A round up of all the news from Europe's royal houses for the week ending September 14th 2013...
United Kingdom
Prince William announced that he is to leave the Armed Forces and dedicate himself to an increasing number of royal duties with a special emphasis on environmental and conservation work. The prince, who has been in the Army and the RAF for seven years, has now completed his time as a search and rescue pilot and, following the Cambridge's move to Kensington Palace, he will be taking on a much higher profile royal role.
Prince William's active service in the Armed Forces is over after he announced he was ending his military career and taking on more royal duties
The real star of the Windsor show this week was William's first born. Prince George stayed tucked up in Kensington Palace but dominated events without even being seen. First of all, proud uncle Harry beamed with pride as he told those attending the WellChild Awards that he'd just seen his nephew smile for the first time. Harry is patron of the charity and the annual awards celebrate youngsters facing challenges in their lives as well as those who care for them.
Prince Harry with six year old Jonathan He and his dad at the Well Child awards in London
And George was also making headlines the following night when his mum, the Duchess of Cambridge, went back to work. Seven weeks after becoming a mother, Kate made her first official appearance at the Tusk Trust Awards recognizing achievements in conservation in Africa. Husband, William, said their first big evening out as new parents was pretty daunting while the Duchess was given five star reviews all round for her glittering Jenny Packham evening dress.
Kate and William at the Tusk Trust Awards in London
William and Harry joined forces in the week to help raise funds for a charity day held in memory of 658 people killed during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre on 9/11. At the BGC day, the princes took part in trading on the floor and set a record for the biggest forward foreign exchange deal.
Prince Harry accused his brother of indulging in baby talk and flirting as they got a taste of city trading to raise money for charity
Their dad, Charles, spent much of the week promoting British business. On Wednesday he opened the new offices of The Prince's Trust, his foundation which helps young people. He also cut the ribbon on the Trust's new shop which will sell goods made by entrepreneurs helped into business by the organization. He was kept waiting at the Tomorrow Store by rock star Rod Stewart and his wife, Penny Lancaster. The couple are patrons of the Prince's Trust and were held up by traffic on their way to the opening.
Later that afternoon Prince Charles held a reception for businesspeople over the age of 50 who have been helped by another of his initiatives to support entrepreneurs. And in the evening he was at the Youth Business International reception held at St James' Palace. This week also saw the prince announce that his charities have helped over 80,000 young people set up in business since 1983 and provided business support to 395,000 people. And at the end of the week the Prince also marked the 21st birthday of one of his own businesses when Duchy's Originals marked its anniversary.
And at the end of the week, Prince Charles hosted another evening reception for another of his charities. Mosaic provides mentoring for young people to become more involved in their local communities. He was joined by Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan who also supports the project.
Model Penny Lancaster towers over Prince Charles and her husband, rock star Rod Stewart, at the opening of The Prince's Trust Tomorrow Store in London
Later that afternoon Prince Charles held a reception for businesspeople over the age of 50 who have been helped by another of his initiatives to support entrepreneurs. And in the evening he was at the Youth Business International reception held at St James' Palace. This week also saw the prince announce that his charities have helped over 80,000 young people set up in business since 1983 and provided business support to 395,000 people. And at the end of the week the Prince also marked the 21st birthday of one of his own businesses when Duchy's Originals marked its anniversary.
Prince Charles marks the 21st anniversary of his firm, Duchy's Original, by tucking into one of its original products, an oat biscuit
And at the end of the week, Prince Charles hosted another evening reception for another of his charities. Mosaic provides mentoring for young people to become more involved in their local communities. He was joined by Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan who also supports the project.
Prince Charles and Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan with some of the people who have benefitted from the mentoring offered by the charity, Mosaic
Charles was joined by Camilla and his two sons at the funeral of his close friend, Hugh Van Cutsem, in the week. Also in the last seven days, the Duchess of Cornwall held an audience with the Chief Executive of the charity, Barnados, of which she is honorary president. Anne Marie Carrie is giving up her role and was talking to the duchess about the charity's work before leaving. The Duchess also held an audience with MP Hugo Swire as part of her work with the West of England School and College Foundation. And she joined Prince Charles as he opened the Bentley Priory Museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain. Charles' grandfather, George VI, was once patron of the organization.
Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Musuem provided a fly past for its royal visitors who officially opened it on September 12th 2013
Princess Eugenie is moving to America within weeks as her new jobs with an art auction house in New York is set to start as the autumn moves in. And her big sister, Beatrice, took on the role of patron to the Broomwood African Education Foundation which is currently building a school in Ethiopia. Their father, the Duke of York, was in Qatar for two days where he attended a dinner for representatives from University College London Qatar in Doha. He also paid visits to the Prime Minister of Qatar and The Consort of The Father Emir of the State of Qatar and attended a reception at the British Embassy. Back in England he hosted a reception for the Mosaic charity and gave a dinner for Rear Admiral Umio Otsuka of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. And the golf loving Duke ended the week with a trip to the The Duke of York Young Champions Trophy at the Royal St. George's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent.
Prince Andrew spent part of the week on a trip to Qatar
On her return from Buenos Aires, the Princess Royal attended an exhibition called "the Horse in Art 2013" in support of the Injured Jockeys Fund of which she is patron. And the princess also attended the International Dragon World Championships at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy as patron of the International Dragon Class World Championships 2013. The Earl of Wessex went to see the London Regiment at Thetford in Norfolk in his role as their honorary colonel. The earl wen to the attended the Best of British Gala in central London and held several meetings in his capacity as Patron of the British Paralympic Association and as a patron of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. As the week came to an end, he spent a day in Sheffield where he visited several big employers in the area, including Tata Steel, and went to a dinner to commemorate the Battle of Britain.
The Countess of Wessex at a photography competition on September 10th 2013
The Countess of Wessex began the week judging a photography competition at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in central London. She also gave an official farewell to the director of nursing at the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, of which she is colonel-in-chief. Colonel Peter Childerley is retiring and the countess also held an audience with the new director, Colonel David Bates. The Countess was also in the north of England visiting Cumbria where she attended the Westmorland Country Show - she is patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations. And she spent some time in Scotland as well going to a ram sale in Roxburghshire in her capacity as patron of the Celebrations of the Border Union Agricultural Society.
Another image of the Countess of Wessex's visit to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
The Duke of Gloucester opened a new hospital in Finchley in north London and attended events held by two organisations of which he is patron - the Canine Partners for Independence and the Japan Society. His wife, who is colonel in chief of The Bermuda Regiment met with the Governor General of Bermuda. The Duchess of Gloucester also attended a gala dinner for the charity, Prostate Cancer. And she spent several days in Croatia where she watched the Davis Cup ties - she is Honorary President of the Lawn Tennis Association. The Duke of Kent attended a regimental gathering for the Royal Scots Guards at Catterick - he is their Colonel. And as patron of the Hanover Band he attended a dinner and concert.
Prince George of Cambridge has now met his great grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh
The Queen continues her holiday at Balmoral with Prince Philip but at the end of the week it was George bringing them in to the headlines as well as the little boy born to wear her crown popped up to Balmoral for a week with his parents giving them a first chance to introduce him to his great grandfather.
Norway
The youngest generation of the royal family in Norway made the headlines this week as well as Princess Ingrid Alexandra continued her introduction to public life by visiting the Environment House in Oslo with her parents. They were given a tour of the work going on there which covers a wide range of environmental issues. Then the princess gave her parents a lesson in how to make badges as they all got down to some arts and crafts at the end of the visit.
Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra at the Environment House in Oslo
More crafts for the Crown Princess as Mette-Marit was in Paris this week to open an exhibition of Norwegian arts at a fair in the city. Revelations will run every other year with a focus on a different country each time and Norway is centre stage for 2013.
Mette-Marit of Norway at the Grand Palais in Paris where she saw Norwegian crafts featured in a new, biennial fair
Crown Prince Haakon was in a school in Heggen for another of is workshops as part of the Dignity Day programme. The scheme aims to give young people encouragement in treating everyone with dignity and in October there will be a global event.
