Meet Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth, who’s off to Harvard soon: the future queen, who rocks Dries Van Noten, has been compared to Kate Middleton – and is reportedly dating a Brit she met in England
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The firstborn child of Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde has just been accepted to Harvard University to do a Master’s degree in public policy, according to Vanity Fair.
![Princess Elisabeth of Belgium’s extended title is the Duchess of Brabant. Photo: @duchessofbrabant/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/2e605f90-c843-4fb8-b1be-5c2cacfd6a95_2e52fe38.jpg)
Princess Elisabeth, who turns 23 this October, is currently completing her three-year undergraduate degree in history and politics at Lincoln College, Oxford. So as she prepares to further her education stateside this autumn, what else do we know about this smart queen-in-the-making?
Princess Elisabeth’s royal roots and duties
![Princess Elisabeth (back row, right) and the rest of the Belgian royal family. Photo: @belgianroyalpalace/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/fd26129a-f0d8-41f0-bd8c-60ce9c1b3d81_6ceba12a.jpg)
As the eldest, the princess – also known by her title the Duchess of Brabant – follows her father in the line of succession and is poised to become Belgium’s first queen regnant one day. King Philippe, 64, and Queen Mathilde, 51, are also parents to Prince Gabriel, 20, Prince Emmanuel, 18, and Princess Eléonore, 16.
![Princess Elisabeth completed her military training at the Royal Military Academy. Photo: @belgianroyalpalace/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/a1fea954-e053-465d-bfcc-7d2c6f5fa8c9_6ceba12a.jpg)
It’s customary for those directly in the line of succession in Belgium to train with their national military, according to People magazine, and in 2020, Elisabeth underwent a year’s course in social and military sciences at the country’s Royal Military Academy. The young princess currently lives in the UK, but still frequently travels back to Belgium, per the same source.
![Princess Elisabeth and Barack Obama in Brussels. Photo: @belgianroyalpalace/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/d72966ea-c2b0-48f3-9840-183b735729bc_de019856.jpg)
Princess Elisabeth’s academic achievements
![Belgian King Philippe and his daughter Princess Elisabeth at the royal wedding of Prince Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan last year. Photo: Royal Hashemite Court](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/99a01a3f-852e-42f7-9c84-2b8d47e962fd_8d8feaa6.jpg)
The 22-year-old’s academic prowess is further illustrated by the fact that she’s going to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. And while the princess is preparing to become Belgium’s constitutional head one day, she didn’t buy her way into these top universities.
When Princess Elisabeth applied to study at Oxford, it seems she was not given special treatment. According to British media, quoting Belgian newspaper Le Soir, she completed a written exam anonymously to ensure her position wouldn’t influence her admission by swaying it in her favour.
![Princess Elisabeth of Belgium knows how to do regal style. Photo: @princess.elisabeth.of.belgium/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/8cb3e111-4673-449a-a472-c9e0054c10b9_33875e94.jpg)
Before her stint at Oxford, the Duchess of Brabant obtained her International Baccalaureate at UWC Atlantic College in Wales, UK, and attended the Yale Young Global Scholars Programme at Yale University. She is also multilingual and fluent in Dutch, French, German and English – and has even taken Mandarin Chinese classes, according to British media.
She has style
![Princess Elisabeth wearing Belgian designer Dries van Noten. Photo: @duchessofbrabant/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/05ddf0e0-b0a1-4d1b-91ed-54b4e9cb5812_de019856.jpg)
The late Queen Elizabeth was her role model
![Princess Elisabeth of Belgium has called Britain’s Queen Elizabeth a “role model and source of inspiration.” Photo: AFP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/42fce422-1785-4872-b4ea-841a1d3c2471_c6776389.jpg)
What does Princess Elisabeth like to do when she’s off-duty?
The Belgian monarchy’s official website states that the princess likes to spend time with her brothers Gabriel and Emmanuel and her sister Eléonore during her free weekends. Favourite sports, according to site, include skiing, rowing and sailing, but she’s not only sportive – she’s also adept at playing the piano. Talk about multitalented!
Who is Princess Elisabeth dating?
![Princess Elisabeth of Belgium has been linked to a fellow student living in the UK. Photo: @belgianroyalpalace/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/24/d018e369-9dfa-481d-9a43-1f9e503899c9_d7491f3d.jpg)
The princess has been romantically linked to fellow history student Nick Dodd at Oxford University, according to a Belgian newspaper. Per UK media, the lucky man is a redhead from Rochdale, a city near Manchester, UK.
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- It was recently announced that King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium’s eldest daughter Princess Elisabeth will attend Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government
- The 22-year-old Duchess of Brabant has already studied at Oxford, returns home for royal duties such as meeting Barack Obama and attending military school, and says Queen Elizabeth is her role model