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Belgium

Belgium’s future queen approaches end of historic military training

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant has entered the final stages of her year long military training at a special camp in Belgium. The heir to the throne is now just weeks away from becoming the first Belgian princess to complete military formation.

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Elisabeth, now 19 years old, joined her fellow trainee officers, at the Lagland camp at Arlon where they will hone their military skills over three weeks. Press were invited to join the camp as it got under way and were on hand to see the trainees tackle an obstacle course.

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The princess later spoke to reporters unprompted, telling them she had got used to her early starts, getting up at 6am every morning. And she described the changes she had undergone since last summer, saying ”I have had to adjust a lot here, but I have enjoyed it enormously.”

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The future queen began her training with Belgium’s Royal Military Academy last autumn. In a speech at the start of the Academy’s academic year, in October 2020, Elisabeth’s father, King Philippe, told the new recruits that ”you will succeed because you will have lived…the values of the Royal Military School – a sense of honour, self-discipline, engagement, courage, respect.”

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The Belgian Royal Family hasn’t yet announced what Elisabeth will do when her year long training ends. She is set to join her family at Belgium’s National Day celebrations on July 21st in Brussels when they will also celebrate the 8th anniversary of King Philippe’s accession to the throne.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.