Prince Haakon listens as pupils share their experiences of treating others at a school in Heggen
Belgium
The new king and queen continued their tour of the country with a visit to Wavre on September 10th. This installment of the Joyeuses Entrees pulled in a crowd of several thousand who were delighted when Philippe and Mathilde followed tradition and patted the statue of the Maca - the little boy who tried to climb the city walls. Rubbing the statue is said to bring good luck.
And Maca makes three. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde rub Wavre's famous statue on their visit
King Philippe also welcomed a foreign head of state for the first time when the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite, met him at Laeken for bilateral talks focusing in part on economic collaboration. Lithuania currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and the king and the president also attended a concert to mark the presidency in Brussels.
King Philippe of the Belgians with the president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite
The king also held several audiences including one with the president of the Walloon parliament, Patrick Dupriez, and his first official audience with Belgian Prime Minister, Elio di Rupo.
The king and the prime minister of Belgium at an official audience
Queen Mathilde visited a new exhibition on Rubens on September 13th in Lens in France where she met several young Belgian art historians and saw several of the pieces loaned to the display by Belgian museums.
Queen Mathilde at the Rubens exhibition in Lens
Princess Astrid attended a conference on home care and rehabilitation hosted by the organisation, Verpleeginrichting De Dennen, to mark its centenary. And she also attended an international conference on dealing with leprosy organised by the Damien Group and held for the first time in Belgium.
Princess Astrid of Belgium attended two conferences this week
Meanwhile, the Belgian news channel, RTL, reported that the official portraits of the new king and queen won't be ready until October this year at the earliest meaning that the pictures of the newly abdicated king and his consort, Albert II and Paola, will remain in official buildings for another month at least.
The Netherlands
King Willem-Alexander began his week with a visit to a project which aims to provide birthday celebrations for the 60,000 children aged between 4 and 12 in the Netherlands who don't get a homemade celebration because they just can't afford it. The King saw how special packages containing cards, cakes and presents are put together.
Making birthdays special for children who might otherwise miss out - King Willem-Alexander finds out about a programme to help make sure all birthdays are celebrated
But most of his work this week was connected with receiving ambassadors from different countries at the palace in The Hague. He received the credentials of the representatives of Bolivia, Sudan and the United Kingdom and granted farewell audiences to the ambassadors of Ghana and Brazil during the week. Meanwhile, Queen Maxima was in Malaysia where she gave a speech to the Global Policy Forum of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. The Alliance aims to promote access to financial services for those who might not otherwise be able to afford them.
Queen Maxima in Malaysia before her speech on September 11th 2013
On her return, Queen Maxima opened a new museum in Leeuwarden dedicted to Frisian culture. The Fries musuem will have four different exhibitions including one about resistance during World War Two.
Ribbons flutter in the breeze after the royal cutting at the opening of the Fries museum
Princess Beatriz opened a new wind farm in Zeewolde which will provide power for up to 88,000 homes with its 36 turbines. And Princess Laurentien opened the ninth annual Literacy week which aims to improve standards of reading and writing.
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands is helped by children at the official opening of a wind farm in Zeewolde
And the royal family announced that the memorial service for Prince Friso is to be held on November 2nd at the Old Church in Delft, the place where he married Mabel.
Spain
Queen Sofia was in New York at the beginning of the week where she accepted the Franklin D. Roosevelt award for disability awareness on behalf of Spain. She also met the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, and took part in a working breakfast about safe water provision around the world.
Queen Sofia of Spain with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, on her vist to New York on September 9th 2013
And she was on hand to watch Rafael Nadal win the US Open men's title in four sets, beating Novak Djokovic. The queen then did another of her now famous trips backstage to congratulate Nadal.
The Queen of Spain congratulates Rafael Nadal after his victory in the US Open final. He now holds two of the four Grand Slam titles having won the French Open earlier this year
Back in Madrid, later in the week the queen opened an art exhibition in the Royal Palace which is focusing on works from another royal location, El Escorial, and is called 'From El Bosco to Titian'. And she attended a concert given by the Florence Maggio Musicale at the National Music Auditorium in Madrid.
