Le Tour plus royals - the best photos

The Tour de France got under way in Yorkshire on July 5th with a little bit of help from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales.  The royals started the race, visited one of the stages, did a walkabout or two and were there at the end to see heartbreak for home rider, Mark Cavendish, and to present the yellow jersey to Markus Kittel.  And along the way, there were some great images of Le Tour, royal style.

The Duchess of Cambridge are Harewood House, Yorkshire for the start of the Tour de France 2014

Kate was snapped with Mark Cavendish at the start line of the Tour de France.

As was Prince William...

All three royals posed for photos before the start of the race...

Then they took their places for the the big, ribbon cutting moment that started the race

William, Kate and Harry then moved on to one of the stages of the race - West Tanfield in Yorkshire where they were snapped by many in the crowd..

There was time for a walkabout....

And a trip to the beer tent...

Before the royals headed to Harrogate for the last part of this stage and the presentation of the yellow jersey to Markus Kittel

Hundreds of thousands turned out to see stage one on its way through Yorkshire - with plenty there to cheer on William, Kate and Harry as they made sure Le Grand Depart du Tour de France 2014 was a right royal success.