Ten special moments for future monarchs in 2024
Today at 05:00 AM
It's hard to believe that we've been watching the latest generation of royals grow up in real time and now they're all either in university, or undergoing military training, or taking the next steps to prepare them for their future roles!
As we look back on 2024, let's take a look at 10 of the biggest moments for some of Europe’s future queens and that solitary future king: Princess Elisabeth, Princess Catharina Amalia, Princess Leonor, Crown Prince Christian, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
Princess Leonor makes first solo visit abroad
Granted, it wasn't a long flight from Spain to Lisbon, but on 12 July, Princess Leonor undertook her first official visit abroad for a day of engagements in Portugal.
The Spanish Royal Court shared that the destination was chosen to reflect and reinforce "the bonds of fraternity and closeness that unite both countries" and the future queen of Spain's itinerary was jam-packed with diplomatic events.
Between meeting with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a trip to the Jerónimos Monastery of Santa María de Belém and the Basilica to visit the tomb of Luis de Camões, and a visit to the Lisbon Oceanarium, Princess Leonor still found time to attend an official lunch and give her first speech abroad.
"Ten years ago, this beloved country was the first destination of my parents as King and Queen of Spain, so I cannot deny how special it is for me to be here today. They, who have been here on so many occasions, have spoken to me with great affection, 'com saudade,' of their visits to Portugal, of the love they have received in its streets and of how you have always made them feel at home. That is how I feel today. This is a trip that I was looking forward to and that makes me very happy."
Sandwiched between her graduation from army training and the beginning of her naval training, it was a quick and memorable dip into the pool of international relations for Princess Leonor.
Princess Elisabeth heads to Harvard
She’s been a bit of a trailblazer for a generation of royals and Princess Elisabeth has already completed the obligatory military training. Over the summer, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with upper second class honours in history and politics from Lincoln College, Oxford.
In May, the Belgian Royal Court announced that the future queen of the Belgians would begin a two-year program at Harvard, reading for her Master's degree in Public Policy. Although she gave no official interview, at the time of her graduation from Oxford, a spokesperson from the palace shared that "The Princess loved studying in Oxford and had a wonderful time in Lincoln College."
Princess Elisabeth’s arrival at Harvard was memorialised in the future queen’s new birthday snaps taken on the campus.
Crown Prince Christian steps into a new role and acts as regent
It was a shock announcement out of Denmark on New Year's Eve when Queen Margrethe appeared before her people and announced her plans to abdicate on 14 January. With everything coming together in time to crown King Frederik X and Queen Mary, it also meant a new spotlight permanently aimed at the new direct heir: Crown Prince Christian.
While there was no immediate change to his schooling or future plans, his father's accession meant that Crown Prince Christian now had a spot on the Council of State and could act as regent if needed.
Less than two weeks later, Crown Prince Christian served as regent for the very first time while his father was abroad in Poland. It wasn't the last time, either: when his parents travelled to Paris for the Summer Olympics, a newly-graduated Crown Prince Christian again served as regent.
Princess Catharina-Amalia sends tulips to Spain
It's no secret that the future Dutch queen has had a rough go of it throughout her university career. After announcing that she would be attending the University of Amsterdam to read for a Bachelor of Science degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics and living in student housing, Princess Amalia was forced to withdraw from public life after threats against her person.
In April, King Willem-Alexander revealed that for part of her studies, Princess Catharina Amalia studied abroad from Spain for her own protection, thanks in part to King Felipe and Queen Letizia. Her father called it a "touching demonstration of friendship at a difficult time."
Later in the year, Princess Catharina Amalia sent tulips to Madrid as a thank you gift, writing in a note that "I'm bringing a piece of Dutch floral splendor to your city at the beautiful Plaza de Oriente. Hoping that, especially in spring, it adds some extra color to life in Madrid, like the city has given me."
Princess Ingrid Alexandra begins military service
It's a right of pass all future monarchs go through: military training. Late last year, Norway's future queen announced that she'd spend 2024 with the Engineer Battalion in Brigade Nord and on 17 January, days before her 20th birthday, she arrived for eight weeks of training.
While controversy swirled around her family this year, Princess Ingrid Alexandra was largely untouched by it all. In September, the Norwegian Royal Court announced that she planned to extend her military service to 15 months and that she had been serving on a CV-90 infantry fighting vehicle.
