Royals on social media, September 20th 2014

The official social media channels of Europe's royal houses have been filled with a wide range of topics and images in the week just gone.  There have been state events, sweet little hugs and some serious partying going on.  Here are the highlights of the week just gone.

Warm welcomes

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians got a very warm welcome when she arrived in Liege on September 16th and the cuddle she got from a young fan featured in an image shared on the monarchy's official Twitter feed.

He might have been a stand in but there was still a good reception for the Duke of Cambridge when he began a two day tour of Malta on September 20th. His wife, Kate, had originally been lined up to represent the Queen on the visit which marks the fiftieth anniversary of the island's independence. But in the week doctors decided she was still too unwell with severe morning sickness to travel. William spent most of his first day apologising for not being Kate but there were plenty thrilled to see him with Clarence House sharing some photos on its official Twitter feed.

And lots of school children were very pleased to see King Felipe and Queen Letizia when they dropped into their classes in Pereiro de Aguiar as the academic year got under way. The Royal Household shared a video o the trip on its official You Tub channel.  

The big moments of the year

One of the big events of the Dutch Royal Year featured on its official social media channels. Prince's Day is traditionally involves a grand procession in the Golden Carriage to the Knight's Hall where the monarch reads the Speech from the Throne setting out the government's plans for the coming year. The Royal Household tweeted infographics of those plans and shared a video of the speech itself on its You Tube Channel.

One of the big royal stories of the year has been the success of the Invictus Games which were organised by Prince Harry and which saw 400 wounded service men and women from 13 countries take part in events over four days. Clarence House shared a video, on Twitter, of Prince Harry's closing speech.

Another major event of 2014 was the referendum which asked the people of Scotland whether their country should be independent. The Queen issued a statement after the result - No won with 55% of the vote - in which she spoke of everyone respecting the decision. As well as being released in traditional ways the message was also tweeted by the official British Monarchy feed.

The Queen's message following the Scottish referendum result: http://t.co/yxVOP47vgg
— BritishMonarchy (@BritishMonarchy) September 19, 2014

All in a day's work

The day job was the focus of a visit by King Philippe of the Belgians to employment organisation Actiris Brussels.  He was shown how young people are matched to potential employers - as seen on the Monarchie Belge Twitter feed.

Prince Daniel of Sweden learned more about an unusual day job when he visited a guitar manfacturers with images shared on the official Facebook page of the Swedish Monarchy.