The littlest royals

James, Viscount Severn occupies a special place in the British Royal Family.  He is the youngest grandchild of the Queen and as such, the full stop at the end of that chapter of her family.  James will never wear his granny's crown but, like his father Edward, he is an heir to the rock solid couple of Elizabeth II and Philip Mountbatten.  For one day, James will be the Duke of Edinburgh as Philip's title will pass to his youngest son and then, in time, to his only son.

 

James Alexander Philip Theo, Viscount Severn looking very like his daddy and just like papa he will one day be Duke of Edinburgh, inheriting the title of his family's patriarch

 

In that sense James, who turns six today, has got a far more noble deal than the other royal full stops dotted around Europe.  While some families are still building their nursery of grandchildren, most know that the cot and the changing mat have been put away for a few more years and the littlest little one of all has taken their place in the dynastic story.  The youngest branch of the royal house of Norway is, like James, a school pupil in England but no one would ever guess from her name that she descends from one of the oldest monarchies in the world.  Emma Behn, born in August 2008, is the third daughter of Princess Martha Louise and her husband, Ari Behn, but will probably never hold a title let alone a crown. 

 

 

Emma Tallulah Behn, seen with her sisters Maud and Leah. 

 

Emma's name, like those of her sisters, may well crop up in articles in a couple of decades time about the girls most likely to marry Prince Christian of Denmark but other than that, obscurity in a comfortable life beckons while her cousin, Ingrid Alexandra, takes on the mantle of monarchy.  The youngest Danish royal of her generation will be slightly less below the radar.  Princess Athina of Denmark is the youngest child of Prince Joachim and his second wife, Marie, and could yet lose her place as the littlest of the family should the couple have another child.  But for the moment, Athena, holds that title and, like most other full stops, she is a distant name in the line of succession (tenth at the moment and counting).

 

 

Princess Athena Marguerite Francoise Marie, Countess of Monpezat, born on January 24th 2012, is tenth in line to her country's throne and looking more like her mummy every day

 

Kin Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is about to get another grandchild, in March, but for now his eldest and youngest is future queen regnant, Estelle, born in February 2012.  He himself was the youngest grandson of Gustaf VI Adolf but succeeded to his throne in 1973.

 

 

 Princess Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary of Sweden is the youngest grandchild of the Swedish monarchs until March 2014 when her little cousin is due to be born

 

In Spain, the honour of being the youngest grandchild goes to the Infanta Sofia, the second daughter of the Prince and Princess of Asturias.  Born in April 2007, she is third in line to the throne and heiress to the heiress - her big sister, Infanta Leonor.

 

 

Infanta Sofia of Spain with sister, Leonor, get their first taste of embarrassing dad syndrome as Prince Felipe fails to dress for the weather

 

It will be many years before the kings of Belgium and the Netherlands have any grandchildren at all, let alone one to be the final chapter of that part of their story.  James, Viscount Severn is in well to do company.

 

 

The royal number eleven

Prince Laurent of Belgium is fifty today.  The boy who was born third in line for the throne of his country is now a bit part player in the royal scheme of things.  Number eleven on the list when it comes to handing out the crown, Laurent will never be king and will see his royal role slimmed down in the years to come as the children of his brother, Philippe, take on greater duties as they get older.  But for the time being he has a pretty special place among Europe's royals because only three other people can claim to be number eleven in the line of succession.  Half of Europe's royal houses run out of people with dynastic rights before they get that far.

 

Prince Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie of Belgium, born October 19th 1963, and eleventh in line to his country's throne.  If he gets tired of being royal there's always work as a Joe Pesci lookalike

 

No such problems in the United Kingdom where the line of succession runs into thousands with most of Europe's monarchs tucked in their somewhere along the line with a very distant claim to a crown other than their own.  Currently at number eleven in this never ending hit parade of royals is the Princess Royal.  Anne was third in line to the throne on the day of her birth in 1950 and briefly jumped into the number two slot on her mother's accession as queen before starting a slow but steady slide downwards with the arrival of Prince Andrew in 1960.  The birth of Prince George of Cambridge put her outside the top ten for the first time and she became the first of Elizabeth II's children to be more than ten places removed from the British throne.

 

 

Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, looking particularly happy

 

Just two more countries have an official number eleven in their line of succession.  In Denmark, Queen Margrethe's sister, Princess Benedikte, is eleventh in waiting for her country's crown.  The Danish constitution limits the succession to the descendants of King Christian X who ruled from 1912 to 1947 but they have to have their marriages approved by the monarch in the Council of State.  And then Margrethe, or Fred when his turn comes, can add other rules.  Benedikte was asked to bring her children up in Denmark for a set period of time but that didn't happen so they don't get a chance to be king or queen.  But as their mum is number eleven, they're not really missing out.

 

 

Princess Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid of Denmark otherwise known as Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg is last but one in the Danish line of succession

 

And also able to present an eleventh in line to the throne is Spain.  The constitution limits the possibles there to the successors of King Juan Carlos I and his descendants make it as far as number eleven before running out.  Currently propping up the royal pile in Spain is Irene Urdangarín, the youngest daughter of the Infanta Cristina and her husband, Inaki.  The little cousin born just four and a bit months after her, Leonor, will one day be queen of Spain but Irene has little chance of ever following in her footsteps. 

 

 

Irene de Todos los Santos Urdangarín y de Borbon, sixth grandchild of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, was born ninth in line to the throne and is now eleventh

 

And then we run out of number elevens.  There are eight people in line to the throne of the Netherlands, seven in the Norwegian line and just four who are able to inherit in Sweden (although that will go up to five in March 2014 when Princess Madeleine's baby is born). Monaco has just nine and Luxembourg has eight.  So Laurent can take comfort from the knowledge that while he'll never be his country's king, he holds a place in European royalty that not many others can claim.