Royal Profile: Princess Élisabeth of Belgium, The Duchess of Brabant

Princess Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène of Belgium, The Duchess of Brabant was born via C-section as the eldest child of King Phillippe and Queen Mathilde on 25 October 2001{Source}.

She has two younger brothers and a younger sister:

1. Prince Gabriel of Belgium (2003)
2. Prince Emmanuel of Belgium (2005)
3. Princess Eléonore of Belgium (2008)

She was baptized on 9 December 2001, her godparents are:

• Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (paternal cousin)
• Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz (maternal aunt)

She is named for the following:

1. Élisabeth : her great-great grandmother Elisabeth of Bavaria.
2. Thérèse: Possibly for her maternal great-great-grandmother Countess Teresa Sobanska.
3. Marie: the Virgin Mary as per tradition with Catholic Royalty.
4. Hélène: her maternal aunt and godmother Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz.

Presently she is the first female heir to the throne, and the will be Belgium's first Queen Regent.

 

 

Like her elder cousins, she was enrolled in Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege until this fall. Again, another historical moment: no future Belgian monarch's education has begun in Dutch. In August 2018, she began attending UWC Atlantic College in Wales, where she will take the International Baccalaureate in 2020 {Source}

 

She also attended dance classes that are conducted in Dutch.

 

The future Belgian monarch has undertaken many royal duties in her short lifetime. In 2006, she attended the Te Deum in honor of Belgian National Day for the first time{Photos}. In 2007, she attend the opening of a science Museum with her father, the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition and a presentation of a model of the Belgian Antarctic Station which bears her name, The Princess Elisabeth Base. In 2011, along side her parents, the future Belgian monarch visited the Princess Elisabeth Children Hospital, where she gave a speech{Photos}. In 2013, she attended the abdication and investiture of her father and grandfather, when she became the heir-apparent to the Belgian throne {Photos}. In 2014, she attended a WWI Torch light memorial ceremony, where she delivered a speech{Source} {Source}{Video}. In 2015, she has attended the ship launching ceremony of the P902 Pollux ship , which she is its official godmother, at the Zeebrugge Naval Base {Video}{Photos}, and Belgium's National Day festivities {Photos}.