Summer was over on Wednesday for Belgium’s youngest royals. The three eldest children of Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde returned to school at the St. John Bergman College in Brussels.
BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
Princess Elisabeth, 8, Prince Gabriel, 7, and Prince Emmanuel, 5, held their parents ‘ hands as Philippe and Mathilde escorted them to their first day of classes.
It is nearly a tradition for the Belgian media to photograph and film the royal children going to school each September, as if to see just how much the kids have grown.
Next year, Princess Eleonore, will join her older siblings at St. John Bergman College. She’ll be three years old then.
To think only two years ago, the older royal children were gushing over Eleonore when she was born!
After dropping off their brood, Philippe and Mathilde went back doing royal duties. For example, Mathilde attended a school for children suffering from cerebral motor infirmity in Etterbeek.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway began her first day of school Thursday just down the road from the Asker palace where she lives with her family. Although the 6 year-old may be the future Queen, she was treated like any other student.
AP Photo/Scanpix, Stian Lysberg Solum
“We will follow our regular program for the first day of school Thursday. After the school has sung the song welcome to the first graders through a small program, with voice and some small surprises,” Beitnes Johansen, principal of Jansløkka, said.
Ingrid Alexandra was accompanied by her parents, Haakon and Mette-Marit, her grandfather, King Harald V and her maternal grandmother, Marit Tjessem. Every0ne stood in the rain for the welcoming ceremony before the little Princess entered the school with the rest of her new classmates.
“Ingrid Alexandra has gone to kindergarten here in Asker, and she comes into class with several of the children there. It is probably both safe and good, and in addition, she has lots of new friends here.”
Attending Jansløkka is a big break from royal tradition. Both the King and the Crown Prince grew up in the same palace Ingrid Alexandra is living in, but traveled to Oslo to attend a more elite school. It was quite a distance, and perhaps Haakon wanted to change that.
“I think maybe Haakon and Martha [Haakon's sister, Princess Martha Louise] felt wanted by the local community when they went to school, and taken into account when they chose the school for their children,” Se og Hørs reporter Kjell Arne Totland said to Side2.
Jansløkka was once attended by Ingrid Alexandra’s half brother, 13 year-old Marius.
The eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko returned from a six week stay in Ireland Saturday. Princess Mako, daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, was in the Emerald Isle to work on her English.
According to the Irish Times, Mako also studied 20th-century Irish literature, drama and Irish history at the University College of Dublin.
As part of her time in the country, the 18 year-old Princess visited such places as Glendalough, Newgrange, Dingle, Killarney and Belfast.
She also learned how to use a hurley and sliotar during a visit to Croke Park.
Tatsuo Kitagawa, Japan’s first secretary in Ireland, said: “We are very proud that Princess Mako came to study in Dublin.
“We understand that the Princess very much enjoyed her life in Ireland, especially the good hospitality. She appreciates the opportunity from Irish people to study here.”
Princess Mako began her studies at Tokyo’s International Christian University this year.
A young Norwegian girl will be going to a school later this year, located right down the street from her home. It is the neighborhood school, and all the young children who live nearby will be her classsmates.
Kongehuset.no
Only this little girl isn’t an ordinary one. She is Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and she may one day become Norway’s first reigning Queen.
The decision of her parents – Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit – to send their daughter to the local school, Jansløkka, near their palace in Skaugum which is outside of Oslo, breaks with royal tradition. Both Haakon and his father, King Harald V, also grew up in Skaugum, but were driven into Oslo to attend Smestad Elementary School.
The Crown Princely couple have always said they want their children to have as normal as a life as possible. Having young Ingrid Alexandra attend Jansløkka sure paves the way.
“We think it’s very nice that the Crown Princely couple chose to let their children go to the Jansløkka school. The school’s desire is to create the least possible fuss about just that,” said the rector of Contents B. Johansen.
Already, the Princess’ brother, Marius Borg Høiby, attends Jansløkka as a seventh grader.
Ingrid Alexandra will begin Jansløkka in late August.
On Friday, 3 year-old Prince Hisahito began the Japanese version of kindergarten at the state-run Ochanomizu University. This is a departure for a Japanese royal. Usually, they attend the exclusive private Gakushuin School, but Hisahito’s parents wanted him to interact with more children his age.
