A LAD from Rochdale has been linked with Belgium’s future Queen after they grew close on their history degree.
Nick Dodd and Crown Princess Elisabeth are rumoured to have begun dating at Oxford University.
Belgian media reports their relationship “transcends friendship”. One paper said Nick, 20, and the Duchess of Brabant are getting along “remarkably”.
A source added: “There was an instant connection.”
Elisabeth — eldest daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde — will be Belgium’s first female monarch and met Charles before his coronation.
She went to a £35,000-a-year school in Brussels, while Nick excelled in his A-levels at Rochdale Sixth Form.
Out of term time he lives with his mum in a £300,000 terraced home after losing dad Andrew, 44, to cancer in 2007, when he was just four.
Belgian media described Nick as a “citizen boy”, but “probably of wealthy descent” and an “excellent choice” as a potential husband.
On getting accepted to Oxford in 2021 he said: “I wanted the opportunity to study at a world-class university.
“I’d recommend applying even if you have doubts in yourself.
“You have nothing to lose.”
Yesterday one of Nick’s relatives played down the rumour saying: “They just study together.”
