BIOGRAPHY OF CLAIRE COOMBS

Claire Coombs was born in Bath, Somerset, England, on January 18th, 1974. When she was three years old the family moved to Wavre in Belgium [Claire's parents live in Dion-le-Val near Wavre now]. She followed primary and secondary education at the Institute de la Providence in Wavre [finished in 1993]. She was interested in drawing, painting, music and horse-riding. She was an active member of the youth movement 'The Guides' and loved to sing in the local choir 'les Pious-pious', with whom she actively performed during the visit of the Pope to Brussels. Claire Coombs often travels to England to visit her paternal grandparents and her friends. Her maternal grandmother [Marie-Louise Mertens] lives in Chaumont-Gistoux. After finishing her humaniora succesfully, Claire studied to become a surveyor. She finished this education with a trainee at 'Brône & Oldenhove' in Wavre and in 1999 got the title of surveyor expert - real estate. She was invited to become an active partner of the company. Miss Coombs has the Belgian as well as the British nationality. At the moment she attends an education at a surveyor office in Antwerpen.

Her elder sister, Joanna, was also born in Bath in 1972. While finishing her humaniora, she studied classical ballet under master Jacques Saussin at the Ecole des Petits-Rats in Brussels. Now she works for the British embassy in Brussels as Management Assistant. Joanna is married to Steve Grant and together they have a daughter, Emma. Steve works for the Representation of the United Kingdom at the European Union as a Conference Officer. Also her younger brother Matthew was born in England in 1976. He studied in Floreffe and at the Institut de la Providence in Wavre. After his humaniora he went for a graduate in marketing. Now he works for the family company in Perwez. His hobby is enduro (motorracing on difficult tracks) in which he already demonstrated his talent in Belgium and in Europe on the occasion of international tests. The parents of Claire Coombs married in Uccle in 1971. Her mother, Nicole Mertens, was born in Elsene in 1951. She studied in Belgium and in England, where she finished her secretary education in 1970. She is partner in the family company. She is also active in the parochial work and is volunteering with elderly people. Her father, Nicholas Coombs, was born in Wimbledon (England) in 1938. He studied at St George College in South-London. When he was 18 he left for Canada to work for the Bell Telephone Compaby. At the same time he studied rubber and electricity. Five years later he returned to the United Kingdom where he started working for Lindustries Group of Companies and worked his way up to director of one of the companies. He now is director of the family company [Nico Elastiques in Perwez].

From: Official Website of the Belgian Royal Family with additions by me between [].