Princess Claire of Belgium (born Claire Louise Coombs; 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.
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]
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.[citation needed]
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]
^"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.
^"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.]
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