Brussels - Belgium's retired court president Albert II has been ordered to test paternity by taking a sample of his DNA to overturn a previous ruling in a case brought by the artist Delphine Boyle.
Under the sentence announced by Boyle's lawyers, the former king must be tested within three months, or face the prospect of being declared her father, although his lawyer may seek to challenge the court's legal argument, Reuters reported.
The 84-year-old king has questioned Boyle's allegations for more than a decade.
DNA tests ordered by a court for Boyle have proved that she is not the daughter of Jacques Boyle, descendant of one of Belgium's richest families.
The king, Albert II, abdicated in 2013 for his son Philip, after a 20-year rule.
Boyle's lawyers said in their statement they were happy "to have a strong emphasis on the principle of working for the benefit of the child" as Boyle sought legal confirmation of her true identity.
The identity of Boyle became controversial after the publication of the biography of Queen Paula, wife of King Albert of Italy, in 1999.
The queen claimed that the king had a long relationship outside marriage that resulted in a daughter born in the sixties of the last century.
