Science and Engineering for Social Change

Princess Alexia will study at University College London (UCL). She will start there in September on a bachelor’s degree in science and engineering for social change, the government’s press service announced.

The princess has enrolled at several places, including the University of Groningen. She said last month that she was still struggling with the pressure of choosing.

The study Alexia chose is consistent with that. Website From UCL on “Solving Societal Challenges”. Students study a range of subjects from technical, social and political perspectives. According to the university, the interdisciplinary knowledge they gain “is popular with business, charities, government and policy professionals”.

Alexia completed her pre-university qualification, the International Baccalaureate, in Wales last year. The 19-year-old princess is attending the United World College of the Atlantic, where her father King Willem-Alexander also used to go.

Last year the princess took a gap year. During King’s Day in Emmen, she revealed a few details for the first time. She said she was able to travel and “get to know many different cultures”. She also said she “worked a little bit”.

Alexia is not the only one of the three princesses who has chosen to spend time abroad. Last year, Princess Ariane decided to continue her high school years in Italy. She attends the United World College (UWC) Adriatic, near Trieste.

Princess Amalia studied in Spain last year because of the threats. She had more freedom of movement there. She has now returned to Amsterdam, where she is studying politics, psychology, law and economics at UvA.

Amalia and Alexia said at a photo shoot in June that they have less freedom than their peers because they can be photographed or filmed everywhere they go. According to Alexia, “It’s a modern age where everyone has a camera with them” and videos and photos are easily shared online.

She realizes that people recognize her and that it’s “interesting” to them. “But I feel limited by it.” Alexia says she feels like she can’t do what her peers do because she’s afraid “it’ll all be on social media the next day.”

These concerns are not unfounded: In 2022, private videos of the princess were leaked on TikTok, and a year earlier, a photo of the princess partying was leaked. The state media agency insists that “the princess’s study time is considered private.”