Belgium’s “cursed prince” has lost a claim to receive social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal allowance.

Prince Laurent, the younger brother of King Philippe, had argued that he should receive welfare on top of his £295,000 allowance and rent-free accommodation.

“When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to [social security],” he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

“I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place.”

The prince said he was self-employed because of his role as a royal and his running of an animal charity.

“I never asked for an allowance. I always wanted to work but I was prevented from doing so,” he said in 2023,

At the time he said it was his desire, at 60, to finally be able to pursue his own projects.

But a judge on Monday said while the prince, now 61, should be entitled to a pension, gaps in Belgian legislation meant it was impossible.