- Princess Claire of Belgium
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Princess Claire Spouse Prince Laurent of Belgium Issue Princess Louise
Prince Nicolas and Prince AymericFull name Claire Louise House House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Father Nicholas Coombs Mother Nicole Mertens Born 18 January 1974
Bath, England
Princess Claire of Belgium, (born Claire Louise Coombs, in Bath, England, on 18 January 1974) is the wife of Prince Laurent of Belgium and is a land surveyor.Contents
Biography
She is a daughter of Nicholas Coombs, a British-born businessman, and his Belgian wife, Nicole, née Mertens. Her family relocated to Dion-le-Val, near to Brussels in francophone Wallonia in 1977. She has therefore lived in Belgium since age 3.
Wedding and descendance
On 12 April 2003, she married Prince Laurent of Belgium, the second son of Albert II of Belgium. The civil ceremony was held at Brussels Town Hall, and the religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula. She was created a Princess of Belgium in her own right shortly before the ceremony, on 1 April 2003 and upon her marriage, she became Her Royal Highness Princess Claire.
The royal couple has a daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Louise Sophie Mary, who was born on 6 February 2004. On 28 June 2005, they announced that Princess Claire was pregnant with twins. She was expected to give birth in January 2006 but, following complications, she gave birth to Prince Nicolas Casimir Marie and Prince Aymeric Auguste Marie on 13 December 2005.
Duties
Unlike her two sisters-in-law, Mathilde and Astrid, Claire has no defined official role, though she occasionally appears in public accompanying her husband, generally in support of environmental causes or animal charities. Princess Claire has been awarded the Order of Leopold. She is also a leading patron of the Brussels Choral Society, which sang at the religious part of her marriage ceremony.
Titles and styles
- Miss Claire Louise Coombs (1974-2003)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Claire of Belgium (2003–present)
In contrast to King Albert II's title, King of the Belgians, Princess Claire is called Princess of Belgium, not Princess of the Belgians, a title that does not exist. She received this title from the King on the day of her marriage, by Royal Decree of April 1st 2003. This title is no longer automatic for a consort since a Royal Decree of 1991, abrogating the 1891 Royal Decree that provided this automatism.
Prince Laurent doesn't hold a personal title as younger princes used to in the past, such as Count of Flanders or Prince of Liège. So she has no other title as a consort.
Honours
Styles of
Princess Claire of Belgium
Reference style Her Royal Highness Spoken style Madame Belgian honours
Belgium (Orders) : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold - 
Foreign honours
Netherlands (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown* (2006)[1]
Norway (Orders) : Grand-Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit [2]
Portugal (Orders) : Grand-Cross of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique* (2005) [3] [4]
External links
References
- ^ Photo from the Royal Family's official website - ribbon :
- ^ Photo from Website of Belga Pictures - ribbon :
- ^ Photo from Website of Belga Pictures - ribbon :
- ^ Photo from the Royal Family's official website
Belgian princesses by marriage 1st Generation 2nd Generation Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria3rd Generation 4th Generation 5th Generation Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz · Claire Coombs**did not have a royal or noble title by birthCategories:- Belgian princesses
- Belgian surveyors
- 1974 births
- Living people
- Walloon people
- Order of Leopold recipients
- House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Belgium)
- Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- European nobility stubs
- Belgian people stubs
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