Zoo cute

There are plenty of already world famous memories from the tour of Australia and New Zealand by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge but some have really stuck out.  And nearly all of them involve Prince George.  So it was no surprise that his trip to Taronga Zoo in Sydney with his parents topped the recent poll to find the highlight of the Cambridges' tour.

Prince George meets the bilbies at Taronga Zoo in April 2014

Forty four per cent of votes cast were for the meeting with the bilbies in the enclosure named after George to mark his birth in July 2013.  Next on the highlights list was the prince's first formal engagement with thirty three per cent selecting that as the stand out moment.  

The Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George as she introduces him to royal life 

In third place was the sailing race between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge which Kate won, twice, and which won twenty two per cent of the votes cast.  That little moment of royal friendly rivalry is the only thing that came close to giving George a run for his money on the popularity front.  The little prince is everyone's highlight of the past royal month.

Royal family portraits

King's Day in the Netherlands has provided the opportunity for some brand new photographs of Willem-Alexander and Maxima with their three daughters.  The king and queen and their princesses were seen enjoying themselves throughout the day, offering some new images of a new royal family at work and at play.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their daughters on King's Day, April 26th 2014

Many of Europe's royals have had full family appearances in recent weeks, allowing a chance to see how the younger members of the clan are growing up.  On April 16th 2014, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary were joined by their four children as they took to the balcony of the Marselisborg Palace near Aarhus to help celebrate Queen Margrethe's 74th birthday.

Christian of Denmark looks very grown up alongside his siblings Isabella, Vincent and Josephine as they join their parents at the celebrations for Queen Margrethe's 74th birthday on April 16th 2014

The Spanish royals made a rare joint appearance on Easter Sunday 2014 when they all attended Mass in Palma de Mallorca.  The Infantas Leonor and Sofia had last been seen in November 2013 visiting their grandfather in hospital.  On April 20th 2014, they joined him for photos before the service started.

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia and their daughters, Leonor and Sofia, joined King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia as well as the Infanta Elena on Easter Sunday 2014 in Mallorca

Easter holidays were also a chance for the latest family portrait of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and Crown Princess Mette-Marit with two of their children.  Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus posed with their parents on a snowy holiday.  Mette-Marit's son, Marius, wasn't in the pictures.

The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway with Ingrid and Sverre at Easter 2014

Princess Estelle of Sweden has become a bit of a star in recent times and in the run up to Easter was seen at a public engagement with her mother, Crown Princess Victoria.  But the last image of the little queen in waiting with both her parents is from March when she joined Victoria and Prince Daniel at an event at the Royal Palace in Stockholm for the Crown Princess' name day in March 2014.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden follow Princess Estelle's lead on a public engagement in March 2014

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium has made several public appearances in recent days, the latest being at a concert she attended with her parents in Malines.  But the best chance to see her with her siblings came in February 2014 when the four children joined King Philippe and Queen Mathidle at a family gathering to celebrate the engagement of their eldest cousin, Amadeo, who had just announced he was to marry his girlfriend, Lili Rosboch.

A family gathering to celebrate the engagement of Prince Amadeo of Belgium and Lili Rosboch in February 2014 was the most recent chance to see the children of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde together

But in recent days, there is only one young royal family that has dominated the headlines.  Since the beginning of April 2014, there have been endless chances to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their baby son, Prince George, as the family tour Australia and New Zealand.  He may be younger than many of his other royal counterparts on the continent but he's already one of the most photographed princes around.  And the images of him with his parents have been just another chance in recent times to enjoy royal family portraits.

Kate, William and George leave Australia on April 25th 2014

George is daddy's boy

After months of waiting, there have been three great chances to see how little Prince George of Cambridge is growing up.  And the latest poll results show that as he gets bigger, he's looking more and more like his daddy.  From a choice of four, it was William who most people felt George took after - with fifty per cent of the votes.

Daddy's boy - George and William looking more like each other every day

In the first months of his life, George was often said to look very like his mum but things are changing with just ten per cent thinking the resemblence with Kate dominated - the same amount as think Prince Charles is the family member that the future king seems most like.

Mother and son in New Zealand

And right in the middle is George's maternal grandfather.  Thirty per cent of votes cast were for Michael Middleton being the person George most takes after.  But the blonde hair and chubby cheeks reminded most people of William - daddy wins this one.

