Philippe, King of the Belgians

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Belgium's National Day is now the anniversary of the start of his reign. Philippe became King of the Belgians on July 21st 2013 on a sunny day filled with joy. Three years on, his rule is seen as a success and a lot of that has been attributed to the support of his consort, Queen Mathilde. Now well settled in their roles as king and queen, Philippe and Mathilde begin a new chapter in their royal lives as they establish their reign and look to the future.

Queens at the Quirinale

Elizabeth II will visit Rome today at the invitation of President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy.  The Queen will have an audience with the president and a private lunch at the Palazzo del Quirinale.  Queen Elizabeth II will be the first queen regnant to meet the president this year but Giorgio Napolitano has already welcomed two consorts to Italy's presidential palace.  2014 has been the year of queens at the Quirinale.

Elizabeth II will visit Rome today and have lunch at the Palazzo del Quirinale

First to visit was Queen Maxima of the Netherlands when she paid an introductory visit to Italy with King Willem-Alexander on January 23rd 2014.  The couple were received at the Quirinale by the president at an official reception before moving to the Chigi Palace for lunch with politicians.

Maxima of the Netherlands was the first queen to visit the Quirinale in Rome this year

Less than a month later, the newest queen in Europe was being welcomed to the Palazzo by President Napolitano.  Mathilde of the Belgians was making her own introductory visit to Rome at the side of her husband, King Philippe, on February 20th 2014.

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians with King Philippe during her visit to Rome in February 2014

The Belgian queen walked the corridors of the Quirinale in the footsteps of Italy's last consort- the Belgian princess Marie Jose who married the heir to the country's throne, Umberto, in 1930 and became queen in May 1946 but reigned for just one month before the monarchy was abolished in a referendum in June 1946.  The Palazzo del Quirinale was the home of Italy's monarchs but welcomed Queen Marie Jose for just a few weeks.

Marie-Jose of Belgium, seen with her husband Umberto, was the last Queen of Italy

Today it is the residence of the President of Italy and so will be the place where he welcomes Europe's longest serving monarch.  President Napolitano is the continent's oldest head of state - he is just under a year older than Elizabeth II - and had hoped to host the Queen last year but her visit then was postponed due to her illness.  Today she becomes the first regnant this year to visit Italy and the third queen at the Quirinale.

Royal birthday bonanza

Mia Grace Tindall has picked the right time to arrive.  Every now and again, there is a rush of royal birthdays and the cold and frosty weeks of January are one of those times.  Since the new year arrived, no less than one queen, one king, seven princesses and one prince have blown out their candles and another prince and a former queen are about to celebrate their big days.  January is a royal birthday bonanza month.

The latest royal birthday girl is Princess Charlene of Monaco who turned 36 on January 25th 2014

Charlene of Monaco is the latest royal to mark her big day as she turned 36 on January 25th 2014 by signing copies of a new book on her home country, South Africa, to which she has written the forward.  Her celebrations were just two days after those of her sister-in-law, and her husband's heir for now, Princess Caroline who was 57 on January 23rd 2014 and opened cards and presents from grandchildren for the first time.  Denmark's royal house has had its fair share of jelly and ice cream birthday parties this month with twins Vincent and Josephine first to celebrate, turning three on January 8th 2014.  Little cousin, Athena, was two on January 24th.  

Athena of Denmark stands still just long enough for a photo to mark her second birthday

Mia Tindall will never have the most famous royal January birthday in Great Britain as cousin Kate of Cambridge celebrates her big day in the same month.  The duchess turned 32 on January 9th with no public appearances or photographs or even a glimpse of her but the event still dominated royal news for days.

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge made headlines for days when she celebrated her birthday on January 9th even though she wasn't seen in public at all 

In Norway, future queen Ingrid Alexandra turned ten on January 21st while the day before the new Queen of the Belgians, Mathilde, celebrated her 41st birthday.  And to make it a hat trick, the Countess of Wessex also turned 49 on January 20th.  While Sophie and Mathilde were hidden from view with no special events to mark their big days, Ingrid starred in a set of birthday portraits.  

One of three birthday portraits released to mark Princess Ingrid Alexandra celebrating her first decade

In Spain, the royals have got very little to celebrate at the moment and no mention was made of the birthday of the king's son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin, who turned 46 on January 15th.  Ten days earlier, King Juan Carlos celebrated his 76th birthday with no public events or photos.  As his son and heir, Felipe, prepares to turn 46 on January 30th there have been a rash of articles about a possible crisis in his marriage to Princess Letizia as well as more questions about the future of the crown itself.  

The latest appearance of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, two days ahead of his 46th birthday, as they visited Tenerife

And to round off the royal birthdays this month, Beatrix of the Netherlands celebrates her first big day since abdicating.  The former queen of the Netherlands turns 76 on January 31st 2014. And the royal birthday cake makers get to breathe a sigh of relief - February is a much quieter month for royal anniversaries.

