FILE PHOTO: Belgium's King Albert and Queen Paola attend a tribute to the victims of Brussels suicide attacks, at the royal palace in Brussels, Belgium, May 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fred Sierakowski/Pool/File Photo 
 
 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Brussels appeals court has ordered the retired king of Belgium to take a DNA paternity test, overturning an earlier ruling in a suit brought by 50-year-old artist Delphine Boel. 
 
 Under the judgment, reported by Boel’s lawyers on Monday, King Albert II must take the test within three months or risk being presumed to be her father — although his lawyers could seek to challenge the court’s legal argument. 
 
 The 84-year-old monarch, who in 2013 abdicated in favor of his son Philippe after 20 years on the throne, has contested Boel’s claim for more than a decade. Court-ordered DNA tests have proved that she is not the daughter of Jacques Boel, scion of one of Belgium’s richest industrial dynasties. 
 
 The court could not be reached, and there was no immediate comment from the royal house. Boel’s lawyers said in their statement that they were pleased with the “strong affirmation of the principle of acting in the interests of the child” as she seeks legal confirmation of her true identity. 
 
 That identity became a topic of public debate after the publication in 1999 of a biography of Queen Paola, Albert’s Italian wife, which alleged that he had had a long extra-marital relationship from which a daughter was born in the 1960s. 
 
 Albert, who has no formal public role, has acknowledged that he and Paola had marital difficulties. Their three children are all older than Boel. Next in line to the throne is 17-year-old Princess Elisabeth, daughter of Philippe and Queen Mathilde. ||||| Belgium's King Albert announced Wednesday that he will abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Philippe on July 21. 
 
 FILE - In this July 2, 2011 file photo, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium arrive at the Monaco palace for the religious wedding ceremony of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene, Princess of... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this July 21, 2012 file photo, Belgium's King Albert II, left, shares a laugh with Belgian Defense Minister Pieter De Crem, as the royal family attends the parade during the national day, in... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2011 file photo, Belgium's King Albert II delivers his traditional Christmas speech at the Royal Palace in Brussels. Belgian King Albert has unexpectedly announced that he will... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this June 17, 2008 file photo, from left to right, Belgium's Crown Prince Philippe, Queen Paola, King Albert II and Belgium's Princess Mathilde sit during an official photo session at the Royal... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012 file photo, Belgium's King Albert II, right, speaks with Queen Paola as they sit on a bench on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Laeken, Belgium. Belgian King Albert... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - This is a Thursday, July 26, 2011 file photo of Belgian Crown Prince Philippe, his wife Mathilde, and their children Eleonore, left, Elisabeth, second left, Emmanuel, second right and Gabriel,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The move had been rumored for weeks and will end nearly two decades of steady reign over a fractious kingdom, one which has been increasingly torn apart by political strife between northern Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking southern Wallonia. 
 
 Frail at 79, King Albert will be handing over the throne to his son Philippe, who is 53. 
 
 Albert says his "age and health" no longer allow him to carry out his functions as he would want to. 
 
 `'After a reign of 20 years I believe the moment is here to hand over the torch to the next generation," Albert said in an announcement carried by all major broadcasters. `'Prince Philippe is well prepared to succeed me." 
 
 Belgium has had six kings since it came into being in 1830; Albert is the first to voluntarily abdicate from the throne. 
 
 In August, Albert would mark his second decade on the throne of the kingdom of 10.5 million people. The nation celebrates independence day on July 21 and many have said that could be an ideal day to hand over the largely ceremonial post. 
 
 Belgium is enjoying something of a political lull as it prepares for potentially bruising nationwide and regional elections next spring. Any abdication at that stage would be practically impossible. 
 
 "His most important gift is that he provided a sense of stability" as Flanders and Wallonia drifted apart, historian and author Marc Reynebeau told The Associated Press. 
 
 Reflecting the strife, a few dozen protesters of the extreme right Flemish Interest party posted themselves in front of the royal palace Wednesday with a huge banner that said "Flanders Independent." 
 
 At a family level, life has not been as smooth. 
 
 After he succeeded his devoutly Roman Catholic brother Baudouin in 1993, Albert became embroiled in a major royal scandal when he had to acknowledge the existence of an out-of-wedlock daughter, Delphine Boel, and suffered a major crisis in his marriage with Queen Paola. 
 
 That issue came to the fore again this spring when Boel opened court proceedings to officially prove she is the king's daughter. 
 
 `'He is not alone. Many royals around the world have extramarital children. But there has been a change in the sense that this becomes much more public now," Reynebeau said.
– Belgium's former king has to undergo a paternity test. Per the Telegraph, a mandate just handed down by a Brussels appeals court will force King Albert II, who gave up his crown in 2013 so his son Philippe could sit on the throne, to have his saliva tested to see if he's the father of 50-year-old multimedia artist Delphine Boel. The ex-monarch has denied for more than 10 years that he's Boel's dad, but a 1999 biography on Albert's wife, Queen Paola, tells a different story. That tome alleges Albert had a long-time affair with aristocrat Sybille de Selys Longchamps, a relationship that allegedly resulted in the birth of Boel in the late '60s; the affair reportedly ended in 1976, when Albert chose to stay with Paola so he wouldn't have to abdicate. Albert has admitted his marriage to Paola, which produced three children of their own (all older than Boel), wasn't always smooth, per Reuters. The man Boel grew up believing was her father, Jacques Boel, has already been determined via DNA testing to not be her biological father. The court order, which overturned an earlier ruling and can't be appealed, says Albert has three months to comply with the testing. If he refuses, he'll be legally deemed Boel's father. (Salvador Dali, you are NOT the father of this Spanish woman.)