George the Conqueror

Prince George has conquered public engagements at the age of eight and a half months.  His parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, brought him along to a playdate in Wellington and the little prince took over.  George had a great time, looked really cute and then went off for a nap having won over just about everyone.  That is how to do a royal engagement.

George and Kate steal hearts in New Zealand on the little prince's first public engagement - April 9th 2014

The event, at the Governor General's House in New Zealand, was for the children's organisation Plunket NZ and ten parents with babies of about George's age had been invited along.  Kate told the mums and dads that her little prince did see other babies but never so many at one time.  It didn't seem to bother the future king.  Within moments he was on the floor for a play session and having a great time.

And he's off - Prince George of Cambridge has started crawling and here's the proof

In fact he was having such a good time that the other babies had to work around him.  At one point, mum had to soothe ruffled feathers when George grabbed a toy from a little girl who started crying.  Kate gave her a little pat on the head and all was well.  And when George found the gesture repaid - another girl grabbed one of his toys - he just shrugged it off and went for a crawl.

Prince George meets his public for the first time - they didn't seem to care until he grabbed the toys

Like all royals, George had to do a bit of diplomacy.  His black and white outfit from Rachel Riley - with cute sailing boat motif on the front - was chosen in honour of New Zealand's national colours.

The first of a million outfits chosen to please - George in black and white for his NZ hosts

His mum was also in monochrome - her outfit is Tory Burch, a dress called Paulina and was worn with Cartier earrings.  Prince William did the bloke thing and wore a blue shirt.

Mum and son in black and white - what a team

All royal engagements involve some kind of presentation and Prince George received a couple of presents from his hosts, Plunket NZ.  There was a lovely wish book with handwritten messages of hope for the prince as well as a traditional Plunket NZ teddy bear.

Prince George's first royal presentation - a teddy bear

And then it was off to bed for a nap - not a long one as Kate revealed that her little prince now sleeps through the night and loves solid food.  He also loves eating mum's hair, like every other baby in the world, and gave photographers one more cute shot before he bowed out.

Like every other eight month old in the world, George's favourite snack is his mum's hair

One engagement down, a whole lifetime of them left to go.  On this evidence, Prince George is more than ready.

Royal touchdown

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been spotted changing planes in Sydney for the last part of their flight to New Zealand.  The royal couple were filmed walking on to the aircraft that will take them to Wellington with Prince George in his mother's arms.

Prince George with his mummy as they get ready to board a plane for New Zealand

They have a three hour flight to Wellington before the tour proper starts. But already excitement is building with Australian TV cutting live to photos of the royals on the tarmac.

A family affair - the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George

Prince George looked calm and well rested, his mum looked a bit more tired.  But daddy was on had with what looked like a toy kangaroo to keep the little king in waiting happy on the last part of their journey.  The tour has almost begun.

Royals on tour - the Cambridges are now on their way to Wellington

Royal tour begins - almost

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have touched down in Sydney ahead of the three hour flight they will make to Wellington to being their tour of New Zealand.  Prince George is getting ready for his first big public appearance since his christening and his first encounter with crowds since he was taken home from hospital in July 2013.  And the royals are on the front of the New Zealand papers as anticipation ahead of the tour mounts.

The New Zealand Herald heralds the arrival of two future kings and a future queen consort as William, Kate and George make their way to Wellington for the beginning of their widely anticipated tour

There are 450 journalists accredited to cover the event as it moves through the two countries with several of them tweeting some of the pages from the official media manual that comes with the job.  But no one has been more enthusiastic about tweeting his excitement ahead of the tour than the Governor General of New Zealand.  Sir Jerry Mateparae has had a Kate, William and George countdown going on all week but ran into trouble when he tweeted detailed maps of where the family would be travelling and drew criticism from some security experts.  Today he contented himself with a little reminder that, after much talk, the big tour is about to begin.

The sun goes up on a tour to remember - after months of speculation, the Cambridges are about to arrive in New Zealand

Four faces of George

The future king of England, Prince George of Cambridge, has made just his fourth appearance in official photos as his parents release a snap of him ahead of the family's tour of Australia and New Zealand.  Now aged eight months, the little prince poses in a window and one again is joined by the Cambridges' pet dog, Lupo, in the photo - as he was in his first official snap released in August 2013.

Prince George and Lupo square up for their first photo face off in the official portrait of the future king released in August 2013

The next official photos of George came in October 2013 when the little prince was pictured with his father, grandfather and great grandmother in an historic image of four generations of royalty together. The monarch took centre stage in this portrait with her three kings in waiting around her.

