Meet the 12 'next gen' European royal ladies stepping into the spotlight

Princess Estelle, the eldest daughter of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, spent a month during summer 2026 enrolled on a language immersion programme in Colorado. Kept under strict confidentiality, the trip involved studying full-time English while living in the Rocky Mountains.

This educational experience forms part of a wider plan to prepare her for her future role as Sweden's head of state, as she is second in line to the throne behind her mother. Her royal profile has steadily increased in recent years, and she currently attends the private Campus Manilla School on the royal island of Djurgården in Stockholm.

Princess Leonor is the eldest child of Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain, and strongly resembles her mother with her flowing hair and refined sense of style.

In September 2026, Princess Leonor began a four-year degree in Political Science at Carlos III University of Madrid. She was admitted through the selection process for students who completed their secondary education abroad. In 2023, she graduated from UWC Atlantic, an international boarding school in Wales, where she received her high school diploma.

Her arrival at university follows three years of military training, which she began in August 2023 and completed across each branch of Spain's armed forces.

Leonor's younger sibling, Infanta Sofía, also shares her mother's long locks and turned 19 on 29 April 2026.

Sofía is currently undertaking her second year of university in Paris, studying for a degree in Political Science and International Relations. Her first year was spent at the Lisbon campus of Forward College, a private institution affiliated with the University of London. Boris Walbaum, founder and president of Forward College, revealed details about Sofía's enrolment in an interview with Paris Match, stating that she applied under her legal name, Sofía de Borbón Ortiz, rather than using her royal status. Her third year of studies will take her to Berlin, meaning she will have studied in three European capitals.

Prior to university, Sofía graduated with her International Baccalaureate from UWC Atlantic College in Wales in 2024, just as her older sister did. However, she did not undertake military training like Leonor.

Catharina-Amalia is the eldest of Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander's three children, and graduated in July 2025 with a three-year degree in Politics, Psychology, Law, and Economics from the University of Amsterdam.

Her next step in education involved officially joining the Royal Netherlands Air Force, making her the first Dutch royal woman to train as a military reservist. She is combining her training with a second bachelor's degree in Dutch Law at the University of Amsterdam, which she began in July 2025. In 2026, she completed her general military training, earning the rank of corporal.

Catharina-Amalia has also steadily increased her royal engagements. In 2025, she accompanied her mother on a visit to the United States, following their official tour of the Dutch Caribbean in 2023. Prior to this, the Princess made her tiara debut at Princess Ingrid Alexandra's 18th birthday gala in 2022.

Queen Máxima's middle daughter, Princess Alexia, is currently studying Civil Engineering at University College London, having enrolled in September 2024. She originally began her degree in Science and Engineering for Social Change before switching courses.

Alexia graduated from UWC Atlantic College in Wales in 2023. While she is gradually being introduced to royal duties like her elder sister, her public appearances remain infrequent while she is based in London for her studies.

According to the Dutch royal website, Alexia enjoys horse riding, hockey, playing the piano, and singing.

Princess Ariane is the youngest of Queen Máxima's daughters and officially began her university studies in August 2026. She is studying Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology—an interest likely inspired by her father, who is a trained pilot.

Ariane graduated from UWC Adriatic in Italy in 2025, taking a gap year before starting university. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing and playing the piano.

Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, is regularly seen at official events alongside her parents and her brother, James.

She is an avid carriage driver, a sport she shared with her late grandfather, Prince Philip. In 2022, she drove one of his carriages before Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

In July 2026, Louise graduated from the University of St Andrews with a degree in English Literature and International Relations.

Princess Isabella, daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, is another young royal coming into the public spotlight. She resides with her family at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen and the Chancellery House at Fredensborg Palace.

On 23 June 2026, she graduated from the Øregård Gymnasium in Hellerup, the same school attended by her father and her uncle, Prince Joachim. In August 2026, she began an 11-month military service with the Guard Hussar Regiment, making her one of the first young women to enter Denmark's extended conscription programme.

Princess Elisabeth, the eldest daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, completed a two-year Master's in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2025. This followed her undergraduate studies in History and Politics at Lincoln College, University of Oxford.

Like several of her European peers, she completed her International Baccalaureate at UWC Atlantic College in Wales, before completing a year in Social and Military Sciences at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium.

The Belgian royal website notes that Princess Elisabeth is fluent in Dutch, French, German, and English, and enjoys skiing, rowing, sailing, and walking in nature. With her postgraduate studies complete, her path towards her future role as queen is clear.

Queen Mathilde's youngest daughter, Princess Eléonore, is studying Liberal Arts and Sciences at University College Utrecht (UCU), the honours college of Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Eléonore made her royal tiara debut at a state banquet celebrating the Japanese state visit at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels.

She completed her International Baccalaureate at the International School of Brussels in 2024. Eléonore is fluent in French, Dutch, and English, plays the violin, and enjoys skiing, sailing, and tennis.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra, daughter of King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit, began a new chapter in August 2026 as an exchange student at the University of Oslo. She will spend the autumn term in Norway while continuing the Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences and Arts (focusing on International Relations and Political Economy) that she started at the University of Sydney in 2025.

Prior to higher education, she completed 12 months of military training between January 2024 and 2025.

She made her grand tiara debut shortly after her 18th birthday. Following the death of King Harald V, her position was updated to crown heir, prompting the royal house to navigate balancing her university studies with her increasing official duties.

The eldest of the next-generation royal ladies, Princess Maria-Olympia is the only daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.

A chic fashion model, Maria-Olympia is a regular on the international social circuit, attending high-profile events such as Paris Fashion Week in 2026. She was previously in a relationship with aristocratic property developer Peregrine Pearson, before the couple reportedly split in 2023.