Belgian prince called as witness in fraud trial

BRUSSELS, Jan 9 (Reuters) The youngest son of Belgium's King Albert has been called as a witness in a navy fraud trial that has put the monarchy in an embarrassing light and raised questions about public funding of the royal family.

Prince Laurent, 11th in line to the throne and a navy captain, may have to testify for the defence of a former aide, a retired naval officer, over 2.2 million euros alleged by prosecutors to have been embezzled from the military.

''Normally, he has to come to court tomorrow,'' Edward Smeets, a judge at the court in Hasselt in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region, told Reuters after the trial began yesterday.

However, the prince was unlikely to face sanctions if he did not appear, since he was asked to testify at short notice last week, the Belga news agency quoted another judge as saying.

Prosecutors allege some of the funds were used illegally to renovate Prince Laurent's official residence, but no one has suggested he knew where they money came from.

Belgian media have demanded that the prince be made to testify, while several politicians have called for an inquiry into how the he received public money before he was officially put on the royal payroll in 2001.

Prince Laurent, 43, has been a target of the tabloid press for his high-octane lifestyle and love of fast cars, and is often depicted as the black sheep of the royal family.

The opposition Flemish Christian Democrats called for the state to stop funding the royal family, except for the king and his heir, Prince Philippe.

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said on Friday he favoured allowing state auditors to oversee funds paid to the royals.

Without referring directly to the case, King Albert said in a televised New Year address that no one was above the law and anyone who benefited from misappropriated cash would have to pay it back.

The royal palace was unavailable for comment on Monday.

REUTERS LL VC0930