The future queen of Belgium Princess Elisabeth is to enroll at America’s Harvard University this year to study for a two-year master’s degree in public policy.
Elisabeth, 22, is currently completing a degree in history and politics at Oxford University’s prestigious Lincoln College.
The princess, a wildly popular Princess Diana-style figure in her homeland, is the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and the heiress apparent to the Belgian throne.
Keenly interested in politics, she broke from her studies in Oxford to fly back to Belgium to meet former US President Barack Obama during an official visit in March.
Elisabeth is due to start her studies in Boston this summer, the Belgian Royal Palace announced in a statement on 7th May.
It said: “Her Royal Highness Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, will study at Harvard University (Harvard Kennedy School) in Boston in the United States this summer.
“She recently passed the entrance tests for the Master in Public Policy.
“This two-year master’s degree will complement her university education following her bachelor’s degree in history and politics at the University of Oxford (Lincoln College).”
The statement continued: “The Princess was also selected for an ‘Honorary Award’ from the Fulbright Program, the international educational exchange program of the US Department of State.”
Elisabeth was educated at St John Berchmans College, Brussels, from 2004 until 2018.
She then continued her studies in Wales at the UWC Atlantic College under the name Elisabeth de Brabant, receiving an International Baccalaureate Diploma in May 2020.
She also attended the Yale Young Global Scholars Program at Yale University.
Belgian royal family commentator Jo De Poorter said: “It is customary for the royals to send their children to an environment where they are more anonymous than in their own country.
“If Elisabeth had to study somewhere in Belgium, she would be recognised, spotted, and photographed from day one.
“Moreover, her guards would stand out even more in their own country, while there are other students in a similar situation over there.
“It is therefore a choice that ensures peace and tranquility in the life of the heir to the throne so that he can lead a relatively normal student life.”
Elisabeth is not the first Belgian royal to study in the USA, as her father attended Stanford University.
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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