This Thursday, Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will officially receive her Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University in the United States.
Her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, are travelling to the U.S. to attend the ceremony, which is expected to welcome tens of thousands of attendees.
Harvard’s celebratory events will take place over two days, Wednesday 27 May and Thursday 28 May, with speeches planned to honour graduating students. One of the highlights will be a Wednesday afternoon address by Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist and a Harvard alumna.
The diploma-awarding ceremony will be held on Thursday afternoon, local time, likely between 19:00 and 21:00 Belgian time. Comedian Conan O’Brien is scheduled to speak ahead of the official conferral of degrees.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde are expected to arrive in Boston—the location of Harvard University—on Tuesday afternoon, local time.
Princess Elisabeth is graduating from Harvard Kennedy School, named after former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, a notable alumnus. The school will see a total of 630 students finish their studies this year. Across all faculties at Harvard, around 9,000 students are graduating during the ceremonies, with a total crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 anticipated.
Elisabeth’s time at Harvard was nearly interrupted during Donald Trump’s presidency, as his administration considered restrictive measures targeting “leftist universities” and foreign students. These developments put a temporary question mark over her ability to continue her studies.
Now 24, Princess Elisabeth has already accumulated significant academic experience. She attended secondary school at the Sint-Jan Berchmans College in Brussels before earning an international baccalaureate in Wales in 2020.
She went on to study Military and Social Sciences at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium and later completed a three-year bachelor’s degree in History and Politics at Lincoln College, Oxford University, between 2021 and 2024.
With her Harvard master’s degree, the princess concludes seven years of studying abroad. Her next steps remain undecided, with her parents allowing her some time to determine her future path.
Traditionally, Belgium’s heirs to the throne lead economic missions after their studies. However, Queen Mathilde will fulfil this role for the coming year, taking over from Princess Astrid, who stepped down due to health reasons.
