Royals on social media

This was the week when royal social media really came into its own with Prince Harry's tour of New Zealand generating dozens of official tweets and hundreds more from unofficial accounts.

There were plenty of other royal shares on social media from news of a wedding to flashing cameras and rainy Sundays. Here's how the royal week on social media unfolded.

Braving the rain

Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, accompanied by Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Marius Borg, were up bright and early on May 17th to greet the annual children's parade. It might have been raining but there were lots of sunny smiles, as seen in a tweet shared by the couple's official account.

Gratulerer med dagen! pic.twitter.com/Pi8NfanCs5

— Det kongelige hoff (@Kronprinsparet) May 17, 2015

Prince Harry's tour of New Zealand was told on social media for many following it thousands of miles away. There were dozens of images shared on the official Kensington Palace account including one of him handing out cupcakes in the rain in Christchurch which appeared on the Twitter feed.

Prince Harry hands out cupcakes to the crowd #RoyalVisitNZ pic.twitter.com/MhZc3TGh4f

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 12, 2015

Flashing lights

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden opened an exhibition in the week at Gripsholm Castle. The Swedish Royal Household shared a video of her visit on a Vine on its webpage - maybe it was the lower light of the castle surroundings but the camera flashes were very noticeable.

Queen Letizia presented the prizes in the Famelab contest in the week and brought her husband, King Felipe, along as a surprise guest. Their arrival certainly got the flashbulbs popping and a video of the event was shared on the official royal You Tube channel, Casa Real TV.

Expect the Unexpected

There's little doubt that Prince Harry's tour of New Zealand has been a runaway success but while he hit the headlines on many occasions during his seven days there, one event really made a splash. Prince Harry learned the Haka then, after twenty minutes rehearsal, joined in before the world's cameras and a video of the moment was shared on the British Monarchy You Tube channel.

Meanwhile, Queen Letizia did the honours at the presentation of the flag to a division of the Civil Guard in Vitoria, an event usually calling for full length black dress with peineta and mantilla. No one really expected the royal guest to stick to tradition. Even so the queen's decision to wear white, as seen in images on the official Twitter account, caused plenty of debate - much of it on social media.

La Reina, en la entrega de la Enseña Nacional a la 11ª Zona de la @GuardiaCivil http://t.co/Jf9kxHYnAl pic.twitter.com/EKbyElZKFI

— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) May 13, 2015

Special events

The Swedish Royal Household launched a special webpage for the wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist which takes place on June 13th 2015 in Stockholm. And to announce the new site, a new photo of the couple was sharedon the new official Instagram account. 

The christening of the baby daughter and son of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco was shared widely on official social media with a link to live coverage tweeted on the royal account as the ceremony got under way. And afterwards, images of the baptism were shared on the official royal Facebook page.