by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant; Credit – Wikipedia (2023)
The heir apparent to the Belgian throne, Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (Elisabeth Therese Maria Helena), was born on October 25, 2001, at Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium. She is the oldest of four children of Philippe King of the Belgians and Queen Mathilde (née Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz).
Princess Elisabeth’s family in 2022: Princess Eléonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, Princess Elisabeth, and Prince Emmanuel
Elisabeth has two brothers and a sister:
- Prince Gabriel of Belgium (born 2003)
- Prince Emmanuel of Belgium (born 2005)
- Princess Eléonore of Belgium (born 2008)
Elisabeth was baptized on December 9, 2001, at Ciergnon Castle by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Her godparents were:
- Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, her paternal first cousin
- Countess Hélène d’Udekem d’Acoz, her maternal aunt
In 2011, nine-year-old Princess Elisabeth gave her first public speech (in Dutch) at the opening of a children’s hospital named after her, the Princess Elisabeth Children’s Hospital in Ghent, Belgium. Her speech was short, and even giving a speech was very unconventional for young royals. Princess Elisabeth said: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very happy that I can give my name to this new children’s hospital today. Together with you, I hope that many children will find help here. I know they can count on your daily commitment. The Princess Elisabeth Children’s Hospital now gets a special place in my heart.”
On July 21, 2013, Elisabeth’s grandfather King Albert II abdicated in favor of her father who became King Philippe of the Belgians. Belgium had changed its succession law in 1991 to absolute primogeniture where the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender. Males and females have equal succession rights. This means that Elisabeth is the heir apparent and comes first in the line of succession as the eldest child. She is expected to become the first Belgian Queen Regnant. Elisabeth automatically became Duchess of Brabant, the title used by the female heirs to the Belgian throne and the wives of male heirs.
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July 21, 2013 – King Philippe’s accession to the throne, Elisabeth becomes the Duchess of Brabant, the traditional title for the heir apparent
Princess Elisabeth attended Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in the Marolles district of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The children of Elisabeth’s aunt Princess Astrid attended this school. Instruction is in Dutch. This is the first time that a future Belgian monarch’s education began in a language other than French. Elisabeth is fluent in Dutch, French, German, and English.
On July 5, 2014, Princess Elisabeth along with her cousin Princess Louise, daughter of Prince Laurent of Belgium, were bridesmaids at the wedding of their cousin Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este in Rome, Italy. Prince Amedeo is the son of the princesses’ aunt, Princess Astrid.
In 2018, Princess Elisabeth enrolled at the United World College of the Atlantic College, a private residential school at St Donat’s Castle in Llantwit Major, Wales, the United Kingdom, completing the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in May 2020. In August 2020, Elisabeth began her one-year studies in Social and Military Sciences at the Royal Military Academy, the military university of Belgium, in Brussels, Belgium.
In 2021, Elisabeth began a three-year program studying History and Politics at Lincoln College, University of Oxford in Oxford, England. In May 2024, the Belgian Royal Court announced that Elisabeth was admitted to the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to study for a two-year master’s degree in public policy. She was also selected for an Honorary Award from the prestigious Fulbright Program.
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