Fans of European royalty held their breath in anticipation, hoping for what seemed to be the first romantic story in half a century between members of ruling dynasties. However, the budding relationship between Belgium’s Crown Princess Elisabeth and Prince Georg of Liechtenstein appears to have ended before it even began. The royal intrigue began swirling after a photo went viral online, allegedly showing the future Queen of Belgians and the third in line to the throne of the Central European principality. The photo showed the pair embracing and smiling happily, supposedly somewhere on the Greek coast. The image initially appeared on an Instagram account linked to Prince Georg, the second son of Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie.
When journalists reached out to the Belgian royal court’s press service for comment, the response from King Philippe and Queen Mathilde’s team was surprisingly ambiguous. The royals’ representatives indicated that they had seen the photo but could not say with certainty whether it was genuine or created with artificial intelligence. They also added that they do not comment on personal matters, thereby not directly denying the possibility of a romantic relationship between the young people. Amid this, Belgian royal family expert Wim Dehandschutter fueled further speculation by telling a magazine that the royal families are very close. He explained that their parents are not only colleagues but also friends and, in some ways, even family, suggesting that Elisabeth and Georg have known each other since childhood—making a possible romance between them not so far-fetched.
Against the backdrop of the restrained reaction from their Belgian counterparts, the private secretary to Hereditary Prince Alois decided to put an end to the rumors, releasing a strong statement to the media. The message stated that the person depicted in the photograph is not His Serene Highness Prince Georg of Liechtenstein. The text explicitly pointed out that the image was a forgery created with artificial intelligence. In this way, the Princely House of Liechtenstein brought full clarity to the situation.
If it turns out that the photo is indeed a fake and Elizabeth and George are just friends, then officially, nothing is known about the Belgian heiress’s personal life. Last year, the press in her country linked her to Nicholas Dodd, a 20-year-old Briton with whom she studied at Oxford. However, one of the young man’s relatives dispelled these rumors, clarifying that they simply attend the same university and study together, like many of their friends. As for Prince George, he was in a relationship for at least a year with Princess Nives von der Leyen. She confirmed their relationship by posting photos together on her TikTok. Although their romantic involvement ended long ago, she, along with her older sister Cecilia, attended the recent wedding of George’s sister, Princess Maria Carolina.
This story may serve as another warning about the risks of photos created or altered with AI. It seems we will have to wait even longer for a new marriage between members of Europe’s reigning royal families, which is becoming increasingly rare. The last such union took place in 1982, when George’s cousin, Prince Nicholas, married Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the younger brother of the Duchess of Brabant, Prince Emmanuel, responded to the rumors on his Instagram, leaving a brief message: “Respect privacy. Show empathy. It’s not that hard!”
