Coronavirus: Belgian prince fined for breaking lockdown rules after attending party
A Belgian prince who broke lockdown rules when he attended a party in Spain has been fined €10,400 (£9,322), according to a Spanish government official.
Prince Joachim, 28, who is the nephew of Belgium's King Philippe, tested positive for coronavirus after attending the party in the city of Cordoba on 26 May.
Spain 's El Pais newspaper reported last month the party was attended by 27 people, although restrictions capped gatherings at a maximum of 15 people.
A palace spokesperson could not confirm how many people were at the party.
The prince was also penalised for failing to quarantine himself for 14 days after arriving in the country, a government official told Reuters news agency.
The 28-year-old - who is tenth in line to the throne - has admitted breaching quarantine rules.
He is being quarantined in Spain and now has 15 days to respond to the fine.
Spanish police are investigating the party.
:: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Spreaker
Last week, the prince apologised, saying in a press release sent out by his lawyer: "I apologise for not respecting all quarantine measures during my trip. In these difficult times, I did not want to offend anyone.
"I deeply regret my actions and will accept the consequences. Joachim from Belgium."
Rafaela Valenzuela, the Spanish government's regional envoy in Cordoba, previously called the gathering "completely irresponsible" and said it could have caused an outbreak of infections.
At one point, Spain had some of the strictest lockdown rules in Europe and was one of the countries hit worst by the pandemic.
A total of 27,136 people have died with coronavirus in Spain, and there have been 242,280 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.