Saturday 1 December 2018

December's Royal Birthdays




On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me thirteen cards for royal birthdays on eleven separate dates with two heirs to the throne among them and a queen consort celebrating too. December is a busy month for royal birthdays so if you're in the mood for baking (non Christmas cakes) and blowing out (non festive) candles, the next four weeks will be a dream. Here are 11  dates for December when royals mark their birthdays.....






Queen Silvia of Sweden is 75 on December 23rd 2018
Let's start with a major milestone celebration - this month, the Queen of Sweden turns 75. Silvia Renate Sommerlath was born in December 23rd 1943 in Heidelberg, Germany, the youngest child and only daughter of Walter and Alice Sommerlath. She grew up in Brazil and Germany. She met Carl Gustaf of Sweden, then heir to his country's throne, at the 1972 Munich Olympics where she was working as an educational host. He became King of Sweden in 1973 and the couple married in June 1976. The King and Queen of Sweden have three children and seven grandchildren. 
Silvia is also the longest reigning queen consort in Swedish history. 





Princess Alexandra of Kent is 82 on December 25th 2018
Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel of Kent was born on Christmas Day 1936 in London, the second child and only daughter of George and Marina, Duke and Duchess of Kent. The Royal Family needed something to celebrate - just two weeks earlier, Alexandra's paternal uncle, Edward VIII, had abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Alexandra was educated at Heathfield School and in Paris. She has carried out royal engagements for over sixty years and still has one of the busiest diaries in London. Princess Alexanda of Kent married Angus Ogilvy in 1963 and was widowed in 2004. The couple had two children and four grandchildren.



Prince Lorenz of Belgium is 63 on December 16th 2018
Lorenz Otto Carl Amadeus Thadeus Maria Pius Andreas Marcus d'Aviano of Austria-Este was born on December 16th 1955 in France, the second child of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este and his wife, Margherita of Savoy. Lorenz is a grandson of Karl, last Emperor of Austria-Hungary. He studied economics at university in Switzerland and has worked in banking across Europe. He married Princess Astrid, only daughter of Albert and Paola of Belgium, in 1984 and the couple have five children as well as a granddaughter. Lorenz was made a Prince of Belgium in 1995 and became head of the House of Austria-Este on the death of his father in 1996. 



Infanta Elena of Spain is 55 on December 20th 2018
Elena Maria Isabel Dominica de Silos was born on December 20th 1963 in Madrid, the first child of Juan Carlos and Sofia who would go on to become King and Queen of Spain in 1975. Elena had a high profile as a member of the Spanish Royal Family and in 1995, her wedding to Jaime de Marichalar in Seville, was watched by millions of people. The couple had two children before divorcing. Since the accession of her brother as Felipe VI, Elena is no longer considered part of the official Spanish Royal Family but in recent months has carried out a rising number of engagements.


  

Princess Sofia of Sweden is 34 on December 6th 2018
Sofia Kristina Hellqvist was born on December 6th 1984 at Danderyd Hospital, Sweden, the daughter of Erik and Marie. She grew up in Stockholm and Alvdalen and became a model as well as starring on reality TV. Her relationship with Prince Carl Philip of Sweden was confirmed in 2010 and the couple announced their engagement in 2014. They married on June 13th 2015 and now have two children - Prince Alexander, aged two, and Prince Gabriel who turned one earlier this year.



Prince Joachim of Belgium is 27 on December 9th 2018
Joachim Karl-Maria Nikolaus Isabelle Marcus d'Aviano was born on December 9th 1991 in Woluwe St-Lambert, the third child and second son of Princess Astrid of Belgium and her husband, Lorenz. He was born just months after his maternal grandfather became King Albert II of the Belgians. Lorenz was educated in Belgium, England and Italy.





The Princess of Orange is 15 on December 7th 2018
Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, eldest child of Willem-Alexander and Maxima of the Netherlands, was born on December 7th 2003 in The Hague. Her birth, as a future queen of her country, was marked by gun salutes. She became heiress to the Dutch throne on April 30th 2013 on the accession of her father following the abdication of her grandmother, Beatrix. Amalia attends school near her family home in Wassenaar.




Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway is 13 on December 3rd 2018
Sverre Magnus was born on December 3rd 2005 at the Rikshospitalet in Oslo, son of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. He is third in line to the throne of Norway behind his father and sister and is styled His Highness rather than HRH. Sverre goes to school in Oslo.




Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric of Belgium are 13 on December 13th 2018
Nicolas Casimir Marie and Aymeric Auguste Marie, twin sons of Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium, were born on December 13th 2005 in Woluwe-St Lambert. Nicolas and Aymeric, fourteenth and fifteenth in line to the Belgian throne, attend school in Brussels and live with their parents and older sister, Princess Louise.




James, Viscount Severn is 11 on December 17th 2018
James Alexander Philip Theo was born on December 17th 2007 at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, the second child and only son of the Earl and Countess of Wessex. He was christened in April 2008 in a replica of the famous Honiton lace gown used since the time of Queen Victoria. He lives with his parents, and older sister Louise, in Surrey and makes regular appearances at big royal events like Trooping the Colour.




Embed from Getty Images
 



Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella of Monaco are 4 on December 10th 2018
Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Gabriella were born in Monaco on December 10th, the first children of Prince Albert II with his wife, Princess Charlene. Gabriella Therese Marie was born two minutes before Jacques Honore Rainier but succession laws meant that the baby prince became heir to the throne. They have had a high public profile since their births and they were recently seen during celebrations for Monaco's National Day.


Photo credit: Anna-Lena Ahlstrom/ Kungahuset

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