Arriving with his parents, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, the little Prince seemed excited to begin his first day of school. Dressed in his uniform, he was introduced to Akemi Miyazato, deputy director of the kindergarten. When Ms. Miyazato congratulated him on his entrance, Hisahito bowed and thanked her.
Also starting a new phase in her life on Friday was Hisahito’s cousin, Princess Aiko. The 8 year-old daughter of the Crown Princely couple began third grade at Gakushuin. She did not attend the opening ceremony for the school’s new term, but Aiko did go to a briefing session. She was brought to school by her mother, Crown Princess Masako.
Hisahito is the only male grandchild of Emperor Akihito. Because of laws which only allow males to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne, he is in line to it, unlike Aiko.
The elder daughter of Japan’s Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko attended the entrance ceremony at the International Christian University in suburban Tokyo on Friday.
www.yuko2ch.net
Princess Mako, 18, who recently graduated from Gakushuin’s high school just a couple of weeks ago, arrived on campus dressed in a dark suit and briefly spoke to reporters about her new academic phase.
“I’m mixed with joy and tension,” she said, giving Japan a rare chance to hear her voice anything.
Mako’s name was read out loud during the ceremony’s naming of the incoming freshmen students. The Princess is to be known as Akishinomiya Mako.
She is enrolled in the university’s liberal arts program. Classes begin on April 12th.
The International Christian University is a non-denominational school founded in 1949. The school has campuses all over the globe. It is meant to be where its students, both Japanese and international, will learn to live in a more globalized world. Each student signs the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights and focus on social issues during their time at ICU.
Given that she is the eldest grandchild of the Emperor, perhaps Princess Mako intends to make her mark on the world by attending this university.
The two daughters of Japan’s Prince Akishino have completed one stage of their academic life and are moving on to the next level.
On Monday, Princesses Mako, 18, and Kako, 15, graduated from the high and junior high schools of the exclusive Gakushuin school in Tokyo. Kako would now attend the high school while her big sister will attend the International Christian University in Tokyo starting in April.
But before she begins her studies, Princess Mako will be doing some field work with her father. Today, she joined him on a private trip to Laos, where Prince Akishino will study the relations between humans and wild chickens in hopes of understanding such illnesses as avian flu.
Originally, Akishino was going to first go to Bangkok but the protests in the capital of Thailand forced him to change his schedule due to security concerns.
Princess Aiko, the only child of the Japanese Crown Princely couple, returned to school Monday after missing several days last week because of anxieties brought on by bullies.
Aiko was brought to Gakushuin school by her mother, Crown Princess Masako in time for the fourth period classes, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
Last week, the Agency said that the 8 year-old royal felt stomach pains due to being “treated harshly” by the boys in her second grade class. It was a rare moment for the IHA to reveal anything private about the Imperial family.
The daughter of Japan’s Crown Prince and Princess has been missing several school days over fear of “rowdy” boys at her elementary school, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. Princess Aiko, 8, has suffered anxiety attacks and stomachaches due to this problem.
AFP/HO/File/Imperial Household Agency
Issei Nomura, a top aide for Crown Prince Naruhito, said Aiko left Gakushuin Primary School early on Tuesday and has not been back since. Nomura explained that Gakushuin has learned that the students have been “treated harshly” by several boys. Those students include the Princess.
According to Kyodo News Agency, a school director told reporters Aiko had been frightened on Tuesday when one of the boys had run out of a classroom, which “must have reminded her of the rowdy behavior of several boys in the past, who may have thrown things and made her uneasy.”
Nomura also added that the Imperial Palace asked the school to deal with the matter.
This revelation may come as a surprise to some Japanese. Before World War II, the Imperial family were seen as deities. Princess Aiko’s great-grandfather, Emperor Hirohito, was at one point worshiped as a living god.
With her two long braids flying through the air, Princess Aiko of Japan was every bit the athlete as she participated in her school’s Autumn Athletic Festival on Saturday.
The daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako competed in the relay race, in which she had to pass a baton to a fellow student. Her team was struggling until Aiko saved the day by running quite fast when it was her turn. Her dedication to winning the race paid off, as she helped her team win the relay.
Aiko’s parents sat with the rest and had cheered her on as she ran. They certainly congratulated the Princess when the race was over.
Princess Aiko attends the Gakushuin School in Tokyo. She is the only child of Naruhito and Masako, and cannot inherit the throne because she is female.
Recent Comments