Princess Elisabeth celebrates 22nd birthday with new portraits

Cue Taylor Swift’s “22” because  Princess Elisabeth  of Belgium has turned 22! King Philippe and Queen Mathilde’s eldest child celebrated another trip around the sun on Wednesday, Oct. 25. To mark the Princess’ birthday, the Belgian Royal Palace released two new portraits of Elisabeth.

© Bas Bogaerts

The images were taken by photographer  Bas Bogaerts   in the Royal Palace of Laeken. Elisabeth wore a sleeveless embroidered mesh top from Dries Van Noten for the pictures.

Alongside the portraits, the palace noted that the Princess “has just started the final year of her bachelor’s degree in History and Politics at the University of Oxford.”

© Bas Bogaerts

Elisabeth began her studies at Oxford University’s Lincoln College back in 2021. The Princess, who in July completed her year in Social and Military Sciences at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium, was officially sworn in as an officer last month and was commissioned to the rank of second lieutenant in the Belgian army.

Elisabeth became first in line to the Belgian throne after her paternal grandfather, King Albert II, abdicated in favor of her father, Philippe, in 2013. Earlier this month, she made a tiara appearance at Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th birthday gala dinner in Copenhagen. Elisabeth arrived at the celebration with fellow future Queen  Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands .