How relaxed should royal portraits be?

We got two new official royal portraits last week and both gave us a different take on this regal staple in the 21st century. Denmark's official pictures of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary were close to the usual with the two in full formal attire in images released to mark the future king's role in his country's Armed Forces. Sweden gave us a new photo of Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel and Princess Estelle and while the beginnings of that were everything we'd expect, there was a high kick from a second in line to the throne which turned it from formal to family. But how relaxed should royal portraits be?

Victoria, Daniel and Estelle in a new portrait

(Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se)

Let's get this clear, the new picture from Sweden is hardly jeans at fifty paces. The family is dressed formally, the setting is formal and the overall impression is really rather swish. It's just the surprise element of seeing Estelle getting ready to dance that separates this from other royal portraits. An official photo is like the royal copyright on its image, how it wants to be seen and how it wants others to see it. In times gone by, it was all about showing the people who was in charge of them at a time when most ordinary folk might live to be 100 without ever knowing what their king or queen looked like. And today, they are a way of portraying an official image and placing it on record. Official photos tell their own story through time and distance.

Already used to the camera at three and a half, Estelle of Sweden

(photo Kate Gabor, kungahuset.se)

And the story of Estelle on film is already well established. This little queen in waiting has been showered with support from her parents in getting used to everyone wanting to see her. The family regularly release more informal portraits where they are seen holding her in their arms, playing with her and just having lots of fun. So it's not really a surprise that her first formal portrait shows her holding her mum and dad's hands and looking very relaxed. This royal portrait tells us how much importance Victoria and Daniel have placed on getting their little girl fully involved in the life that she will lead, a royal life, and one that will follow her for decades whether she wants it to or not.

Estelle on her second birthday, February 2014

The Danish portraits, in contrast, have been taken for a very formal purpose and so they follow a very formal pattern. Crown Princess Mary is wearing her almost uniform red velvet dress with rubies while the star of the show, Crown Prince Frederik, is in uniform as we'd expect from portraits taken to mark another milestone in his involvement with the military.

The Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark in new photos released this week

(Steen Evald, Kongehuset.dk)

These pictures tell the tale of the evolution of a young couple in a king and queen in waiting. Frederik and Mary look every inch the monarchs to be, calm and composed and totally in control. It is a very typical set of photos.

The man who will be king, Frederik of Denmark

(Steen Evald, Kongehuset.dk)

But look more closely and that calm, composed nature gives way to something else. This royal pair are totally relaxed with their royal roles. There is nothing nervous or edgy about Fred and Mary as they go about the preparations to wear a king and consort's crown one day. They are at home with the formality of that and know how to work it in the 21st century.

Born to be queen, Mary of Denmark

(Steen Evald, Kongehuset.dk)

And perhaps that is how these two sets of portraits work together. Victoria and Daniel are showing how bringing a young royal into an old role needs to be done while Fred and Mary are showing us what happens once you've learned those ropes and are ready to rule. These royal images tell us a lot about what it is to be an heir and a consort in the 2010s and taken together, they show how royal life is changing while staying very much the same.