Belgian Crown Princess Elisabeth has started her studies at Harvard University (Boston, United States), the Royal Palace announced on Wednesday. She is undertaking a two-year Master's degree in Public Policy.
The Master's degree will complement Elisabeth's university education after her Bachelor's degree in History and Politics at Oxford University (United Kingdom). The Palace announced that Elisabeth had passed the entrance exams for the two-year degree at Harvard in May. Now, with her Oxford graduation ceremony behind her, she can fully focus on her Master's in the US.
The photos distributed by the Palace show the Crown Princess, notebooks in hand, walking around the campus with a broad smile.
Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. For 22 years now, the university has been at the top of the Shanghai ranking of the world's best universities.
Hello USA ! 👋 La Princesse Elisabeth a commencé son master en politiques publiques à la @Kennedy_School. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/NZWX5PlvgX
— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) September 18, 2024
Elisabeth starts at the campus of the Kennedy School. According to its website, the school's mission is to "improve government policy and leadership so that people can live in safer, freer, more just and more prosperous societies."
In addition to passing the entrance exams, the Crown Princess was also selected for an Honorary Award from the Fulbright Program, the international education exchange programme of the American Department of State. While accepted students normally receive funding (such as a scholarship or travel stipend), this is not the case for those with an Honorary Award.
Elisabeth is not the only member of the royal family who aspires to a Harvard degree. Her cousin Joachim (son of Astrid and Lorenz) also obtained his Business Administration degree from Harvard. Her father, King Philippe, chose a different university in the United States and obtained a degree in political science from Stanford.
Crown Princess Elisabeth's school career:
2004 – 2018: Princess Elisabeth starts her school career as a toddler at the Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Brussels, where she will stay until the fourth year of secondary school.
2018 – 2020: She spends the last two years of secondary school at the Atlantic College in Wales, where she follows an International Baccalaureate to prepare her for further university studies.
2020 – 2021: After secondary school, Elisabeth returns to Belgium to study Social and Military Sciences for a year at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels.
2021 – 2024: Elisabeth studies a three-year Bachelor's degree in History and Politics at Lincoln College at the University of Oxford.