And George makes four - the reign of Elizabeth II began in 1952 and here she is seen with the kings in waiting who will take her dynasty into the 22nd century

A few days afterwards, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released another photo of their son on his christening day showing him staring up into his mother's face and while we all went 'ah' it was Kate who was the star of this one.

Mother knows best - Kate and George share a special look while William looks on

But in his latest photo, George conquers all before him.  Lupo is relegated to a bit part, staring on as the little king to be babbles in his face.  And while mum and dad look relaxed and happy, it's George in his specially made jumper and showing off his blonde hair who really grabs attention.  Over the next month, the little prince will make several more appearances on his tour of Australia and New Zealand.  And it looks like he's ready for his close up at just the right moment.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Lupo in a new official photo

Which is the best photo of George so far?  This week's poll is all about the littlest Cambridge.

The day of destiny

It is a moment of history that was well worth the wait.  For only the second time in royal history, four generations of monarchs have posed together.  It's been 119 years since we saw a queen regnant with the three men who will succeed her in the same photograph.  Victoria set the pace and now her great, great granddaughter has emulated her.  One queen regnant, three kings in waiting and one more day of destiny.

Queen Elizabeth II with her successors on October 23rd 2013 at St James' Palace, London

 

When Victoria sat down at the Royal Lodge in Windsor on July 16th 1894 for that first historic photograph of four generations of monarchs together, she thought she held in her arms the guarantee of her dynasty.  In fact, that came a year later when she cradled the future George VI on the day of his baptism.  But the hopes and the dreams were there.  Like Elizabeth II, Victoria was never expected to be queen on the day of her own christening but both have given longevity and vitality to an institution that they were never meant to lead.  From carefree little princesses to queens to mothers to great grandmothers, their paths have taken them to the same destiny.  To leave the crown they were never meant to wear with three generations ready to inherit it.

Queen Victoria with her successors on July 16th 1894 at the Royal Lodge, Windsor

Royal baby number two - lessons from Europe

William and Kate are currently keeping us all guessing over the names of the godparents they've chosen for baby George but once that's out of the way and we've seen everyone smiling in big hats on the christening day, then that favourite guessing game of royal watchers can begin again in earnest.  The increase in public duties for the Duchess of Cambridge will co-incide with an increased focus on the size of her impossibly flat tummy as the wait for the spare for the heir of the heir begins.

 

Kate and William on Anglesey six weeks after the birth of George.  Reports of pregnancy number two are likely to begin just days after the christening of baby number one if the experiences of other consorts and consorts in waiting are anything to go by

Admittedly, most European heirs and their wives haven't kept people waiting too long for baby number two.  The shortest gap between babies is about eighteen months with three royal couples giving themselves just about enough time to pause for breath before starting all over again.  The new king and queen of the Netherlands had just over a year an a half between the birth of their two eldest girls with Catharina-Amalia arriving on December 7th 2003 and Alexia joining her on June 26th 2005.

The then Prince and Princess of Orange were well prepared for the christening of Princess Alexia of the Netherlands - they'd done it all not that long before for baby Amalia

Also leaving just enough time for a couple of nights out before hunkering down into new babyhood again were the Danish and Spanish heirs and their wives.  Back in those heady days of the early noughties, when Fred and Felipe couldn't do anything without the other one following hard on their heels, both of them presented baby number two just eighteen months after showing off their first borns.  Frederik and Mary welcomed baby Isabella on April 21st 2007 in the same hospital where Christian had arrived on October 15th 2007. 

Isabella of Denmark with her brother, Christian, and parents Frederik and Mary a few days after her birth in April 2007

That gap of just over eighteen months was beaten by a few days by Felipe and Letizia when they welcomed Sofia on April 29th 2007.  Their eldest child, Leonor, had arrived on October 31st 2005 meaning their gap was two days short of eighteen months.

 

The Prince and Princess of Asturias leave hospital with baby Sofia just eighteen months after they'd faced the cameras on the day they brought Leonor home

 A slightly longer gap for the Belgian and Norwegian heirs although the dates of birth of Haakon and Mette-Marit's children make the space look slightly smaller.  Ingrid Alexandra was born on January 21st 2004 with Sverre Magnus arriving 22 months later on December 3rd 2005.

