Belgium’s ‘cursed prince’ has complained that his human rights are being infringed after the Belgian government threatened to reduce his annual £280,000 allowance for flouting his ban on meeting foreign dignitaries.

Gaffe and scandal-prone Prince Laurent was summoned to a dressing down from Belgian prime minister Charles Michel for breaking the ban, imposed after a string of unapproved meetings, but sent a sick note instead.

The wayward royal, brother to the king, was caught after tweeting a photo of himself in full naval unifom at the Chinese Embassy in Brussels during a party to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Red Army.

Mr Michel is threatening to cut the prince's stipend by 15 per cent, but on Friday it emerged the ‘Le Prince Maudit’ had gone on the attack.

The prince’s lawyer sent Mr Michel a seven-page missive that argued the government ban infringed his fundamental human rights because it would condemn him to “social isolation”.

That would amount to a breach of article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, the letter claimed, before alleging the Belgian government’s public announcement of the prince’s punishment was illegal.

“It goes without saying that the court of human rights would make short work of such violations of the right to a fair trial,” said the letter, which has sparked widespread incredulity in Belgium.