Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant News and Events 2, Feb 2024 -

[Marengo]

Arms of Princess Elisabeth​

Welcome to thread Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant News and Events, Part 2

Commencing Feb 15th, 2024 ​

A previous thread for Patronages can be here
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[leidi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1758785644740956603

So, who's the guy? Does he study with Elisabeth? Like the same degree?

 

[Mbruno]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1758785644740956603

So, who's the guy? Does he study with Elisabeth? Like the same degree?

I always take news that young royals are "in love" with this or that person with a big grain of salt. Anyway, even if it is true, it may be just a university fling.

Given how traditionalist her family is, I have always pictured Elisabeth eventually marrying an aristocrat (another royal may be too much), but she is from a different generation, so who knows? I also think that the famiy would prefer her to marry a Catholic. Is this British guy a Protestant?

 

[Curryong]

IF this report is true then it’s almost certainly just a case of young love. Very young love in Nicholas’s case if he’s only twenty, as the report suggests. He probably is a fellow student at Oxford and it’s very sweet if accurate. He probably is a Protestant. However there are many years ahead for both to find the right life partner for them.

 

[Blog Real]

Photos:
https://c10.quickcachr.fotos.sapo.pt/i/Gbb186420/22604292_YI2vO.jpeg

https://c7.quickcachr.fotos.sapo.pt/i/G9918d21f/22604291_wnj2l.jpeg

 

[Curryong]

Ah, a redhead! Interesting! The males seem to be semi-formally dressed for some event and the girls not so much.

 

[Mbruno]

Ah, a redhead! Interesting! The males seem to be semi-formally dressed for some event and the girls not so much.

It is the normal Oxford college gown, isn't it?

https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/dress

 

[Curryong]

Yes, it is, for certain formal ceremonies and occasions throughout their time at Oxford. It’s just that, to me, the girls don’t seem to be as formally dressed as the boys.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Poor Elisabeth..!

 

[Hannelore]

This looks like a joke ...

Another thing, if this is true W. D. is seriously blowing up the good rapports he has with Court.

It's a bit soon, but I'm 100 % sure Elisabeth will end up marrying a noble guy, possibly German Whether catholic or protestant won't be an issue, her generation doesn't care about these things anymore. I'm also sure she has a boyfriend in the UK, she's got that radiance about her ... But I would be really suprised if it were this boy.

 

[Prinsara]

Yes, it is, for certain formal ceremonies and occasions throughout their time at Oxford. It’s just that, to me, the girls don’t seem to be as formally dressed as the boys.

It's the traditional wear for each. Considering Oxbridge didn't give women degrees for hundreds of years or let them study at all, perhaps unequal academic dress isn't that surprising.

 

[Somebody]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1758785644740956603

So, who's the guy? Does he study with Elisabeth? Like the same degree?

He started in the same year and studies history. Elisabeth studies history and politics.

The Lincoln College Record that included this information (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw31BDciN1yBb1xGhkP5FASI) also shows that Elisabeth uses 'de Saxe-Cobourg' as surname at Lincoln College.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

He started in the same year and studies history. Elisabeth studies history and politics.

The Lincoln College Record that included this information (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw31BDciN1yBb1xGhkP5FASI) also shows that Elisabeth uses 'de Saxe-Cobourg' as surname at Lincoln College.

Thank you! Then his full name is Nicholas Alexander Dodd, if the previously posted identification is correct.

Direct link: https://lincoln.ox.ac.f/asset/Lincoln-Record-2022-Nov-22-WEBSITE-VERSION.pdf

This looks like a joke ... [...] I'm also sure she has a boyfriend in the UK, she's got that radiance about her ... But I would be really suprised if it were this boy.

Perhaps I've overlooked something, but what makes the suggestion of the man being Princess Elisabeth's boyfriend a joke/implausible? If you are alluding to appearances, it is common for women to date men who do not match up to them in physical attractiveness (the crown princess's own parents are one example).

Another thing, if this is true W. D. is seriously blowing up the good rapports he has with Court.

Is there an expectation from the Court that reporters should hold back from identifying the royals' romantic partners until there is an engagement announcement? In my opinion, that is not a reasonable standard, especially for senior royals.

Given that the national media in general and Wim Dehandschutter in particular seem to be conservative in what they report on the royals' love lives, I assumed he would have been certain before making a public report.

It's a bit soon, but I'm 100 % sure Elisabeth will end up marrying a noble guy, possibly German Whether catholic or protestant won't be an issue, her generation doesn't care about these things anymore.

Does her generation really care about noble/commoner more than Catholic/Protestant?