Queen Sofia at the concert in Madrid on September 14th 2013
The king gave a series of audiences throughout the week. He met the Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce Lifante on September 11th 2013 and the next day held meetings with several different parts of the military. He met General Jose Rodrigo Rodrigo who was giving up the chancellorship of the military order of San Hermengildo and also held an audience with his successor, General Francisco Jose Garcia de la Vega.
King Juan Carlos with General Rodrigo Rodrigo and General Garcia de la Vega at the Zarzuela Palace on September 12th 2013
On the same day he met group of generals and viceadmirals from the army, navy, air force and civil guard. And then it was time to talk to the Foreign Minister of Portugal, Rui Machete, and the President of Andalucía, Susana Diaz Pacheco.
King Juan Carlos met the president ofAndalucia, Susana Diaz Pacheco, on September 12th 2013
Prince Felipe on a submarine during his visit to Cartagena on September 12th 2013
Princess Letizia also gave three audiences on September 10th meeting representatives from the IberoAmerican Federation for Downs Syndrome, organisers of a scheme to encourage more young people to stay in education and prize winners in a festival for children's communication.
Princess Letizia at her audience in the Zarzuela Palace with organisers of a scheme to get more youngsters to carry on with education for as long as possible - September11th 2013
Denmark
Queen Margrethe II visited the UNESCO World Heritage site at Jelling on September 10th where two runes and a medieval church are listed. She opened a new monument area which shows off the green spaces near by more effectively.
Queen Margrethe II at one of the two rune stones at the Monument site in Jelling which she visited on September 10th 2013
Crown Princess Mary held a special meeting of the Foundation that bears her name where the work of the past few months was discussed and results of that work were analysed. The working event, at the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, looked in depth at issues linked to language.
Princess Mary of Denmark talks to some of those involved in the Mary Foundation
And the princess spent the last part of the week on a training exercise on Barnholm island with the Home Guard which she joined in 2008. The top up training, held every year, involved water exercises and abseiling.
Crown Princess Mary on a training exercise with the Danish Home Guard in September 2013
The Queen and Prince Henrik spent the last part of the week preparing for the state visit of the President of Vietnam, due to start on September 18th 2013. They gave a press briefing to journalists ahead of the event - perched on a brightly coloured sofa and taking questions.
Sofa monarchy in action - Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik take questions ahead of the state visit by the president of Vietnam due to start on September 18th 2013
Sweden
The jubilee celebrations of King Carl XVI Gustaf dominated the week in Sweden. The king and queen completed their tour of 21 counties around the country with visits to Jämtland where they spent some time at the home of the composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at the composer's home in Jämtland which they visited on September 11th 2013
The day before they had been to Dalarna county where they toured a distribution warehouse belonging to Clas Olhson which has over 100 stores throughout Sweden, Norway and Finland.
A high vis jacket for a highly visible king - Carl XVI Gustaf on his penultimate stop on his tour of Sweden with a trip to Dalarna on September 10th 2013
There were some non jubilee events. Prince Daniel attended the first edition of a sports day named after him. The Prince Daniel Sports Day at the Haga Park in Stockholm is aimed at children aged between 6 and 12 in the hope more of them will become involved in sport and healthy living. Crown Princess Victoria attended a seminar held in memory of the murdered politician, Anna Lindh. The event, in Stockholm, focused on the EU's role in peace and democracy.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at the seminar held in memory of Anna Lindh at Sweden's parliament on September 11th 2013
On Thursday 12th September, the king and queen attended the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions which was held at Stockholm City Hall. But then it was on to anniversaries of their own. On Friday 13th September, the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the accession of King Carl XVI Gustaf got under way as the whole royal family attended the opening of an exhibition at the Royal Palace charting the king's four decades on the throne.
The Swedish royal family at the opening of the exhibition marking the king's jubilee which will be pen at Stockholm's royal palace until February 2014
And on Saturday 14th September the whole family was present for a dinner hosted by the government and a concert given by parliament to mark the king's jubilee.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at the concert given to mark the king's four decades on the throne
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