Royal votes for the Olympics

Prince Felipe of Spain might be pinning his hopes to a big win for the Madrid 2020 Olympic bid but he isn't the only royal in Buenos Aires ahead of the vote - and I'm not talking about Letizia turning up to join him ahead of the big envelope opening on Saturday September 7th 2013.  Because as the prince continues his lobbying for the Games to return to Spain for the first time since Barcelona 1992 he will have seen some friendly faces in the audience of all those presentations and Q&A sessions he's been taking part in.  Five of the members of the IOC who decide on the venue are Euroean royals.

 

The Princess of Asturias arrives in Buenos Aires ahead of the final decision on where the Olympic Games of 2020 will be held. Madrid's bid, headed by her husband, is tipped to win

 

These princes and princesses get a big say in where the biggest sporting event on Earth will take place in seven years' time.  But there's no king involved in the decision - Willem-Alexander had been a member of the committee for several years but gave up his place when he took over as monarch of the Netherlands in April.  But he will be there, possibly with Queen Maxima, as the votes are cast.

 

Willem-Alexander gave up his membership of the International Olympic Committee to spend more time with his kingdom

There is a sovereign prince though.  Prince Albert II of Monaco has had a say in where the youth of the world gather every four years since 1985.  The prince took part in the bobsleigh in seemingly twenty or thirty Winter Olympics - just look at his biography on the IOC webpage.  And he certainly lists far more sports of interest to him than any other royal member of the IOC.  And of course this time round he's had advice from a summer Olympian over the dinner table.  Princess Charlene swam for South Africa in the Sydney games of 2000 but the royal couple will be hoping that the combination of their sporting genes will produce stronger results for any future child.  Neither of them won a medal.

 

Albert of Monaco has taken part in multiple Winter Olympics - on Saturday 7th September he will help decide where the 2020 games take place

There's also a ruling hereditary duke on the committee as Henri of Luxembourg has been a member of the IOC since 1998.  He lists his favourite sports as swimming, sailing and water skiing but there's no Olympic past for this royal deciding the future of the Games.  He'll be hoping there's no major recounting as he has to get back to his duchy to oversee final preparations for the marriage of his second son, Felix, is due to get married on September 21st.

 

Henri of Luxembourg is an old hand at picking cities for Olympic Games

Newest royal kid on the voting block is Prince Frederik of Denmark who was elected to the IOC in 2009 and who is casting his ballot for the first time.  The Olympics have a pretty special place in Frederik's heart - if the IOC hadn't plumped for Sydney as the 2000 host city then he might never have met Mary.  And he's good pals with Felipe, already joking that he's stopped taking the prince's calls about Madrid 2020. 

Crown Prince Frederik will need to pick his Olympic venue carefully - by 2020, his eldest son Christian will be 15 and looking for a  girlfriend and we all know what happens when Danish princes go to the Olympic Games

 

The longest serving royal on the committee is Princess Anne.  She's been involved since 1976 - joining not long after her own appearance at the Montreal Games.  She didn't make the podium but did get to present her daughter, Zara, with a silver medal when she and her colleagues came in second in the team eventing at London 2012.  The Princess Royal has worked for decades to promote sport in the UK and has lent her support actively to the charity Riding for the Disabled for many years.  And she's one of the most enduring members of the IOC so will be able to keep the youngsters right if the voting starts to drag on.

 

The Princess Royal presents Zara Philipps with her silver medal at London 2012

One more princess rounds off the complement of European regal voters on the IOC.  Princess Nora of Liechtenstein, younger sister of the grand duke, has been a member since 1987.  She's also the president of the Special Olympics Association in Liechtenstein. 

Princess Nora of Liechtenstein has been on the IOC for 26 years

 

Felipe does have two relatives on the committee but sadly for him his auntie Pilar and uncle Constantine are honorary members and don't have a vote. But the Infanta Pilar has been praising her nephew's efforts to bring the Games to Madrid, describing his work as colossal and telling journalists how integral he's been to getting IOC members to consider backing Madrid.  He's working, she said from 8 in the morning until 11 at night most days so he needed an evening off and last night he and Letizia headed out for a catch up.  It also gave them photographers the first chance to snap them together since their stint in Mallorca and those rumours of a rocky summer. If the envelope on Saturday does contain the name Madrid, all those whispers will be forgotten quicker than you can say opening ceremony.