Princess Claire of Belgium

Princess Claire of Belgium (Claire Louise Coombs; born 18 January 1974) is a British-Belgian[4] land surveyor. She has been married to Prince Laurent since 2003 and is the sister-in-law of King Philippe of Belgium.

Princess Claire
Princess Claire in 2011
Born (1974-01-18) 18 January 1974
Bath, Somerset, England
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2003)​
Issue
Names
Claire Louise Coombs[1][2][3]
FatherNicholas John Coombs
MotherNicole Mertens

Early life

She is the daughter of Nicholas John Coombs (Bath, 14 April 1938), a British-born businessman, and his Belgian wife, Nicole Eva Gabrielle Thérèse Mertens (Ixelles, 20 June 1951). She has an elder sister, Joanna, and a younger brother, Matthew. In 1977, when she was three years old, her family relocated to Dion-le-Val near Brussels in francophone Wallonia. [5]

Marriage and children

On 12 April 2003, she married Prince Laurent of Belgium, the second son and youngest child of the King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Paola of Belgium. The civil ceremony was held at Brussels Town Hall, and the religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula.

The couple have three children:

  • Princess Louise Sophie Mary, born 6 February 2004 at Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.
  • Prince Nicolas Casimir Marie, born 13 December 2005 (twin) at Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.
  • Prince Aymeric Auguste Marie, born 13 December 2005 (twin) at Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.

The family live in Villa Clementine, in Tervuren.

Public life
Princess Claire at a flower show in Le Rœulx, 2013

Unlike Queen Mathilde and Princess Astrid, Princess Claire has no defined official role.

She occasionally appears in public accompanying her husband, generally in support of environmental causes or animal charities. She is also a leading patron of the Brussels Choral Society, which sang at the religious part of her marriage ceremony. She is also active in organisations related to the United Kingdom in Belgium. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at the British School of Brussels and actively attends charitable and commemorative events hosted by the British Ambassador to Belgium.

Titles and styles
Styles of
Princess Claire of Belgium
Reference styleHer Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness

Coombs received the title Princess of Belgium from the King ten days before her marriage, by Royal Decree of 1 April 2003 (effective as of the date of the wedding, on 12 April 2003).[6]

Honours
See also: List of honours of the Belgian Royal Family by country

National

Foreign

References
  1. "Giving a name". Diplomatie Belgium. 4 May 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. Under Belgian law, marriage does not have any effect on the spouses' surnames. You keep the surname that you had before you were married.
  2. "Prins Laurent en zijn gezin hebben nieuwe achternaam, en daar is hij niet zo blij mee" [Prince Laurent and his family have a new last name, and he is not very happy about it]. HLN (in Dutch). 7 January 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. Claire heet nu 'Claire Coombs', haar meisjesnaam. ... [Claire is now called 'Claire Coombs', her maiden name.]
  3. "SERVICE PUBLIC FEDERAL AFFAIRES ETRANGERES, COMMERCE EXTERIEUR ET COOPERATION AU DEVELOPPEMENT" [FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE FOREIGN AFFAIRS, FOREIGN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION]. www.ejustice.just.fgov.be (in French). 14 July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. la Princesse Claire Coombs, Princesse de Belgique.
  4. Vaute, Paul (19 December 2002). "Claire, future princesse very British". La Libre (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. "Kwartierstaat van Claire Louise COOMBS". www.jammart.be.
  6. Royal decree of 1 April 2003. Moniteur Belge, 8 April 2003, p.17620
  7. royal decree of 14 July 2004. N.74, Moniteur Belge, 27 February 2009 second edition, p.17188 .
  8. "Photo". media.gettyimages.com.
  9. "Photo". s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com.
  10. "Norwegian State Visit To Belgium".
  11. "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer". www.kongehuset.no.
  12. "Photo". s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com.
  13. "Photo". media.gettyimages.com.
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