Royal Profile: Princess Claire of Belgium

Princess Claire of Belgium was born as Claire Coombs on 18 January 1974 as the daughter of Nicolas Combs and Nicole (Mertens) Coombs{Source}. She has two siblings, a brother in law and a niece {Source}:

1. Joanna Coombs (1972)
1. Steve Grant
1. Emma Grant
2. Matthew Coombs (1976)

She was only three years old when her family relocated to Wavre, Belgium. She attended the Institut de la Providence{Source}. She had a very busy schedule as a child, which included drawing, painting, music, horseback ridding, the Guides (similar to Girl Scouts or the UK's Girls Guides), and singing in the local choir. She also frequently traveled back to England to visit her parents' families{Source}. Princess Claire has dual nationality, Belgian and British, and trained at the Antwerp office of a chartered surveyors' firm{Source}

After completing her secondary education, she studied as a surveyor, and completed a training period with
Brone & Oldenhove in Wavre and qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1999{Source}.

She married Prince Laurent on 12 April 2003. At that time, she was given the title Princess of Belgium. Together, they have three children:

• Princess Louise Sophia Mary (2004)
• Prince Nicholas (2005, twin)
• Prince Aymeric (2005, twin)