(CNN) The former king of Belgium, Albert II, has acknowledged that he fathered a daughter in an affair in the 1960s, marking the end of a paternity suit that he has contested for seven years.

Belgian artist and sculptor Delphine Boel launched a lawsuit in 2013 to see the king, now aged 85, recognized as her father. Boel claims the king had an affair with her mother, Sibylle de Selys Longchamps, resulting in her birth in 1968.

In May last year, Albert II submitted a DNA sample for paternity testing under the orders of a Belgian court.

Delphine Boel with her lawyers arriving to court on December 13, 2019 in Brussels.

Those test results confirmed that he was Boel's father, Albert II's lawyers acknowledged in a statement released Monday to Belgian media.

It added that although the legal procedure was "debatable," Albert II wished "to put an end with dignity and honor to this painful procedure." "Legally, he will end the legal battle there and accept that Delphine Boel is his fourth child," said the statement, according to public broadcaster RTBF It added that although the legal procedure was "debatable," Albert II wished "to put an end with dignity and honor to this painful procedure."

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