Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant[a] (born 25 October 2001), is the heiress apparent to the Belgian throne. The eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, she was elevated to the duchy after her grandfather Albert II abdicated on 21 July 2013.[2]
For her great-great grandmother, the consort of King Albert I, see Elisabeth Gabriele of Bavaria.Princess Elisabeth
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium
25 October 2001
Erasmus Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
2020–present
Birth[edit]
The first child of the then Duke and Duchess of Brabant, Philippe (now King) and Mathilde, Elisabeth was delivered by Caesarean section at 21:58 CET on 25 October 2001 at the Erasmus Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Université libre de Bruxelles in Anderlecht, Brussels.[3] She was baptized on 9 December 2001 in the chapel of Ciergnon Castle in the Belgian Ardennes, by the late Cardinal Danneels, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.[4] Her godparents are Archduke Amedeo of Austria-Este (paternal cousin), and Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz (maternal aunt).[5]
Education and military training[edit]
Elisabeth initially studied at St John Berchmans College in Marollen, Brussels from September 2004 until 2018.[6][7][8] This marked a significant change in royal tradition, being the first time that a future Belgian monarch's education has begun in Dutch. Elisabeth graduated from primary school in 2013 with a 95% average on her report card.[9] In 2018, Elisabeth continued her secondary education at UWC Atlantic College in Wales under the name "Elisabeth de Brabant", receiving her International Baccalaureate diploma in May 2020.[10][11] Elisabeth attended the Yale Young Global Scholars Program at Yale University.[6] She also attended an introductory course at the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the United Nations in New York City.[12]
In May 2020, the Belgian Royal Court announced that Elisabeth would undertake military training.[13] On 31 August 2020, Elisabeth entered the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, studying social and military sciences.[14][6] Among the 160th promotion, she received her blue beret in September 2022 and completed her one-year military training on 9 July 2021.[15][16] Whilst attending the military academy, Elisabeth renounced any money that cadets receive and only obtained a certificate that she has completed the first year of training.[17] For the next two years, she attended the Royal Military Academy's annual three-week summer camps and other practical and theoretical military classes.[18][19][20] She swore the officers' oath on 26 September 2023 being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Belgian Army.[21][22] Elisabeth had one of the highest grades among her promotion.[23]
Elisabeth went on to study history and politics at Lincoln College, Oxford, in October 2021.[24][6] She rowed for Lincoln College Boat Club in Torpids, an Oxford rowing race, in February 2023 under the name "Elisabeth de Saxe-Cobourg".[25] In May 2024, the Belgian Royal Court announced that Elisabeth was admitted into Harvard Kennedy School to study for a two year master's degree in public policy.[26][27][28] She was also selected for an Honorary Award from the Fulbright program.[29][30]
Elisabeth speaks Dutch, French, German and English,[31] and has also taken classes in Mandarin Chinese.[32]
Position[edit]
Ten years prior to Elisabeth's birth, a new act of succession was put into effect which introduced absolute primogeniture, meaning that she comes first in the line of succession because she is the eldest child. On 21 July 2013, once Elisabeth's father had sworn the oath of office as King of the Belgians (his father, King Albert II, having abdicated shortly before), she became heir apparent to the throne, taking the title of Duchess of Brabant.[54] Should she ascend to the throne as expected, Elisabeth will become Belgium's first female monarch.[55]
