Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium starts first day at Harvard University in US
The heir to one of Europe's royal families has begun a new chapter in the United States.
Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium is now a student at the prestigious Harvard University, just outside of Boston, in Massachusetts.
The 22-year-old has enrolled in a two-year masters degree in public policy.
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Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, has started at Harvard University's Kennedy Campus in the US. Max Bueno/Belgian Royal Palace
Her move to the US follows a stint in the UK where Princess Elisabeth completed her bachelor's degree in history and politics at Lincoln College, Oxford, earlier this year.
The Belgian Royal Palace shared photos of Princess Elisabeth at her new school, the Kennedy School campus in Cambridge, books in hand with the American flag hanging behind her.
The palace announced she was to move to the US in May, after the princess passed the entrance tests.
Crown Princess Elisabeth is now studying at Harvard. Max Bueno/Belgian Royal Palace
The palace said: "The princess was also selected for an 'Honorary Award' from the Fullbright Program, the US Department of State's international educational exchange programme."
The Kennedy School's mission is to "improve public policy and leadership so that people can live in safer, freer, more just, and more prosperous societies".
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Princess Elisabeth is following in her father's footsteps by studying in the US. King Philippe studied political science at Stanford, another esteemed university in the country.
Princess Elisabeth with Europe's other future Kings and Queens: (L-R) Princess Estelle of Sweden, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, pictured in October 2023. Keld Navntoft, Kongehuset
The Crown Princess, who has the title Duchess of Brabant, is the eldest child of King Philippe, 64, and Queen Mathilde, 51.
Elisabeth previously studied at the UWC Atlantic College in South Wales, where Spain's Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, and the Netherlands' Princess Alexia attended. Alexia's sister Princess Ariane is currently studying at the UWC's Adriatic campus in Italy.
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She also trained at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, where she took an officer's oath in September, 2023.
Princess Elisabeth with her parents King Philippe of Belgium and Queen Mathilde when she graduated from Oxford in the UK on July 23, 2024. Getty
Despite her time abroad, Princess Elisabeth has made frequent trips back at Belgium where she has been attending occasional royal engagements with her parents in preparation for her eventual time as queen which will be a history-making moment for the European country.
Elisabeth will be the first woman to rule Belgium in her own right, as previous queens were always consorts, the wife of the king.
The rules were changed prior to her birth, allowing the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde to inherit the throne, regardless of their gender.
Princess Elisabeth has three siblings: Prince Gabriel, 21, Prince Emmanuel, 18, and Princess Eléonore, 16.
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