Belgium's Prince Emmanuel (19) has started training at a Spanish football academy where talent is prepared to advance professionally. He can be recognised in video footage of one of his training sessions.
Of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde's four children, Prince Emmanuel is the only one whose education the Royal Palace did not clearly communicate about this summer, only saying that he was taking a language and sports course "at an academy abroad."
Now, it has become clear that the young prince is undergoing 10 months of football training in Spain. Footage of a morning training session, taken to analyse students' strengths and weaknesses, shows Emmanuel training as a goalkeeper, Het Laatste Nieuws reports.
The Palace reiterated that Emmanuel wants to "pursue his studies in anonymity and within his private sphere."
A Red Devil to-be?
It is no secret that Prince Emmanuel is a football fan. With his father he regularly attends matches of the Red Devils. According to his profile on the Royal Palace's website, Emmanuel is sports-minded and enjoys skiing, playing tennis, windsurfing and running.
Whether his ambition is to pursue a professional football career is unclear. The football academy targets young talents who want to develop as players and also promotes itself as a place to improve language skills.
Emmanuel's older sister and Belgian Crown Princess Elisabeth (23) is currently studying at Harvard in the United States. Brother Gabriel (21) is on an Erasmus exchange in France to study geopolitics and his younger sister Eléonore (16) is taking classes at the International School of Brussels.
