Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant News and Events 2, Feb 2024 -

[Prinsara]

We've also known for the entirety of her adulthood that Elisabeth is not nearly as conservative in dress as the rest of her family, and given she usually threads a line between being a bit more daring while remaining socially acceptable, I'm not sure why Lisa's individual choice to wear a miniskirt for a university event is of note to anyone.

 

[iceflower]

Princess Elisabeth will start studying at Harvard University in Boston this summer it was announced today:

La Princesse Elisabeth entamera cet été un master à l’Université d’Harvard | La Monarchie belge

The Belgian Monarchy website

www.monarchie.be

https://twitter.com/x/status/1787785674554302513

https://twitter.com/x/status/1787789496823488851

La Princesse Elisabeth va entamer un master en politiques publiques dans une prestigieuse université américaine

www.rtl.be

La princesse Elisabeth entamera son master en politiques publiques... à l’Université d’Harvard !

On sait où notre Princesse poursuivra ses études. Elle entamera cet été un master au sein de la prestigieuse Université d’Harvard.

www.sudinfo.be

 

[leidi]

Princess Elisabeth will start studying at Harvard University in Boston this summer it was announced today:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1787785674554302513

https://twitter.com/x/status/1787789496823488851

La Princesse Elisabeth va entamer un master en politiques publiques dans une prestigieuse université américaine

www.rtl.be

La princesse Elisabeth entamera son master en politiques publiques... à l’Université d’Harvard !

On sait où notre Princesse poursuivra ses études. Elle entamera cet été un master au sein de la prestigieuse Université d’Harvard.

www.sudinfo.be

Wow it seems like Elisabeth is actually REALLY smart, getting into two top world universities like that isn't just for everyone (if it was given just because she's a royal then every other heir/monarch would have been accepted/gone to those universities).

 

[EvaH]

She really is smart! And getting a Fulbright as well! I feel like Leonor/Catarina Amalia could have had a similar path but it seems like local is best in their countries.

 

[leidi]

She really is smart! And getting a Fulbright as well! I feel like Leonor/Catarina Amalia could have had a similar path but it seems like local is best in their countries.

Not everyone has the same likes, CA seems to be far much more laid back than Elisabeth IMO, like the latter seems to be more interested into pushing herself academically speaking. It is also a reflection of their respective fathers as well, Philippe has always been introverted so he has worked on his "inner" stuff harder than other people (for example his own military instructors said that while he wasn't the absolute best of students, he did have great work ethics), WA is more charismatic so he hasn't felt that need. (Obviously all of this is just my perception).

Leonor will finish her military studies, probably get a degree in Spain and then move to the US to get a MA somewhere like her dad did, she's actually a great unknown in many regards.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Wonderful news regarding the Duchess and her move to Harvard University in Boston!

 

[Marengo]

Congratulations on getting into Harvard, quite an achievement indeed. And a lovely photo too that Mr. Dehandschutter is using. She must be happy she can continue to enjoy her carefree life abroad for some time with minimal obligations - other than those of 'normal' students.

I suspect both Leonor as CA will do some programme abroad after/during their studies at some point -King Felipe went to Georgetown IIRC. A post-masters perhaps. Let's not forget Elisabeth is two years older than CA and four years older than Leonor so she is somewhat ahead in terms of education and such.

For the heiress to the throne to spend the largest part of their acadamic education abroad is something undesirable in most countries I would imagine. In Spain even more so than in the Netherlands. In Belgium it is an elegant sollution to the language issue. She did not have to pick a Flemish or a Francophone university. But otherwise Belgium has some excellent universities too where Elisabeth would have been able to push herself academically as well.

'Laid back' are not a words many in the Netherlands would use to describe CA. She strikes me as a serious, kind and thoughtful young woman. Elisabeth does as well, but of the two she seems slightly more extrovert to me. Though it is difficult to tell as we have not seen Elisabeth 'out and about' as much. There have been more frequent events perhaps but they were short in nature. I don't remember her ever talking to journalists for example. CA we have seen on a two-week tour of the Antilles ánd for the whole day on the various King's Days and photo sessions so it is perhaps easier to observe her.

