Prince Laurent of Belgium has been taken out of the artificial coma doctors placed him in two days ago.
The prince, who was voluntarily put in a medically-induced coma after being rushed to hospital with pneumonia, has been making good progress according to doctors.
Royal spokesperson Pierre-Emmanuel De Bauw said that the prince was in a "stable" condition.
Prince Laurent of Belgium
Laurent's health has improved and professionals at the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc hospital in Brussels are now encouraging the 50-year-old to eat.
The prince's recovery appears to be going according to plan as doctors had said that Laurent was to be placed in a coma for up to 48 hours in order to give the antibiotics time to act against his pneumonia.
"An artificial coma would avoid the patient exhausting themselves by fighting against the life-support system," reported Belgian television channel RTL.
Laurent and his British-born wife Princess Claire
On Tuesday the Belgian royal household confirmed that Laurent had been taken to hospital.
His wife Princess Claire, 40, who was born in Bath, England, has been at his side every day since his hospitalisation, while his elder brother King Philippe and Queen Mathilde have also shown their support.
Philippe visited his younger brother on Monday, while Mathilde went to see the royal early on Tuesday.
The couple have a daughter and twin sons
The reigning monarchs, who ascended the throne last summer after Albert II abdicated, were scheduled to go on an official trip to Madrid but cancelled their royal engagement following the death of former Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez.Laurent and British-born Claire married in April 2003 and are parents to Princess Louise, 10, and nine-year-old twin sons Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric.According to HELLO!'s sister publication HOLA!, the Belgian palace has denied rumours that Laurent had been hospitalised due to depression caused by a marital crisis with Claire.
