Get Ready Australia! Prince Harry still needs a princess

By Carfax2 via Wikimedia Commons

It has been over a decade since a royal prince found a bride Down Under. Now, that Europe's most eligible royal bachelor is in Australia, it could happen again. He is there for four weeks on an attachment with the Australian Army as part of his ongoing military career. That is much longer than it took Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark to meet Tasmania's Mary Donaldson during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. While he will be busy with his military duties during most of his stay, Harry is sure to have some down time with the lads. Don't be surprised to find him at a local pub or club. Remember to look your best for the next month, ladies. ;)

Of course, his dad The Prince of Wales spent a longer stint in Australia back in the 1970s, while his uncles The Duke of York studied in Canada and The Earl of Wessex completed a teaching project in New Zealand, all without bringing back a bride. Let Crown Princess Mary be your shining beacon of hope: she is now the mum of four little princelings and has a wardrobe and jewelry collection you can only dream of, and she gets to spend a good bit of her time supporting causes she cares about instead of working in a drudge job to pay the mortgage.

For more about meeting a prince, read How to Become a Princess.

Sybilla of Conversano

The death of Sybilla, miniature from Avicenna's Canon
via Wikimedia Commons

As further evidence of my assertion that there is a "Princess Diana" in every royal generation, today's princess is Sybilla of Conversano (d. 1103). Famously beautiful and significantly younger than her forty-something husband Robert Duke of Normandy, Sybilla caught the attention of the chroniclers of the day. In an era when some royal women's names weren't even recorded, Sybilla was praised not just for her beauty, but also for her many virtues, and keen mind.

Her husband Robert was said to have fallen in love with her while he was on his way to the First Crusade, and married her on the way home. He then took up his once-again unsuccessful struggle to take the English crown, which had been passed from his father William the Conqueror to his younger brother, and then upon his death, to an even younger brother. While away, he left Sybilla in charge of Normandy, where some remarked that she was a better leader than her duke. Of course, many thought her husband was inept, so this may not have been praise for her as much as it was condemnation of him.

Within a couple of years of her marriage, Sybilla gave birth to her son William Clito. A few months later, she died tragically young. While the true cause of her death is unknown, some allege that she was murdered by Robert's mistress. There are few facts to support this allegation, and many to refute it, but conspiracy theorists do enjoy rumors of murder when the good die young, don't they? Another legend even asserts that she once saved her husband from the wound of a poisoned arrow by sucking the poison from the wound; a fairly common story about popular royal/noblewomen that illustrates their devotion to their husbands.

Princess of the Day: Claire Coombs

View image | gettyimages.com

Kate Middleton is not the only ordinary British-born girl to have found herself a prince. Born in Bath, Claire Louise Coombs (1974-  ) grew up to marry Prince Laurent, younger son of King Albert II of Belgium. Perhaps most famous for her Natan wedding gown which was immediately copied for Anne Hathaway to wear as Princess Mia in The Princess Diaries film series, Claire is one of the few modern royal ladies without a royal job. She holds only a couple of charitable patronages and occasionally accompanies her husband on engagements, but otherwise, she is simply a working mum of three.

Claire's father was a British telephone executive who now runs his own company. Her Belgian mother was a secretary--much like Sophie Countess of Wessex's family background. Claire's family moved to her mother's homeland when Claire was three. She grew up and was educated there, and eventually became a land surveyor.

She met her colorful and sometimes controversial husband through mutual friends. He is a decade older than her, and their marriage has not been without its bumps. First, Laurent was called to testify against corruption charges when it appeared that money from the Belgian Navy was spent on their family villa in Terluven. He also nearly lost his royal funding when he traveled without permission to Africa to the former Belgian Congo. Then, last year started with rumors that the couple was separating after Claire was not seen with her husband or at official family occasions for several weeks. By March 2014, when Laurent was hospitalized for depression and pneumonia, and even placed in a temporary coma, all seemed to be well again. Claire was reported to be with him daily at the hospital and happy family photos soon followed. Since then, Claire has again been seen on family occasions.

Lovely Claire is most commonly spotted among the extended royal family at weddings and christenings, smiling serenely beneath an unusual and/or boldly colored hat on Laurent's arm with their three children, Princess Louise and twin Princes Nicolas (named for her father) and Aymeric, gathered around them. She may have the ideal princess life: continue your career, occasionally wear gorgeous tiaras, hang out with other royals, have beautiful children, and rarely be bothered by the press.

For more about Claire:
Her official bio on The Belgian Monarchy
Princess Claire of Belgium on Unofficial Royalty
Top 10 Best Royal Wedding Dresses: #9 on Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor

Blogs about Claire:
Princess Claire of Belgium on Tumblr

View image | gettyimages.com