Although we know she is intelligent there is little else we know about the Belgian princess, which is most likely a wonderful thing for her as she can have some normalcy in this part of her life, which will certainly benefit her later on.

 

[Mbruno]

Not everyone has the same likes, CA seems to be far much more laid back than Elisabeth IMO, like the latter seems to be more interested into pushing herself academically speaking. It is also a reflection of their respective fathers as well, Philippe has always been introverted so he has worked on his "inner" stuff harder than other people (for example his own military instructors said that while he wasn't the absolute best of students, he did have great work ethics), WA is more charismatic so he hasn't felt that need. (Obviously all of this is just my perception).

Leonor will finish her military studies, probably get a degree in Spain and then move to the US to get a MA somewhere like her dad did, she's actually a great unknown in many regards.

I am surprised, however, that it is not an issue in Belgium that Princess Elisabeth never attended a French-speaking school throughout her academic life. She went to a Dutch-speaking school in Belgium, then did her IB in English in Wales, used Dutch again as the language of instruction at the Royal Military Academy, and finally did her bachelor's degree and will do her master's in English respectively at Oxford (in the UK) and Harvard (in the US).

The depth and breadth of her education are impressive anyway as it is also the fact that she speaks at least 4 languages.

Wonderful news regarding the Duchess and her move to Harvard University in Boston!

Strictly speaking, Harvard University is in Cambridge MA, rather than Boston, but I understand many people in Europe don't make that distinction.

 

[lula]

For the heiress to the throne to spend the largest part of their acedamic education abroad is something undesirable in most countries I would imagine. In Spain even more so than in the Netherlands. In Belgium it is an elegant sollution to the language issue. But otherwise Belgium has some excellent universities too where Elisabeth would have been able to push herself academically as well.

I think that in the end the logical thing is to find a balance between national and international education, because both contribute to a global formation. It's not just university training, it's about getting to know different people, places and cultures inside and outside the country.

In Belgium they may have solved the language issue, but Elisabeth has studied baccalaureate and will study her university education abroad, which causes other questions. Isn't the education in Belgium good enough? How will she know her country well if the most important years of her formation are spent abroad? Will she be able to create a network of friends from different backgrounds in her country or will she be limited to an elite that surrounds the Royal Family?

 

[Mbruno]

I think that in the end the logical thing is to find a balance between national and international education, because both contribute to a global formation. It's not just university training, it's about getting to know different people, places and cultures inside and outside the country.

In Belgium they may have solved the language issue, but Elisabeth has studied baccalaureate and will study her university education abroad, which causes other questions. Isn't the education in Belgium good enough? How will she know her country well if the most important years of her formation are spent abroad? Will she be able to create a network of friends from different backgrounds in her country or will she be limited to an elite that surrounds the Royal Family?

The Belgian posters are better equipped to answer your question, but it seems to me that the point of view may be a little bit different in Belgium than in countries like Spain. Belgium is a small country with a very international outlook. Doing your university studies abroad is not something that will be necessarily seen as negative in my opinion. Keep in mind that Elisabeth also did one year at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium and had the opportunity to interact with Belgians from different backgrounds there.


Again, the only thing that could be controversial to me is that she never had any formal education in French. It would be helpful to hear the opinion of the Belgian members on this topic.

 

[Somebody]

Again, the only thing that could be controversial to me is that she never had any formal education in French. It would be helpful to hear the opinion of the Belgian members on this topic.

The family is French-speaking, so my guess is not having a formal education in French isn't as much of a deal if the family is already perceived as mainly 'French' instead of 'Flemish'.

Not everyone has the same likes, CA seems to be far much more laid back than Elisabeth IMO, like the latter seems to be more interested into pushing herself academically speaking. It is also a reflection of their respective fathers as well, Philippe has always been introverted so he has worked on his "inner" stuff harder than other people (for example his own military instructors said that while he wasn't the absolute best of students, he did have great work ethics), WA is more charismatic so he hasn't felt that need. (Obviously all of this is just my perception).

Leonor will finish her military studies, probably get a degree in Spain and then move to the US to get a MA somewhere like her dad did, she's actually a great unknown in many regards.

