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AS ONE OF the most highly-regarded educational institutes in the world, it is unsurprising that royals have been drawn to Oxford University for generations.
And this year appears to be no different as the future Queen of Belgium has selected the city as her location of choice for her undergraduate degree.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Elisabeth will be reading history and politics at Lincoln College for the next three years.
The Belgian Royal Palace announced the news in August but said she would remain regularly involved in Belgian public life. Brussels is just over an hour away from Oxford by air, with the city’s airport offering regular flights throughout the week.
When the Oxford Mail contacted the university to find out about whether any special security measures are made for royal students, it said it was unable to comment on individual cases.
Princess Elisabeth
However according to its website, it is able to create tailored security plans in necessary situations.
Its website reads: “The university is committed to the security and safety of all students, staff, visitors and contractors on university premises.”
The student has wasted no time in getting to grips with Oxford life, with the official Instagram account for the Belgian Royal Family sharing photographs of her enjoying a stroll along the front quad outside Lincoln College, reading at Lincoln College’s library and having a fun day punting with friends.
The post attracted more than 12,000 likes from followers with hundreds leaving supportive comments. One woman wrote: “As a proud Belgian living in the UK, I wish her all the luck. I’m sure she’ll have the most amazing time. And yes, Sunday roasts are amazing.”
While another added: “I hope she will enjoy her time at Oxford.”
It is not the first experience abroad for King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium’s daughter. She obtained her International Baccalaureate last year after attending the UWC Atlantic College in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, a popular school of choice for the blue-blooded.
Princess Elisabeth joins a long line of royals to study at Oxford University including Edward VII and Edward VIII, King Haakon of Norway, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and her own father, Belgium’s King Philippe.
The Queen’s first cousin Angus Ogilvy read philosophy, politics and economics at the university while both children of the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent completed their degrees in Oxford.
Lord Freddie Windsor, who is 49th in line to the throne, gained a 2:1 degree in classics after being educated at Magdalene College with his sister, Lady Gabriella Windsor, completing a degree in social anthropology at Linacre College.
