Princesses on holiday

Is it up to royalty to encourage tourists to visit their home country?  As the traditional holiday month of August gets under way, kings, queens, princes and princesses are heading off for a break and many of them are choosing to take their hols close to home.  The pictures certainly look pretty and give a namecheck to the chosen resort - but what impact does the royal effect have on holiday destinations?

It partly depends on where they stay.  The Spanish royals have just arrived at their summer residence in Mallorca where traditionally they spend a few weeks as the hot days of August take their toll on the temperatures in Madrid. The popular press in Spain is now all a twitter for a glimpse of Princess Letizia with her two little girls, Leonor and Sofia.  Dad Felipe is already there, sailing and sunning alongside his sisters, Elena and Cristina and mum Sofia.

A rare photo of the Spanish royal sisters, Elena and Cristina, together. 

Some critics point out that a bit of a holiday in a nice palace isn't really doing that much to entice visitors to the area but then the European press has been full in recent days of photos of Queen Sofia with six of her grandchildren out and about on the island, enjoying the sun and the sea.  Is that publicity a tourist board just couldn't afford in its wildest dreams?

 

Queen Sofia of Spain has her hands full now her grandsons are getting grown up

 

Likewise the Danish royal family - they've recently decamped to their palace at Grasten and treated us to a lovely set of snaps into the bargain.  But while their actual vacations may be behind closed palace gates, just a mention of the location can work wonders for its international image.  And how happy must Legoland have been to welcome the Crown Prince and Princess along with their four small children the other day when Frederick an Mary took the kids on one of those days out all parents know have to be done but secretly dread.  The crowds, the heat, the constant asking for things...

 

 



Princess Mary of Denmark with her youngest son, Vincent, in his pushchair at Legoland...the present in his hands indicates that at least one trip to the gift shop has already taken place

 

The new king and queen of the Netherlands have already been to their summer home in Wassenaar and the royal estates there get a special mention on the official website for tourism in Holland showing that a regal link can really help when it comes to boosting trade.

 

 

 

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima with the Princess of Orange and Princesses Alexia and Ariane start their summer break at home

(photo Dutch Royal Household)

 

Fellow rookie monarchs, Philippe and Mathilde, went off to France for a short break while the Norwegian royals have been busy marking 40th birthdays in recent days.  But sticking to tradition, Elizabeth II is now in Balmoral although tourism experts in the UK reckon that Bucklebury in Berkshire is more likely to get a boost through royal connections this year as Kate has gone home to mum and dad in the village with baby George.  It might not be a holiday, looking after a new born baby, but the fact that the village is now where the future King of England spent his first weeks of life means it will be attracting holidaymakers for years to come.

 

 

St Mary's Church, Bucklebury - the village where a future king of England has started his life