I've no clue where the difference in perception between Elisabeth and Amalia come from. Amalia is known as an excellent student (graduad cum laude from high school and got into a highly competitive international Bachelor's program) who by her own admission had to be convinced to be ok with not getting the highest possible grades in every single subject by her father as she pushed herself academically so much that it was considered unhealthy (and not because she struggled but because of the pressure she put on herself - she attended the highest level in high school, did additional subjects and strived for the highest grades).

So, to me it seems both are academically gifted and willing to study hard to achieve good results.

 

[EvaH]

The family is French-speaking, so my guess is not having a formal education in French isn't as much of a deal if the family is already perceived as mainly 'French' instead of 'Flemish'.



I've no clue where the difference in perception between Elisabeth and Amalia come from. Amalia is known as an excellent student (graduad cum laude from high school and got into a highly competitive international Bachelor's program) who by her own admission had to be convinced to be ok with not getting the highest possible grades in every single subject by her father as she pushed herself academically so much that it was considered unhealthy (and not because she struggled but because of the pressure she put on herself - she attended the highest level in high school, did additional subjects and strived for the highest grades).



So, to me it seems both are academically gifted and willing to study hard to achieve good results.

Exactly, to me CA, Leonor and Elisabeth are of the same mold. I am sure CA, if she wanted too would have attended very similar universities to Elisabeth. No slight to other royal families but I don't see for example someone from the BRF to set their sight so high as to achieve academically at top universities abroad in a language different from their own. Some families just don't value the same thing and the "1st child syndrome" turns out differently. If we stick to the same generation as those ladies, I definitely don't see Christian nor Ingrid Alexandra with that academic hunger and interest. It's not a bad thing, just very different personalities based on what we can see so far.

 

[Prinsara]

You go, Lisa. Congratulations.

 

[moby]

Very impressive young lady. Regarding her university choices, I think no country's educational system would fault her for choosing to go to Oxford and Harvard. If it were some random university outside of her country, that would raise questions of "What's wrong with our universities?" but with these two unis, well, there's hardly anything better out there, especially on social sciences, so there only answer is, "There's nothing wrong with the unis in Belgium, except they're not Oxford or Harvard."

 

[Somebody]

A Master in Public Policy sounds like an excellent choice. Hopefully the program is well-rounded and international enough that not just the American way of doing things is in focus.

More information about the Fulbright Program: *Foreign Fulbright Program - Home Page
Elisabeth needed to apply via the Belgium branch: Fulbright Belgium / Luxembourg / Schuman – Exchange. Evolve

 

[Hannelore]

Lots of Belgian uni students spend part of their education abroad, e.g. through Erasmus or other EU programs. Elisabeth's cirriculum does not come across to me as strange because it doesn't include a Belgian university, even though some of them rank very high as well ... Some of my class mates left for the Sorbonne after secondary school for instance. Oxford and Harvard are of course exceptional for any student. It shows how ambitious and bright Elisabeth is.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

Oxford and now Havard - Elizabeth is going have one of the best education resumes of all the monarchs and heirs in Europe. I am sure Belgians are very proud of their future Queen

 

[Minister of Court]

Wonderful news. She’ll be truly professional head of state when the time comes. Lucky Belgians!

 

[Prinsara]

Hopefully the program is well-rounded and international enough that not just the American way of doing things is in focus.

It’s Harvard. Permit me to doubt you would hope it was not “too British” if she were continuing at Oxford or “too wherever” if she were going to a different country.

Furthermore, I really doubt there’s any more chance of Elisabeth forgetting how they do things in Belgium with two years at Harvard vs. her time abroad so far. If anything, all the exposure and different perspectives (including the US one) will help her when she faces challenges back home.

 

[Somebody]

It’s Harvard. Permit me to doubt you would hope it was not “too British” if she were continuing at Oxford or “too wherever” if she were going to a different country.

Furthermore, I really doubt there’s any more chance of Elisabeth forgetting how they do things in Belgium with two years at Harvard vs. her time abroad so far. If anything, all the exposure and different perspectives (including the US one) will help her when she faces challenges back home.

Working in Higher Education, I am very much aware that there are higher education systems that are far more international than others - unfortunately, the US is one which often is inward focused (not unexpected for a large country; and there are other examples that would raise comparable questions) - although I would indeed expect an institution like Harvard would be less so.