 

Sverre Magnus was still getting the hang of posing for portraits at his christening - everyone else's faces are on display but he clearly wants no more photos judging by the hand over his eyes

A gap of around 22 months was the choice of the now king and queen of the Belgians, Philippe and Mathilde, when they came to expand their family after the birth of their heiress, Elisabeth, on October 25th 2001.  Her little brother, Gabriel, arrived on August 20th 2003, just short of a one year ten month space between them.

 

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium holds her new brother, Gabriel, as the family pose for photographers two days after the little prince's birth in August 2003

Victoria of Sweden will have at least two years between the birth of Estelle and any other baby that comes along for the heiress and her husband.  The baby princess turns two in February 2014 and with no announcement of number two by now that means she'll be the oldest sibling with the biggest gap between herself and her heir unless, of course, William and Kate decide to leave it a few years before another child.

 

Royal generation game

With the announcement of the christening date for little prince George, we also have a deadline on that other much awaited photo of the year.  Ever since the arrival of baby Cambridge, there have been calls for a photo of the tot who will be king with the other two chaps expecting to have a crown in day and the woman who currently wears it.  October 23rd won't just be George's christening day. It will be the date we finally get to see all four generations of rulers of the House of Windsor together. 

 

Prince George of Cambridge is still to be seen on film with anyone other than his mum and dad - all that could change on October 23rd 2013

 

We know that the little prince has met his granddad and great grandmother but he's yet to be seen with them.  The photo will be one for the history books and yet another seal of success on the reign of Elizabeth II.  All monarchs want to assure the succession and the girl who was born not to be queen has done just that with three kings in waiting lining up behind her.  The only other time a monarch has been able to look that far ahead with such certainty was at the end of the 19th century when Victoria, Queen and Empress, saw her heir's heir produce an heir and then another three besides before she died.

 

 

Queen Victoria with her heir, Edward, and his heir, George and in her arms, George's heir, Edward. 

 

We got used to four generation photos of the House of Windsor while the Queen Mother was alive but of course she was a queen consort rather than a regnant so when her daughter is snapped with her great grandson, this will be another rare chance to see a quartet of monarchs at the same time. The famous photo of the Queen Mother for her 100th birthday stamps was a rare posed photo of all four generations together and stands with William's christening photos as a template for the picture that will most likely happen at George's christening.

 

 

Four generations of royalty - a queen consort with her queen regnant and her two kings in waiting

 

The royal week (ending 23rd August 2013)

A quick round up of what the royal families of Europe have been up to this week...

NORWAY

 

Perhaps the busiest royal household this week was the Norwegian.  On Sunday, the family was out in force for a religious service to mark the 40th birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit although her actual anniversary, on the Monday, was quiet and private.  It brought to an end the celebrations for the big birthdays being marked by Mette-Marit and her husband, Haakon, this summer.

 

Royals in wellies - the Norwegian royal family pulled their boots on for a special religious service in the Queen's Park in Oslo to mark Crown Princess Mette-Marit's 40th birthday

More day to day activitities for King Harald who held a regular Council of State with the Crown Prince at his side. He's also held several farewell audiences for ambassadors. Meanwhile, Queen Sonia has been to several concerts linked to the Interntional Music Festival which bears her name as well as the event's grand finale.

 

Queen Sonia of Norway with soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan who won at the Queen's International Music Festival

Queen Sonia's daughter, Princess Martha Louise, was given an award of her own.  The =Norge prize is given each year to someone who has shown outstanding contributions to social commitment and the princess was chosen for her work with children.  Previous winners have included a project dedicated to helping drug addicts. 

 

Richard Johannessen, presents Princess Martha Louise with the 2013 =Norge award

 

SPAIN

King Juan Carlos has been in Madrid continuing his recovery from the hip operation he underwent earlier this year.  But in a sign that he's getting back to normal, off he went to the football to see the annual friendly organised by Real Madrid in memory of Santiago Bernabeu, the man credited with turning the team into a powerhouse of European football.  The king handed over the trophy to Real Madrid after their 5-0 win against Al-Sadd.  And he welcomed back to the club one of its favourite sons.  Raul now plays for Al-Sadd but spent sixteen years playing for Real.  In recognition of his long career, Juan Carlos presented Raul with a mini replica of Madrid's famous Cibeles fountain.

