Princess Claire of Belgium was born Claire Louise Coombs on 18 January 1974 as the daughter of Nicholas John Coombs and his Belgian wife, Nicole Eva Gabrielle Thérèse Mertens. She was born in Bath in the United Kingdom. She has an elder sister, Joanna, and a younger brother, Matthew.
When she was just three years old, her family moved to Wavre in Belgium. She attended both primary and secondary school in Wavre. She developed an interest in horse riding, music and painting and was also active in The Guides youth movement. She also sang in the local chair.
After completing her initial schooling, she continued her studies as a surveyor and qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1999.
On 16 December 2002, the engagement between Claire and Prince Laurent of Belgium, the younger brother of King Philippe, was announced. By then, they had been dating for approximately two years.
On 12 April 2003, she married Prince Laurent. By Royal Decree of 1 April 2003, she became a Princess of Belgium. The couple went on to have three children together: Princess Louise (born 2004) and twins Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric (born 2005).
She occasionally appears in public alongside her husband to represent the royal family. It was revealed in 2020 that she had suffered from a “lingering illness” about six months before testing positive for COVID-19.
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