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Princess Elisabeth of Belgium didn’t use her royal title when she was called to receive her Harvard University diploma
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The future queen shared in her first major interview how she felt about being relatively anonymous while studying in Boston
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She also shared what’s next for her and how she feels about her royal destiny
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium went by a different name as she lined up for graduation at Harvard University.
The heir to the Belgian throne, 24, completed her two-year master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, celebrating with traditional graduation ceremonies this week. After attending the Class of 2026 Awards Ceremony and an address by Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, on Wednesday, May 27, Princess Elisabeth received her diploma on Thursday, May 28 — with her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, watching proudly from the crowd.
Elisabeth wore a traditional cap and gown, accessorizing with a Belgian flag adornment worn around her neck for the milestone.
However, Princess Elisabeth didn’t use her royal title at the graduation ceremony. According to a video shared on social media by journalist Wim Dehandschutter, the royal was called up to receive her diploma as “Elisabeth de Saxe-Cobourg,” using their French family name. Dehandschutter noted that she appeared much earlier in the alphabetical order of graduates than if she used their Dutch family name, “van Saksen-Coburg.”
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium at Harvard graduation on May 28, 2026
Credit: Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty
The decision for Elisabeth not to use a royal title at school keeps with other royal families from around the world.
Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — are known in the classroom as George Wales, Charlotte Wales and Louis Wales, with the surname taken from their parents’ titles as the Prince and Princess of Wales. The British royals have used this approach for generations, using a more informal address that allows them to blend in with the student body. They tend to use names created from their formal titles rather than the British royal family’s last name of Mountbatten-Windsor, reflecting both the royal House of Windsor and Prince Philip’s family name of Mountbatten.
Tied to her graduation, Princess Elisabeth did her first major interview. Speaking with Dehandschutter for the Dutch-language newspaper HNL, the royal spoke about being under the radar during her time in Boston.
“I enjoyed not always being recognized on the street. It brought more spontaneity into my life,” she said. “My intention was to simply be Elisabeth here. That would have been different if I had studied in Belgium.”
King Phillippe and Queen Mathilde at daughter Princess Elisabeth’s Harvard graduation on May 28, 2026
Credit: Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty
After saying that her time as a Harvard student was “intense,” Elisabeth planned to take some time to “step back and develop myself in other ways.”
As the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, Princess Elisabeth knows what her future holds — something that she doesn’t mind.
“I’m actually happy knowing what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life,” she said, according to the interview. “Many people live in uncertainty, not knowing where they are headed. There is a certain beauty in knowing: this is my path, and it leads there.”
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When she becomes queen, Elisabeth will make history as Belgium’s first female monarch. A new act of succession in the nation introducing absolute primogeniture was put into effect 10 years before her birth in 1991, which means her place in the line of succession wasn’t affected due to the birth of her two younger brothers.
“It is indeed a first, making it historic. It does mean I don’t have an example of a Belgian reigning queen to look up to. A challenge,” she said. “But my gender isn’t the only thing that defines me.”
Read the original article on People