When I was a child I was sent to the medieval monastery called St. Michael's, which was built on an island just off the northern coast of France. There was no way to leave the island, unless one had passage on board a boat. Since I had been sent there by my father, King Albert I of Belgium, to protect me from my half-brother, then Prince Leopold III, I was virtually a prisoner there from the age of 8 until I was 17.

Often, as I wandered through the passageways of the ancient monastery, I was followed by a large spirit that used to torment me with threats. As a child I swore that I would defeat that spirit, and place it where it could no longer hurt anyone else. In 1998, I finally succeeded to suspend the spirit and prevented it from bothering anyone again.