 

[Adda]

This looks like a joke ...

Another thing, if this is true W. D. is seriously blowing up the good rapports he has with Court.

That was my first thought as well!!!

It's a bit soon, but I'm 100 % sure Elisabeth will end up marrying a noble guy, possibly German Whether catholic or protestant won't be an issue, her generation doesn't care about these things anymore.

My dream match for Elisabeth since she was born has always been Carl-Theodor Württemberg.

 

[Linda_26]

Nicholas' family apparently denied the story:

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2024/02/is-duchess-of-brabant-dating-fellow.html?m=1

The report from HLN sounded rather vague, to be honest

 

[Mbruno]

Nicholas' family apparently denied the story:

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2024/02/is-duchess-of-brabant-dating-fellow.html?m=1

The report from HLN sounded rather vague, to be honest

From the report and other information, his family looks like a very normal middle-class family from what seems to me as a mostly working class area in the north of England (the members on TRF who are from the area might want to comment further on Rochdale's profile). It looks like going to Oxford was already a big deal for him. Being in a serious relationship with Princess Elisabeth would be even more unexpected to his family and a totally new experience to them. It is likely that, even if it were true, they would still probably deny it for privacy reasons.

Elisabeth is very "down to Earth" though, so I don't think it is implausible. More likely however, they are probably just study partners who may flirt with each other. At their age, being "just friends" or more than that is a gray area when a boy and girl spend a lot of time together.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

On a side note, notice that the HLN article refers to Crown Princess Elisabeth in several places. Though the crown princess's official title is Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (not "the Duchess of Brabant"), Crown Princess Elisabeth is an ordinary informal style of referring to the heiress to the throne among Belgians, and her father before her was referred to as Crown Prince Filip by the public.

https://www.hln.be/royalty/exclusie...gerjongen-nicholas-het-klikte-meteen~accd8e24

From the report and other information, his family looks like a very normal middle-class family from what seems to me as a mostly working class area in the north of England (the members on TRF who are from the area might want to comment further on Rochdale's profile). It looks like going to Oxford was already a big deal for him.

But as the HLN report by Wim Dehandschutter points out, both he and his older brother Michael went to Oxford, which costs 45,000 euros per year, and he also attended a private high school, which gives the appearance of his family being well-off (though it is possible that they received scholarships). What was the other information which gave you the impression that they were "normal" middle-class?

 

[Alison H]

I live about 15 miles from Rochdale. It's known as a working class former mill town. Whitworth's the "posh" part of Rochdale, but only as in solidly middle class, not upper class or upper middle class. The Manchester Evening News has spoken to Nicholas's family, who say that he and Elisabeth are just good friends. But I would love to see Elisabeth marry a nice Lancashire lad!

Plenty of people go to private day schools. And Oxford University is open to people from all backgrounds, who may take out student loans to pay their fees, and repay them gradually once they're earning enough. The annual cost is around £9,000 - I've no idea where that newspaper's got 45,000 euros from! He definitely sounds "normal" middle class to me .

 

[Mbruno]

On a side note, notice that the HLN article refers to Crown Princess Elisabeth in several places. Though the crown princess's official title is Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (not "the Duchess of Brabant"), Crown Princess Elisabeth is an ordinary informal style of referring to the heiress to the throne among Belgians, and her father before her was referred to as Crown Prince Filip by the public.

https://www.hln.be/royalty/exclusie...gerjongen-nicholas-het-klikte-meteen~accd8e24



But as the HLN report by Wim Dehandschutter points out, both he and his older brother Michael went to Oxford, which costs 45,000 euros per year, and he also attended a private high school, which gives the appearance of his family being well-off (though it is possible that they received scholarships). What was the other information which gave you the impression that they were "normal" middle-class?

Middle-class in the English sense. He went to a local area private secondary school, but not Eton, Marlborough, Westminster, or the type of Southeastern England schools that upper middle class and upper class people go. And his sixth-form college might be a state college (I didn't check).

Also, I think tuition fees at Oxford are capped at a little over 9,000 pounds/year for domestic students and you don't have to pay tuition upfront. You can get a government loan and repay with interest when you are employed until the debt is canceled after a certain number of years.

Maybe the 45,000 figure is also factoring in room and board, but there may be bursaries to help with that cost too.

EDIT: I noticed now that Alison H, who is from Manchester, had already replied to you. Sorry if I sounded repetitive.

 

[Alison H]

He was at Beech House School. Its website gives the annual fees as £7,093, which is pretty low for a private day school - the "better" private day schools in the area charge double that, with fees having gone up so much in recent years, and places like Eton charge nearly £50,000 per year. And he went to a state sixth form college. So I very much doubt that he's "of wealthy descent".

