By Molly Claire Goddard
2:10pm PDT, Aug 19, 2025
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Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will be headed back to Boston this fall. There were questions about whether or not the Duchess of Brabant would be able to resume her studies after United States President
Donald Trump attempted to ban international students from Harvard, but a new
report indicates she's set to return to the Ivy League school in the coming months.
Keep reading to learn about why Elisabeth nearly did not make it to the New England institution…MORE:
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Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium — whose parents are
King Philippe and
Queen Mathilde — reportedly received her student visa to travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Before the courts challenged Donald Trump's order banning international students, the Norwegian royal family made it clear they would not be using their privileges to get Elisabeth to Harvard. "The Crown Princess believes it is important to 'show solidarity with other foreign students.' She started her studies with them, has made many [international] friends and runs with some of them in the running club of her university," a source told a Belgian
news site. "Elisabeth also realizes how sensitive it is to profit from her status as future queen. It would send the wrong signal to all 'ordinary' students. Moreover, higher interests are at stake. Every decision that the queen-in-training has to make herself at this stage could have a political or diplomatic resonance and possibly influence the relations between Belgium and the United States."
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In May 2025, Donald Trump and his administration announced they would not be allowing students from other countries to study at Harvard. The college challenged the order in court, which blocked the motion. As the drama plays out in the legal system, international attendees' visas have been renewed.
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Crown Princess Elisabeth, who's the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, has been laser-focused on her studies. The royal graduated with a bachelor's degree in history and politics from the University of Oxford's Lincoln College. She then went on to earn a two-year master's degree in public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
