The Alpa IV, here is the name of the yacht of King Albert II and Queen Paola. Last summer, the royal couple decided to part with it and officially put it up for sale. Initially sold at a price of 1.95 million euros, this price has suddenly dropped to 1.7 million euros. And for good reason, the former sovereigns are unable to find a buyer, so they were forced to remove 250,000 euros from the sum requested.
The Alpa IV was so named in reference to the first letters of their first names. Albert II and Paola had sailed on board between 2009 and 2019 on the Mediterranean. At the time, they acquired it for the modest sum of 4.6 million euros. The purchase of the royal couple had been very badly perceived due to the economic crisis that Belgium was going through.
Over the years, the yacht had continued to spark controversy due in particular to the high cost of its maintenance, estimated at more than 230,000 euros per year, and fuel-related expenses. The sovereign had even tried to pass on all of these costs to the Belgian State. A request that the Belgian government had rejected. “He was able to register his boat as a military ship at and therefore never paid registration fees. VAT was also waived on purchase, as it was supposedly a military ship. The mooring costs of the Alpa IV are also covered by the Belgian State”, revealed the royal expert Thierry Debels to our colleagues from Het Laatste Nieuws.
Today, said boat is offered for sale by a French luxury boat dealer. The yacht can accommodate up to nine guests and four crew members.