A muted start to 2014 for Europe's royals

Several queen consorts and a couple of queens in waiting have been out and about over the last few days and whether it's the cold, January weather or the slight let down everyone feels after the Christmas holidays, all of them have been rather muted in their appearance.  Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was very low key for her first appearance as consort at the Royal Family's annual New Year receptions, held on January 14th and 15th choosing a beige/ peach colour for both events.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands goes for pale brown and aquamarine at the New Year reception held this

Also keeping it pale and almost interesting in beige was Crown Princess Mary of Denmark who spent January 15th 2014 handing out grants at Royal Copenhagen in a very formal black pencil skirt with a beige print blouse.

Princess Mary of Denmark went office almost interesting in a very muted outfit for her first public appearance since returning from her visit to Myanmar

Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Letizia almost faded into the tapestries on January 14th when they presented awards at the Zarzeula Palace in pastels so pale they were in danger of disappearing.

Royal ladies in luke warm colours - Sofia and Letiza of Spain go pastel for a rare joint appearance

Only Queen Mathilde of the Belgians is trying to ward off the winter whites with a big dose of colour.  For the second New Year reception of the year she went fuschia pink - although she'd chosen dove grey for her first outing.  It's a little splash of colour in the middle of a long, cold month.  

Dove grey for the first New Year reception in Brussels - Queen Mathilde starts the pale and interesting trend for Europe's royal ladies in January 2014

The Colour Blue

Blue is the colour for the most senior royal women of Europe at the moment.  Two major royal events in January 6th 2013 saw a queen regnant and two queens in waiting turn out in royal blue as royal duties got underway again after the Christmas break.  In Copenhagen, Queen Margethe II of Denmark led the royals in the reception for the diplomatic corps in a deep blue satin dress.  The event, at the Christiansborg Palace, involved dozens of dignitaries who met a queen at her most majestic.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary in royal blue for one of the most important official receptions of the royal year on January 6th 2013

Her daughter in law, and future queen consort, also chose royal blue for this important royal engagement.  Crown Princess Mary's outfit was more fitted and quite severe by her standards but added to the very regal air of the whole event.

Crown Princess Mary with her husband, Frederik, at the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on January 6th 2014

In Spain, the annual Pascua Militar in Madrid saw Princess Letizia choose royal blue for her first major outfit of 2014.  But the princess was only adding a dash of colour with her blue jacket as her full length dress was black velvet. Queen Sofia chose black and white in a sombre start to the Spanish royal year.  

Princess Letizia of Spain in royal blue and black at the annual Pascua Militar on January 6th 2013.  The royal family is seen here attending the reception after the event at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid

The trend for royal blue at these most important of royal occasions began last year when Queen Maxima of the Netherlands chose an outfit in that colour for the accession ceremony of her husband, Willem-Alexander, on April 30th 2013.  The new heiress to the Dutch throne, Catharina-Amalia, and her sisters as well as the outgoing monarch, Beatrix, were also in this regal colour.

Blue for the girls - the queen consort, the former queen and the future queen of the Netherlands all in royal blue on the day the country got its first king in over 100 years

And just months later, another new queen consort chose royal blue for the official portraits marking the beginning of her reign.  When Philippe became king of the Belgians, his wife was photographed in blue as the royal house announced them as monarchs.  Mathilde of the Belgians chose cream for accession day but the first portraits of her as a queen are in blue.

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians in her official portrait marking the accession of her husband to the country's throne.  This is the photograph that will go into the history books as the first of the first Belgian born woman to become queen of the country.

It seems that in all corners of Europe, the colour blue reigns when it comes to looking regal.

Royals on tour

The Queen of Denmark has begun her annual trip around her coastline on the royal yacht.  Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik spend part of every September visiting different parts of Denmark to get a bit closer to their fellow citizens.  This year's trip started in Skagen with some spectacular views of the royal yacht and the royal couple.

 

There's no mistaking it's Denmark - flags a plenty and even more red and white greet Queen Margrethe and her Prince Consort at the start of their September tour

 

Over the next four days the royal couple will visit Læsø, Vordingborg and Møn and meet as many people as possible.  Royal home tours are all the rage at the moment.  Today, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia continue their whizz around Sweden which is a large part of the 40th jubilee celebrations although there might be a few congratulations for other news as they've just announced that their youngest daughter, Madeleine, is to make them grandparents for the second time in the new year.

 

 



King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia arriving in Östergötland in the south east of Sweden this morning on another of their visits to mark the king's 40 years on the throne.  Just after their arrival, the royal household announced that Princess Madeleine is expecting a baby

 

In a few days time, the new king and queen of the Belgians will start their series of visits to different parts of their country to meet people there for the first time as monarchs.  Philippe and Mathilde start in Louvain on September 6th and make their way to various parts of Belgium before ending in Bruges on October 25th.  Earlier this year, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima did a similar home tour to mark their accession to the throne, spending several months visiting different parts of the Netherlands as part of their introductory tour.

 



 

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Maxima visit Gelderland as part of their introductory tour on May 30th 2013, exactly one month on from taking the throne

 

The tours have all run alongside other royal duties but have been designed to maximize the contact that the royals in each country have with their fellow citizens.  And in an age dominated by communications, getting out there and being seen and heard is one way to make sure that the monarchies stay current.