Princesses practising being royal

Learning to wave is something that all children do fairly early on.  But when it's going to be one of the biggest parts of your entire life then a few more lessons on doing it well are needed.  Royal children wave a lot.  At first, tentatively and then, as they become more confident at doing it, almost absent mindedly.  Leonor and Sofia got a helping hand, quite literally, from dad on Monday when they gave a group wave along with the Prince of Asturias while on a visit to La Granja de Esporles in Mallorca.

 

Felipe leads the way, showing his infantas how to wave for the cameras

(photo Casa Real/ Borja)

 

Leonor looked most comfortable with the royal wave, Sofia a little more cautious but then she is eighteen months younger - if only a few centimetres shorter than the future queen.  Other future monarchs have had a bit of waving practice this year.  Europe's youngest heir to the throne, Catharina-Amalia, had the activity to a tee after a day of frantic waving on April 30th when her dad became the first king of the Netherlands for over 100 years. 

 

 

Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, far left in this photo, gives her first wave as heir to the throne

 





There's an art to waving that comes in time.  We all know a good royal wave when we see one.  It has to have some movement but just enough to allow the hand to be visible rather than a blur whizzing past on its own timeframe.  Still but not static.  Elisabeth of Belgium as the oldest of the new generation of royals has had the most time to practice and her efforts on the da she became heiress to her country's throne shows that, as with most things, practice in the royal wave department really pays off.

 

 

A calm salute in the centre of the new royal family - Elisabeth, in red, on the day her father became King of the Belgians

 

It's an art you can never start too early and Princess Estelle of Sweden has come close to a few royal waves, throwing a flag around at  a sports event and doing a few nice lunges towards the many cameras that greet her on her public outings. 

 

 

Estelle of Sweden in a bit of a lean that could become a wave

 

But Prince George of Cambridge has to win the prize for earliest royal wave.  OK, we all know that the barely day old prince was just wiggling his fingers as he made his first appearance in mum's arms on the steps of St Mary's, Paddington on July 23rd 2013.  But it looked like a wave.  Those hands will be wiggling in the air for decades to come.  And just like Leonor and Sofia, he's got two very experienced royal wavers to show him just how it's done.