Belgian Princess and Heir Returns to Harvard After Trump Block
By Reuters | 19 Aug, 2025

Trump's May ban against foreign student enrollment at Harvard had forced the 23-year-old to pause her masters program in public policy.

Belgium's Crown Princess Elisabeth attends National Day celebrations in Brussels, Belgium July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Princess Elisabeth, 23-year-old heir to the Belgian throne, will be able to continue her studies at Harvard University, her spokespeople said, after she was caught up in a U.S. government move to bar the entry of foreign students to study there.

"I can confirm that, for now, all the conditions seem to be in place for the princess to continue her studies at Harvard," the Belgian Royal Palace's communication director Xavier Baert said on Tuesday, confirming a newspaper report.

In May, when U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced the ban, the Royal Palace voiced concern that Princess Elisabeth, being a Belgian national, might be unable to continue her studies at Harvard. 

But in June, a federal judge blocked the administration from implementing the proclamation Trump signed that sought to bar foreign nationals from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard.

The Trump administration has said it is trying to force change at Harvard and other top-level universities across the U.S., contending they have become bastions of leftist "woke" thought and antisemitism, which they deny.

The administration has appealed the judge's ruling, but with the new school year set to begin on Sept 2, the injunction against the foreign student ban remains in effect.

The future queen of Belgium is set to begin her second year of a two-year master's program in Public Policy at Harvard, a course designed to broaden students' perspectives and sharpen their skills for "successful careers in public service", according to Harvard's website.

Almost 6,800 international students attended the 388-year-old university in its most recent school year, comprising about 27% of its student population.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Additional reporting by Nate Raymond; editing by Mark Heinrich)