Amongst all the photos of a royal summer that have emerged so far, one stood out in particular. It showed Queen Margrethe II of Denmark with her grandson, Prince Christian, the boy who will one day rule her kingdom. It is a reminder of the span that royalty has across the generations and also of the special relationship that royal grandparents and grandchildren have. Because for ever monarch, somewhere amongst that second generation is the child who will grow up to wear a crown.
Margrethe and Christian of Denmark
Grasten,. July 2015
Just days earlier, we had seen the Queen with her only great grandson (so far) and the boy who will one day inherit the Monarchy which she has worked so hard to stabilise. The image of George of Cambridge with Elizabeth II outside a country church in Norfolk was a real photo for the history books - a little boy, not quite two, and his great grandmother, just shy of ninety, caught in a moment of family fun that also captured forever a ruler with her successor.
An image of a ruling monarch with the grandchild who will take their place one day can't help but be special. There is something spectacular, historic and poignant about it all at the same time. For the adult who is showing the way often won't see how their lessons have worked - the grandchild will often reach the height of their powers long after the grandparent is gone. But to see the foundation stones of another royal life being put in place is fascinating and the photo taken of King Carl XVI Gustaf with his granddaughter, Princess Estelle, on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Stockholm gave a sweeping view of the generations being spanned and the place of both royals in history.
King Harald V of Norway was on hand to help his granddaughter, and future queen, Ingrid Alexandra as she launched a boat for the first time. The photos were on a smaller scale than the Swedish images but still showed a touching scene of royal grandfather helping royal granddaughter to learn the ropes of the royal life they both share.
In the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain the ruling monarch has no grandchildren. The youth of these royal houses means that the children of the three kings concerned are still, mostly, too young to even be at senior school. But the role of the former Dutch queen, Princess Beatrix, in the life of the future regnant, Princess Catharina-Amalia, has been clear from early on and the photo of the newly abdicated monarch with the brand new heir at the handover of power is a real moment for the history books.
Likewise, the photo taken of King Juan Carlos I of Spain with his son, the future Felipe VI,and his granddaughter, Leonor, a year or so before the abdication provides another family photo with layers of history attached. This image, used on the front of the Casa Real webpage, is one of just a few of the three generations of rulers of Spain.
And the shy image of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium sitting on a bench with her father and grandfather while the older man was still the ruling king is another moment when the past and future were caught together perfectly. Albert II and the girl who will be the first queen regnant of her country posed in the fading sun of a late summer afternoon and although King Philippe is also in the image, it is the juxtaposition of grandparent and grandchild that makes the photo stand out. One more time that a monarch has been seen next to the future of their kingdom.
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