Born in Filderstadt, West Germany, to Hartmut and Gabriele Lademacher, the future Princess Claire was their second child after their son, Felix. Claire Margareta Lademacher was born on 21 March 1985 into a wealthy German family. Her father is the founder of LHS Telekommunikation and made his fortune by investing in the software industry.
Until Claire was 11, she lived in Usingen, Germany; the family then relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, USA, for three years. While in the United States, Claire studied at the Atlanta International School before transferring to the Frankfurt International School when the family moved back to Germany in 1999. She later attended Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil in Switzerland – where she met Prince Félix – before entering the American University of Paris in 2003. Claire graduated with a degree in international communications in 2007.
After graduation, Claire worked in Munich and New York City for Condé Nast Publications; she then moved on to IMG World in Berlin. She chose to pursue a master’s degree in bioethics at the University Regina Apostolorum in Rome, graduating in 2009. Not wanting to stop her education, Claire chose to seek a doctorate in organ donation bioethics from the same university. During the same time, she worked for the Chair of Bioethics and Human Rights at UNESCO. Her studies also led her to be a visiting scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University in 2012. Claire’s dissertation focused on “the ethical aspects of consent to organ donation,” according to the Grand Ducal Court.
Claire speaks German, Italian, French and English.
In December 2012, Claire’s engagement to Prince Félix of Luxembourg – the second child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa – was announced. A photo session was held with both sets of families with the press. The couple married on 17 September 2013 in a civil ceremony in Claire’s native Germany; a religious wedding followed on 21 September at the Sainte Marie-Madeleine Basilica in France. Upon marriage, Claire became HRH Princess Claire of Luxembourg.
The couple’s first child, Princess Amalia of Nassau, was born on 15 June 2014 in Luxembourg. At the time of her birth, she was a future Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, as her uncle, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and aunt, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, did not have children (they now have a son, Prince Charles). Claire and Félix’s second child, Prince Liam of Nassau, was born in Switzerland on 28 November 2016.
The family has lived in France and Switzerland; however, they now reside in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Claire and Félix manage her family’s winery, Château Les Crostes, in France, and Claire helps run the winery’s official Instagram. Claire also co-founded the children’s clothing brand Young Empire.
Claire attends some royal functions in Luxembourg each year – namely the National Day celebrations, the closing of the Octave and the New Year Reception. She also is active with her patronage, the Luxembourg Transplant ASBL association and attends Luxembourg’s World Organ Donation Day.
The Princess is a hands-on mother who is very active in her children’s education. She is said to enjoy reading, yoga, travelling, photography, and badminton.
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