"Rochdale lad dating future Queen of Belgium" makes a great headline, but, sadly, it doesn't seem to be true! Unfortunately for all the future monarchs who are now in their late teens or early twenties, there are going to be stories like this in the press all the time.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Thank you for the clarifications, Alison H and Mbruno.

Most British students still attend state schools, so I would still guess that his family is more affluent than the average, but from Alison H's information it sounds as if they are not wealthy compared to most people in royal circles.

Rochdale Sixth Form College appears to be run by a foundation.
https://www.rochdalesfc.ac.uk/

Nicholas Dodd's family's response was linked in the blog post shared by Linda_26, but I will quote it here:

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News outside the family’s home, the relative who preferred to remain anonymous said: “No, that is false. They just go to the same college and study together.

“Just like all his other friends, I can’t comment any further.”​

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...-news/rochdale-lad-not-dating-future-28654127

 

[Young Duchess]

I find young Elisabeth very cool & down-to-earth.
If there was a recent picture of hers available as an avatar here on TRF, I'd have picked that one for sure.

 

[Hannelore]

I can't think how embarrassing this must be for both Elisabeth and this boy who happens to be a fellow student ... No coincidence this "news" "breaks" in a very quiet fortnight of holidays. They just use these young people to fill rags and then everyone goes repeating without checking anything. Thank God for the local British press who were able to quickly show there's no truth to this. This is the first time it has happened to Elisabeth, I guess from now on "journalists" feel they can just use her because her image sells.

 

[Duchess Sophie]

In this case, Wim Dehandschutter got a little too carried away, I am afraid. I think he wanted to have the scoop of Elisabeth's first serious relationship. The media won't let them play for fools again, when Filip skillfully hid his relationship with Mathilde until the engagement.

 

[MARG]

Photos:
https://c10.quickcachr.fotos.sapo.pt/i/Gbb186420/22604292_YI2vO.jpeg

https://c7.quickcachr.fotos.sapo.pt/i/G9918d21f/22604291_wnj2l.jpeg

Ah, a redhead! Interesting! The males seem to be semi-formally dressed for some event and the girls not so much.

Yes, it is, for certain formal ceremonies and occasions throughout their time at Oxford. It’s just that, to me, the girls don’t seem to be as formally dressed as the boys.

Sadly, Elizabeth looks a slovenly mess by the standards set down by Oxford College. Yes, she is wearing a white shirt and ribbon tie . . . sort of, but the dark skirt is about six inches short and her barely there tights are just a slap at the rules and her nod to her academic gown is a joke. To say I expected better from Elisabeth is an understatement. Instead of looking self-possessed and confident, she is a hot mess.

 

[Somebody]

The gown seems to be exactly the same for all female students at Lincoln. The skirt is indeed rather short and is the only one she can pick herself - she could also opt for wearing black trousers although it seems most female students wear a (relatively short) skirt.

 

[Hannelore]

In this case, Wim Dehandschutter got a little too carried away, I am afraid. I think he wanted to have the scoop of Elisabeth's first serious relationship. The media won't let them play for fools again, when Filip skillfully hid his relationship with Mathilde until the engagement.

He's been in the business for over 20 years, he knows very well what he's doing and what his employer wants from him.

 

[BJB]

Sadly, Elizabeth looks a slovenly mess by the standards set down by Oxford College. Yes, she is wearing a white shirt and ribbon tie . . . sort of, but the dark skirt is about six inches short and her barely there tights are just a slap at the rules and her nod to her academic gown is a joke. To say I expected better from Elisabeth is an understatement. Instead of looking self-possessed and confident, she is a hot mess.

Do we really have to criticise a young woman in a semi-official setting which was almost three years ago? We probably can assume that she (on that occasion) just wanted to blend in and be as normal as her fellow (and similarly dressed) students. Nothing wrong with that and honestly, she looks just like a regular student all around the world in those years. Nothing wrong with that either. She will be in the spotlight all her life.

 

[Jelka]

He's been in the business for over 20 years, he knows very well what he's doing and what his employer wants from him.

FYI it was not Wim Dehandschutter who wrote the article. He only reacted to the questions that were posed to him about the topic...

 

[BriarRose]

I've never understood why a woman showing her knees is such a big deal, but I acknowledge people on here are from different cultures, and perhaps it's shocking for some. But the Princess looks exactly like her fellow female students pictured, so I can't see why she should be shamed for what she is wearing.