What to expect in royal April

A new month means plenty to look forward to and while we can expect lots of engagements, days out and appearances there are some events that are already lining up to be the royal headline makers for April 2016. And that's not counting the many birthdays we will celebrate this month - more on those here.  As the sun rises on this bright spring month, here are some of the big moments coming up in royal April.

A new royal baby for Sweden

Again. I know, we did all this last month but it's double baby joy in Sweden this time round and in April all eyes will be on Princess Sofia who is due to give birth to her first baby this month. Along with husband, Prince Carl Philip, she has great expectations ahead of her. Their baby will be fifth in line to the throne and while there is no confirmed due date, the pregnancy announcement was made mid October 2015 meaning that any time now is feasible. Get ready with the bootees.
(photo kungahuset.se)

A big royal tour for Kate and William

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge head to India and Bhutan from April 10th to April 16th 2016. William and Kate have a packed schedule for their six days away and royal aides are already describing it as one of their most ambitious tours to date. They are meeting Bollywood stars, visiting national parks (no doubt more from William on wildlife crime here) and meeting the King and Queen of Bhutan while the tour will end with a visit to the Taj Mahal where Diana, Princess of Wales so famously posed alone for photos in 1992. If you thought the Cambridges had been low profile so far this year then stand by to start complaining you've seen too much of them in April. They will be everywhere.
(photo ITV Pictures)

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Another record breaking moment for the Queen

You'll be seeing plenty of Kate and William in mid April as well when the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday and we start celebrations that will run over the course of three months. There have been reports that Annie Liebovitz was seen at a royal palace that Kate, George and Charlotte might well have been at around the same time so there might well be world famous portraits of the Queen and her great grandchildren coming up too. The big day is April 21st and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have two days of engagements in Windsor, starting on April 20th, to mark the event. As Elizabeth II celebrates this landmark birthday, she becomes the first British monarch, ever, to reach 90. She can't stop breaking records.

An Italian adventure

King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway head to Italy this month for a three day State Visit. The royal couple are due in Rome on April 6th where they will meet the President of Italy and enjoy a State Dinner in their honour. The tour, which runs from April 6th until April 8th, will also see Harald and Sonja travel to Milan for engagements supporting business. The Norwegian royals have had a great year so far following the success of Harald and Sonja's Silver Jubilee celebrations in January and now that spring is here they are on their travels again.

(photo royalcourt.no)

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A King's Day

For the second year, the Netherlands will celebrate King's Day after decades of marking Queen's Day. Willem-Alexander has moved the traditional spring event three days to fall on his own birthday, April 27th,  rather than that of his grandmother, Juliana, and this year he'll be heading to Zwolle in Overijssel for the event with Queen Maxima and two of their daughters, Amalia and Ariane. Alexia, who broke her leg while ski-ing earlier this year, isn't scheduled to attend for obvious reasons.  So get ready for more happy photos of singing, dancing and eating as this special spring celebrations helps the first Dutch king for decades mark his birthday and the third anniversary of his accession (April 30th).

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A big anniversary

Some wedding anniversaries get more attention than others and number five is on that list. So stand by for a lot more William and Kate as April comes to an end as they celebrate five years as man and wife on April 29th. It will be a great chance to look back at the Royal Wedding of 2011 and should cap what looks to be a busy and probably very successful month for the Cambridges.

The King's Big Day

We're back to Sweden at the end of the month. After all the royal baby excitement of the past weeks, the end of April is all about King Carl XVI Gustaf as he turns 70 on April 30th with a party to put others in the shade. Birthday celebrations will last the best part of a week, starting on April 25th with a theatre spectacle and ending on the big day itself with a whole day of festivities. The babies will probably stay indoors but stand by for family portraits of a royal house enjoying one of its happiest ever times. What a way to mark a month.
(photo kungahuset.se)