Royals on social media

This week, Sweden's royals led the way in just about every way. They gave us a royal wedding, a royal baby, a new prince and a new princess. These events were, of course, covered by the media but its how the royals tell their own story on social media that gives us a clue as to how they see themselves. And the Swedish royals led the way here as well with a spectucular set of sharing on Facebook and Instagram and You Tube - if you've got over 5 hours to watch the whole wedding again. It's no surprise they led the royal week on social media and we start with the stunning new Facebook cover that was added in the seven days when the world was really watching Sweden. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria were cover stars during a stellar week for their Royal Court. And their decision to add this memorable photo of them when more people are more likely to be checking out their social media presence shows just how important this medium is now for royalty around Europe.

Within hours of welcoming Princess Sofia to the family, the Swedish Royal Household had added a page to its official website all about the new Duchess of Varmland and with another cover star image which was also shared on the Facebook page.

Queen Maxima was one of the fashion stars of the Swedish Royal Family making the front of many magazines with her glamourous ruby red dress. She chose the same shade in the week for a visit to Design Derby and looked a million dollars again - there was an image shared on the official Dutch Royal Household Facebook page.

Remembering Waterloo

The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo was commemorated by royalty from Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. On the eve of the anniversary King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians welcomed descendants of all the major military commanders at the battle to their Palace at Laeken and the historic image was shared on their official Twitter feed.

#Waterloo200 Afstammelingen van voornaamste bevelvoerders van Slag bij #Waterloo ontvangen in het Kasteel te Laken pic.twitter.com/OlSm4MuXty

— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) June 17, 2015

Earlier the same day, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to Hougoumont Farm in Belgium - a major site in the battle. They saw the restoration work that's been going on there to turn it into a major visitor spot and a photo of them at one of the farm's doors was shared on the Clarence House Instagram feed. 

On the actual anniversary itself, Philippe and Mathilde played host to King Wellem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands as well as Henri and Maria Teresa, Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg for a ceremony at the battle site itself which took as its theme peace with a focus on a more unified Europe. The Duke of Kent represented the Queen at the commemorations. The Dutch Royal Household shared a photo of the event on its Facebook page. 

Charles and Camilla were in London on the actual anniversary where, along with the Earl of Wessex and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, they attended a national service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral. In the evening, the royal couple were guests of the Duke and Duchess of Wellington at a banquet at Apsley House - otherwise known as No One, London. Images were shared on the official Clarence House Twitter feed.

Last night TRH attended a banquet at Apsley House with The Duke and Duchess of Wellington: http://t.co/FIMjxLZtog pic.twitter.com/claEa2OHGW

— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) June 19, 2015

Special moments in royal lives

It's not every day you get to celebrate your first anniversary as a monarch and on June 19th 2015, as King Felipe VI of Spain did just that, he decided to share his special moment with 38 people who received the Order of Civil Merit from him. A video of the event was shared on the official You Tube Channel, Casa Real TV.

Prince Harry marked a special moment in his life on Friday when he ended his active service with the Army after ten years. The moment he saw his life change forever was announced on the official Kensington Royal Twitter feed.

After over 10 years of full-time service Prince Harry has today ended his @BritishArmy career http://t.co/QintpCril7 pic.twitter.com/LwIyzd87ZK

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) June 19, 2015

The Queen had one very special day on Monday when she went to Runnymede to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta before heading to Windsor where she led the Order of the Garter procession in a ceremony dating back to the late Middle Ages. This very old event was shared in a very modern way - in a video on a tweet on the official British Monarchy account.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh depart the Order of the Garter service from St George's Chapel, Windsor pic.twitter.com/9Gkd6ipin9

— BritishMonarchy (@BritishMonarchy) June 15, 2015

And in a royal week dominated by Sweden's happy family, the last word goes to newlyweds Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia who, like the well brought up duke and duchess that they are, said thank you with a new image of them from their wedding shared on the official Instagram feed. This week, they all lived happily ever after.