In an interview during her service, Private Alexandra—as she's known in the military—said that "I think the most important thing I have learned is that you can do much more than you think, and you are much stronger together. Whether it’s in a team or in a platoon or company, you get a lot more done when you’re not alone."
Princess Leonor goes to Paris
On the helm of a successful solo visit to Portugal, Princess Leonor packed up for Paris and hit the City of Love just in time for the Summer Olympics. While royals acting as cheerleaders for their countries is nothing new, what's new this time is that Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía did it on their own this time.
That's not to say that King Felipe and Queen Letizia weren't in Paris either—the royals attended several events tied to the opening ceremonies and made their own mark on the Olympics and at the Spanish Olympic Team's village—but they left town long enough for their daughters to take centre stage cheering on the Olympians and let the sisters take the spotlight.
It was a major news story when Princess Catharina-Amalia turned 18, that she would forgo her allowance due to her as heiress to the throne while she was still a student and not undertaking official engagements, and it's one she's held to in the years since.
The Princess of Orange makes a money decision
But Princess Amalia caused a bit of a stir, for better or worse, when she wrote to the Prime Minister to tell him that while she still has no plans to undertake more official engagements—although she was a welcome presence during the Spanish State Visit and the Portuguese State Visit—she does plan to stop reimbursing her expenses like she has been doing.
In the letter, Princess Amalia wrote: "With the passing of time and following surprising circumstances, it is now foreseeable that I will have to take into account personnel and material expenses with a view to an independent…fulfillment of my function, including a secretariat and reservations for a living and working accommodation."
The amount she'd receive for expenses each year changes due to inflation, but for reference, if she had stopped reimbursing this year it would've been to the tune of €1.5 million not reimbursed.
Why Princess Amalia has made this decision remains to be seen; she's about to complete her degree at the University of Amsterdam and the expenses are set to help pay for staffing and official duties.
Crown Prince Christian does everything, everywhere, all at once
At the beginning of the summer, Crown Prince Christian graduated from the Ordrup Gymnasium surrounded by his proud family. It was the kick-off to a busy summer for the future king.
Time spent in Paris cheering on Denmark's Paralympians in early September came only days before he traveled to an undisclosed country in East Africa for a short gap between schooling and military training.
The Danish Royal Court shared that Crown Prince Christian would follow in the long tradition of heirs to the throne taking a gap trip abroad and his time in East Africa would see him working the daily operations of two farms "which will, among other things, include practical and administrative tasks and also give the Crown Prince insight into local nature protection."
In November, weeks before he was due to return home to Denmark, Crown Prince Christian shared a missive on social media, writing that while he'd learned a lot and embraced his time in East Africa, "now I’m also starting to look forward to returning home to the family in Denmark and celebrating Christmas in a few weeks. And now I’m looking forward to new challenges! In February I’ll start working as a military officer at the Guardhouse Regiment in Slagelse."
The Guard Hussar Regiment is one of the two active calvary units in the Danish Army and also closely supports the Danish Royal Family.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra gets in the holiday spirit
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that Private Alexandra would be available for a handful of royal engagements in December. Taking a break from her military service, Princess Ingrid Alexandra accompanied her mother on a visit to the Drammen Hospital on St. Lucia Day and later joined the wider Norwegian Royal Family for a government luncheon hosted at the Royal Palace.
It’s rare to see Princess Ingrid Alexandra at official functions outside National Day these days, so getting a double dose of the future queen—plus a planned Christmas chapel service for volunteers at the Castle Chapel a few days later—was a treat!
Princess Estelle marks the special celebration of St. Lucia
The youngest of the gang we're featuring wasn't as visible as her contemporaries, but Princess Estelle's starring turn in the Swedish Royal Family's social media celebrations for St. Lucia Day can't be overlooked!
While we only typically see Princess Estelle at wider family celebrations, like Crown Princess Victoria's birthday celebrations, this year we were treated to a special St. Lucia Day snap with the future queen of Sweden dressed like the ancient saint complete with a candlelit wreath in her hair and a plate full of Lucia buns to mark the occasion.
The post Ten special moments for future monarchs in 2024 appeared first on Royal Central.