King Juan Carlos presents Raul with a special trophy to mark his long and very successful career

 

But in the absence of any major activity, the Spanish press has continued to speculate on the state of the marriage of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia.  The royal house said their union was as strong as ever but rumours of a strained summer continue to come thick and fast.

DENMARK

 

Princess Mary spent several hours at a camp in Jordan for Syrian refugees this week as part of her work as patron of the United Nations Population Fund. The princess met many people, including children, who have had to leave their homes as the conflict in Syria escalates.  Mary was evacuated form the camp towards the end of her visit after protests about the chemical weapons attack near Damascus escalated.

 

 

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark speaking to children at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.  The children are among 120,000 people at the camp forced to leave their homes in Syria as the conflict there escalates

 

The royal family begins its official activities in full this week after the summer break and the Crown Prince took the chance to enjoy some last minute diversions.  He completed the Copenhagen Iron Man competition, coming in 706th overall.

 

 

Crown Prince Frederik taking part in the Copenhagen Iron Man competition

 

THE NETHERLANDS

 

The Dutch royal family continues its private mourning for Prince Johan Friso who died on August 12th and was buried last week close the home where his mother, Beatrix, will spend her retirement.  It was announced in the week that the farewell party for the now princess Beatrix, scheduled for September 14th, will be put back until some time in 2014.  The former queen is due to make her first public appearance since the death of her second son in the coming week. 

 

BELGIUM

 

A quiet week for the Belgian royal family as well as the new king and queen take a last few days of holiday before their children return to school and they get ready to embark on a tour of the country to say hello to their fellow citizens as monarchs for the first time. The royal progress begins on September 6th in Louvain. 

 

SWEDEN

 

The king and queen of Sweden have already been on a progress with the visits to various parts of the country to mark Carl XVI Gustaf's forty years as king continuing.  This week we got photos of them in eastern Sweden and their days in Vasternorrland and Vasterbotten counties.  There was a good turn out to celebrate the big jubilee and the king and queen spent quite a lot of time learning about forestry in the areas.

 



 

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on their visit to Vasterbotten county in eastern Sweden as part of the tour to mark the king's 40th jubilee.  Silvia became queen on her marriage in 1976.

 

UNITED KINGDOM

 

After a four week wait, the official photos of Prince George of Cambridge were released.  The snaps, taken by his maternal grandfather, Michael Middleton, showed the baby with his parents in the garden of her family home in Berkshire. 

 

 

One more time....the world's most famous baby in the world's most famous baby photo.  George, Kate and William share the limelight with Lupo the dog...

 

Meanwhile, Prince Harry was in Angola on a private visit to see the work of the Halo Trust, the charity which works to clear landmines and which his mother, Diana, famously helped promote.  The photograph of the princess walking through mineclearing work is one of the best known images of a woman who was pictured almost constantly for fifteen years.  Her youngest son is now patron of Halos' 25th Anniversary Appeal and Harry spent several days learning about the trust's work in Angola, meeting people injured by landmines and learning how to destroy the devices.

 

 

Prince Harry, patron of the Halo Trust's 25th Anniversary Appeal, learns about the work they do in Angola on a private visit to the country this week

 

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent became grandparents for the first time when their daughter-in-law, Sophie, gave birth to a little girl called Maud in America.  Maud Windsor became the first female member of Britain's royal family to be guaranteed her place in the line of succession ahead of any future little brother.

 

Meanwhile, the Queen and Prince Philip continued their holidays at Balmoral.

 

 



Official pictures of Prince George of Cambridge

So who does he look like?  Still impossible to say, really, as there are no close up shots of the boy who will be king.  But is that  passing resemblance to the man on the other side of the camera?  Michael Middleton took the first official pictures of Prince George and the little baby does look a bit like his paternal grandfather.

 

George Alexander Louis of Cambridge in his first official photograph

 

Closer up, who does the little prince look like?

 

First official photos of Prince George

Prince George of Cambridge is a bit of a rascal according to his dad but he slept peacefully through the first official photos - just released by his proud parents.

 

Prince George of Cambridge with his parents in his first official photograph, released by Kate and William

 

All granddads love to take photos of the next generation and it's Michael Middleton who has recorded the first full face photos of the future king of England for posterity.  The Cambridges are shown at her parents' home in Bucklebury with little George and in one portrait with that other very important member of their family, their dog, Lupo.

 

 

Another official photograph of Prince George, this time alongside his parents' other responsibility, Lupo