Princess Elisabeth of Belgium marks her 25th birthday with a personal video message

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium turned 25 over the weekend, and the future queen found time to celebrate her big day with a warm message to her fans. Perched under some verdant trees, the Duchess of Brabant wrapped up in a warm jumper and put on a wired set of headphones to record a selfie-style video while basking in the glow of Golden Hour.

‘Hello! I just wanted to say thank you for all the messages for my 25th birthday,’ Princess Elisabeth told viewers in a post shared to the Belgian Royal Palace Instagram account. ‘The messages on social media have really touched me, and they’ve given me such a warm feeling.’

Nor was this the only way that the royal family celebrated the Duchess’s birthday. Earlier that day, the official Palace account shared a brand new portrait of Princess Elisabeth to mark the occasion. The black-and-white shot, which shows the Princess warmly smiling into the camera, dressed in a panelled top, was captioned: ‘25 years old on the 25th! That calls for a celebration. Happy birthday, Princess Elisabeth!’

The happy occasion was also marked with an official postage stamp and coin, which the Palace unveiled in another Instagram post, reading: ‘On the occasion of Princess Elisabeth’s 25th birthday, @bpost is issuing a special postage stamp. The Royal Mint of Belgium is also celebrating this milestone with a special commemorative coin.’

The reverse of the coin features the Duchess of Brabant’s father, King Philippe, and the word ‘Belgium’ written in three languages. The Princess has also been honoured with a commemorative stamp on her first birthday in 2002 and her 18th birthday in 2019.

It’s been a busy year for Princess Elisabeth, who graduated from Harvard University following a two-year master’s degree in public policy at the Kennedy School this May. Her proud parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, made the trip to Boston for the occasion and whipped out their phones to snap photos of their daughter as she posed in her cap and gown. It is just the latest accomplishment for the multi-talented Princess.

Elisabeth’s education to date has been a polished portfolio. She moved from the classrooms of St John Berchmans College in Brussels to the coast of Wales at UWC Atlantic College. Dubbed ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ (and previously featured in the Tatler Schools Guide), UWC Atlantic College has distinguished itself as the destination for foreign royals, with Princess Leonor of Spain among the other recent graduates.

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Princess Elisabeth of Belgium then trained in the military before beginning her first degree at the University of Oxford's Lincoln College. She earned a 2:1 in History and Politics and in between lectures, she rowed for Lincoln College Boat Club – naturally.

Born on 25 October 2001, Princess Elisabeth has spent a lifetime preparing for the throne and is undoubtedly one of the most qualified young royals in the land. Upon inheriting the crown, the 25-year-old will become Belgium’s first-ever Queen Regnant– and it seems that few could be better suited to the job.