Elisabeth is going to do a master's program in 'Public Policy' which is very much a contextualized topic to study. Had she decided to study Mathematics, I would not have been concerned about the 'context' at all. Elisabeth has had very little exposure as to how 'public policy' is done in Belgium and doing both her undergraduate and graduate abroad means that she will only get that experience after completing her master's degree. So, while I am fully sure that she will be taught by highly-esteemed experts in this field (which is not necessarily the same as the best teachers!), as I stated before, I also hope the program has a sufficient international outlook, because as a head of state she will need the broadest perspective possible.

All in all, I expect her to have a great and valuable experience. She will have a great foundation to build on when she returns to Belgium after her studies and her 'learning journey' won't be over for a long time.

 

[doro]

Wonderful news!

 

[victor1319]

So, while I am fully sure that she will be taught by highly-esteemed experts in this field (which is not necessarily the same as the best teachers!), as I stated before, I also hope the program has a sufficient international outlook, because as a head of state she will need the broadest perspective possible.

I was always under the impression, the difficulties for Belgium and the Crown of Belgium derive from the internal ethnic and economical cleavages of this state. Surely: Foreign affairs are very fascinating, but the Crown stands and falls with the public opinion of the Belgian people, which as such is divided.

Political science is more about the craftsmanship. And it might be good for the Princess to learn this from an external angle. (Albeit I have my problems with American standpoints - We remember, that the American Forces went into Iraq and were surprised, that there were different population groups and different religious factions.)

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Fantastic news!
It is interesting that the Honorary Award from the Fulbright Program does not include a travel grant.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Fantastic news!
It is interesting that the Honorary Award from the Fulbright Program does not include a travel grant.

I very much doubt the Duchess of Brabant would require a Travel Grant!

 

[Moonmaiden23]

First UWC. Then a successful military course. Then Oxford and now Harvard...did I understand that she is also a Fulbright Scholar??! All while maintaining an almost almost preternatural poise and elegance.

The Heiress to the Belgian throne is a total rock star. Her parents must be beside themselves with pride-no one would blame them!

 

[HRHHermione]

So, while I am fully sure that she will be taught by highly-esteemed experts in this field (which is not necessarily the same as the best teachers!), as I stated before, I also hope the program has a sufficient international outlook, because as a head of state she will need the broadest perspective possible

For what it’s worth, HKS has always attracted a diverse student population with representation from a huge range of countries.

 

[Countessmeout]

Oxford and Harvard very impressive young woman.Congratulations. And fullbright as welll. Her parents must be so proud.

 

[Mbruno]

Has Princess Elisabeth graduated yet from Oxford? Are there any images from her graduation ceremony?

 

[iceflower]

The Palace has released a statement "directly to the Oxford Mail on Princess Elisabeth's time in the city".

A spokesperson for the Belgian Royal Palace said: “The Princess loved studying in Oxford and had a wonderful time in Lincoln College.”

Belgian Royal Palace issues statement on Oxford as Princess departs city

The Belgian Royal Palace has issued a statement on Princess Elisabeth's time at the University of Oxford.

www.oxfordmail.co.uk

 

[Mbruno]

The Palace has released a statement "directly to the Oxford Mail on Princess Elisabeth's time in the city".

Belgian Royal Palace issues statement on Oxford as Princess departs city

The Belgian Royal Palace has issued a statement on Princess Elisabeth's time at the University of Oxford.

www.oxfordmail.co.uk

I was surprised to read in the article that Princess Elisabeth "was spotted casting a vote" in the recent Belgian elections. I know that voting is mandatory in Belgium, but I would imagine that, as heir to the throne, Elisabeth would be exempt. If I am not mistaken, the King and the Queen Consort themselves do not vote, but it appears that they are the only members of the Belgian Royal Family not to do so.

To be honest, the issue of royals refraining from voting has always intrigued me. As much as I can understand a rationale for the King and possibly the heir not to vote, I have always asked myself how far one should go down the line of succession for the voluntary "voting ban" to be lifted. And when I asked that, for example on TRF, with respect to specific RFs,, especially in the UK, I never got an answer.