Romance Rumors are Dashed After "Clumsy" Photo of the Future Queen of Belgium Causes AI Controversy

An image of Elisabeth and a prince from "an unknown but prestigious royal family" went viral.

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium smiling in a pink dress and headband; Prince Georg of Liechtenstein wearing a suit and pink tie
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium is not only the country's future queen, but she's a Harvard student, too. The 23-year-old princess is currently continuing her studies in Boston before she one day takes the throne, but rumors have been swirling that she might have found a love connection in the form of another European royal.

A photo of Elisabeth posing with Prince Georg of Liechtenstein has been making the rounds on social media, showing the princess in a white sundress with her arm around Georg. According to Belgian royal reporter Wim Dehandschutter on X, the Belgian palace told him on September 28, "We saw the photo too. We don’t know if it’s real or AI. We aren’t commenting [on private matters]."

Meanwhile, Elisabeth's brother, Prince Emmanuel, reportedly shared an Instagram post reading, "Respect privacy. Show empathy. It’s not that complicated!" On September 29, Dehandschutter shared a new update, posting that Georg's father's private secretary shared, "The picture [with Belgian Crown Princess Elisabeth] does not depict His Royal Highness Prince Georg. It is a fake picture created by AI."

Prince Georg of Liechtenstein wearing a suit and tie smiling walking down a staircase on the arm of a woman in a green dress and hat

Prince Georg is seen at the wedding of his sister, Princess Marie Caroline of Liechtenstein, while escorting Emilia Maduro Vollmer, sister of the groom.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Elisabeth wearing a hot pink maxi dress with a cape walking in front of palm trees

Princess Elisabeth is seen at the Jordanian royal wedding in 2023.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The royal journalist previously told Hello! "King Philippe and certainly Queen Mathilde guard their privacy like lions, and even more so that of their children. And the Liechtensteiners are also legendary secretive. They're an unknown but prestigious royal family and one of the wealthiest."

He continued, "Why would Elisabeth and Georg have any interest in leaking their relationship? And then in such a clumsy way, via a private photo that's never completely private on Instagram?"

Prince Georg, 26, works in business development and is third in line to the throne as the third child of Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein. Even though the photo appears to have been faked, Dehandschutter told Hello! that Elisabeth and Georg would be "a wonderful royal match" if they were to date.

"Their parents are colleagues, friends, in some way family," he said. "Elisabeth and Georg are believed to have known each other since childhood."

Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.