Prince of Belgium Laurent

Belgian royalty, the third and youngest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. His siblings are Philippe and Astrid. He received his secondary education in Antwerp prior to beginning military training in 1980 at the Royal Cadet High School in Laeken. He attended the Royal Military Academy during the mid-1980s. A skilled helicopter pilot and combat diver, the Prince eventually reached Commander status with the Navy. He undertook further education in the United States, specializing in environment issues.

Laurent helped establish Belgium’s Royal Institute for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in 1994, and one year later he became president of the Prince Laurent Foundation for the Welfare of Domestic and Wild Animals. Reflecting his enduring passion for the environment, the Prince became an ambassador for Future Harvest, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., in 2001. Forward-looking in his approach, he is a dedicated advocate for sustainable management of the environment. He married Claire Coombs in Brussels on April 12, 2003 at 10:07 AM in a civil ceremony followed by a religious ceremony at 11:58 AM. Coombs is a British-born land surveyor born, according to news reports on January 18, 1974 in Bath, England. They have been engaged since December 19, 2002. They welcomed their first child, a daughter, Louise Sophie Mary, on February 6, 2004 in Brussels.