Royal Central - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Belgium’s future queen is marking her 22nd birthday in a year where she’s stepped further into her role on an international stage.
To mark her 22nd birthday, the Royal Palace has released two new photographs of Elisabeth.
They were taken by palace photographer Bas Bogaerts in the Palace of Laeken in Brussels.
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, will one day be the first reigning Queen of the Belgians, and she has already begun representing her father, King Philippe, at important international royal events.
In the past year, the heir to the Belgian throne attended the Coronation of King Charles III, the Royal Wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan to Rajwa Al-Saif and the 18th birthday celebrations of Prince Christian of Denmark – another fellow future monarch.
The Belgian Royal Palace continues to make the Princess more visible so that the Belgian people can get to know their future monarch. She’s begun to undertake solo engagements in Belgium and on the international stage – showing the Belgian people how well she’s preparing for her future role.
Princess Elisabeth was born on 25 October 2001 in Brussels to then Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant and Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant. As their eldest child, she became the heir to the throne upon her grandfather, King Albert II’s abdication in 2013, when her father ascended the throne.
She is currently in her final year at Lincoln College, Oxford University in the United Kingdom, where she is studying history and politics.