Belgium’s future queen Princess Elisabeth is facing growing uncertainty after getting caught in the crossfire of President Trump’s escalating showdown with Harvard University.
The 23-year-old royal has just wrapped up her first year at the Ivy League school — but now she’s at the risk of being sent back to Belgium as President Trump’s crackdown on international students.
The POTUS halted billions in federal grants and is trying to throttle the Ivy League institution’s ability to enroll foreigners.
However, on Thursday, a Massachusetts judge ordered the federal government not to make any changes to the prestigious college’s student visa program for the time being.
Elisabeth, who also goes by the title of Duchess of Brabant in her home country, has joined the thousands of international students at the university eagerly awaiting the results of the square-off, with the Belgian Royal Palace speaking out on the uncertainty.
“Princess Elisabeth has just completed her first year. The impact of [the Trump administration’s] decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks,” Lore Vandoorne, a spokesperson for the Belgian Royal House said in a statement. We are currently investigating the situation.”
“We are analyzing this at the moment and will let things settle. A lot can still happen in the coming days and weeks,” the palace’s communication director, Xavier Baert, added.
Elisabeth is enrolled at the Cambridge, Mass., university to study public policy in a two-year master’s program, which aims to prepare students for a “successful career in public service.”
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Speaking about the Trump vs Harvard situation last week, Baert said that it’s simply “too early to say right now” what the outcome will be for Elisabeth’s education in the US.
“We are looking into the situation, to see what kind of impact this decision might have on the princess, or not,” he said. “And we’ll have to see what happens next [school] year.”
In the latest twist of the saga on Thursday, Judge Allison Burroughs issued a preliminary injunction during a tense courtroom showdown between Harvard lawyers and the Trump administration in Boston.
Just hours before the legal battle took center stage, the administration issued a legal notice giving Harvard 30 days to justify its continued eligibility to enroll foreign visa holders under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
The day before, Trump said the university should dramatically slash its number of international students — suggesting a cap of 15% instead of the 27.2% currently on the rolls.
The princess is the heir to the Belgian throne, being the eldest of four children born to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
Before enrolling at Harvard, Elisabeth earned a history and politics degree from the University of Oxford in England.