allude to “a member of the Belgian royal family." The Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws itself contacted the royal palace, and received confirmation that Prince Joachim was involved.
The prince, aged 28, has been living with his parents in recent months, and left Belgium for Madrid on 24 May. From there, he was due to travel on by high-speed train to Córdoba to take up an internship with a local company. He has had a long-distance relationship for some time with a Spanish woman who is from Córdoba.
The internship was the reason he was allowed to travel, the paper reports, as work-related trips were an exception to the general ban on non-essential travel. Normally, he should have spent two weeks in quarantine on arrival, but that appears not to have happened.
The prince’s symptoms are said to be mild.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
