European royals are frequently seen out and about undertaking their duties and now many of them are confirmed to attend King Charles’ coronation.
- There are plenty of European royals who have been invited to King Charles’ coronation service in London on May 6.
- This many royals are rarely seen in one place and many fans might not be aware of just who everyone is.
- This royal news comes as we revealed how King Charles is incorporating Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip into his coronation service.
With King Charles’ coronation on May 6, the world’s gaze will be upon the UK as Heads of State from across the world come together to attend this national occasion. Amongst them will be plenty of European royals, ranging from Kings and Queen Consorts to Princes and Princesses. Many of them are also set to attend a pre-coronation reception at Buckingham Palace and the outfits are sure to be fabulous. But whilst many people might be quick to recognize some European royals like Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, royal fans might not know all the heads of European Royal Families and their heirs.
Here we reveal our run-down of European royals and whether or not they’re set to make an appearance on King Charles’ big day…
A run-down of European royals
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral in 2022, her distant cousin Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has become the only one of the European royals to be a reigning Queen. She previously discussed the “enormous impression” Queen Elizabeth made on her and attended the late monarch’s funeral in the UK. She also made headlines around the world when Queen Margrethe stripped half of her grandchildren of their titles. She has two children - Crown Prince Frederik who is heir to the throne of Denmark and Prince Joachim, both of whom have four children.
Sadly those hoping to catch a glimpse of Queen Margrethe at King Charles’ coronation look set to be disappointed. The Queen of Denmark has recently returned to royal duties after undergoing back surgery and is continuing to recover. The Danish Royal Family have now confirmed that her eldest son the Crown Prince and his wife the Crown Princess will attend His Majesty's big day.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian-born wife Crown Princess Mary will be attending King Charles’ coronation. The couple are often glimpsed undertaking engagements and are the proud parents of four children, the eldest of which is Prince Christian who is second in the Danish royal line of succession. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess met by chance at a pub during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She later moved to Denmark and they married in May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral. She met the Princess of Wales during her visit to Denmark in 2022 where Princess Catherine’s subtle shuffle into helped them achieve the perfect royal photo.
King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway
King Harald and Queen Sonja both attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022 and it’s possible they could be amongst the European royals who have been invited to King Charles’ coronation. They have two children together, Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon. King Harald is a second-cousin to the late Queen Elizabeth and together they were joint Patrons of the Anglo-Norse Society in London prior to her death. As he descends from British royalty he is part of the British royal line of succession, although admittedly quite far down. He married Queen Sonja in 1968 and they’d initially kept their relationship secret because she wasn’t royal herself.
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
Crown Prince Haakon is the heir to the Norwegian throne and he married his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in 2001. Like his mother, she wasn’t royal herself and the couple went on to have two children together, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Crown Princess Mette-Marit also has a son Marius from a previous relationship. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are set to attend King Charles' coronation and represent King Harald and Queen Sonja. The couple visited the UK together just a few months ago and were hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales for an important meeting.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden
King Carl XVI Gustaf is celebrating his Golden Jubilee in 2023 and although he is recovering from heart surgery, it’s believed that he’s still set to travel to the UK for King Charles’ coronation. He’ll apparently be accompanied by his daughter and heir Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden rather than his wife Queen Silvia. It was Queen Silvia who attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and committal services with King Carl XVI Gustaf last year. Like Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia met thanks to the Olympics. In their case they apparently met at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and they married in 1976. The royal couple have three children, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland
Crown Princess Victoria is the heir to the Swedish throne and she’s married to Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, who was formerly a personal trainer. The couple are proud parents to Princess Estelle who is next in line after her mother and Prince Oscar. She’ll reportedly be accompanying her father King Carl XVI Gustaf to King Charles’ coronation.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Just like plenty of other European royals King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium not only attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service but are set to watch her eldest son King Charles be officially crowned at Westminster Abbey. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde have four children together, Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore. King Charles attended the royal couple’s wedding in 1999 representing Queen Elizabeth, who was King Philippe’s third cousin.
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant
Princess Elisabeth is the heir to the Belgian throne and has the title Duchess of Brabant in recognition of this prestigious position, rather like Prince William being Prince of Wales as second in line to the British throne. She is studying at Oxford University in the UK and when Princess Elisabeth ascends to the throne in the future she will become Belgium’s first ruling Queen.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will be at King Charles’ coronation, as will the King’s mother Princess Beatrix and their eldest child Princess Catharina-Amalia. The King and Queen of the Netherlands also have two other daughters, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. The couple paid their respects at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022 and King Willem-Alexander ascended to the Dutch throne in 2013 when his mother Queen Beatrix abdicated.
Before becoming King he was a member of the International Olympic Committee, one again showing the links between European royals and the games. At King Willem and Queen Maxima’s wedding, King Charles once again represented Queen Elizabeth and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were also guests.
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, formerly Queen Beatrix
Princess Beatrix was formerly the ruling Queen of the Netherlands, but she abdicated in 2013 and King Willem-Alexander succeeded her as Dutch monarch. Now styled Princess Beatrix, she attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service and the funeral of King Constantine of Greece alongside other European royals. Princess Beatrix will also be at a pre-coronation reception held at Buckingham Palace the night before King Charles’ big day. She was one in a line of Dutch monarchs to abdicate as she became Queen after her own mother Queen Juliana abdicated in 1980. Princess Beatrix is a mother of two other children as well as King Willem-Alexander - Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn.
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange
Princess Catharina-Amalia is the Princess of Orange - a title which, like Duchess of Brabant in Belgium or Prince of Wales in the UK, is granted to the heir to the throne. She will join her grandmother Princess Beatrix for the pre-coronation reception at Buckingham Palace and so is also likely to be seen at the service itself on May 6. In January and February 2023 Princess Catharina-Amalia undertook her first official royal tour with her parents and visited Dutch Caribbean islands including Aruba and Sint Maarten.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain also attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022 and the funeral of King Constantine of Greece earlier this year. They were also amongst the European royals which also included King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands who attended an Order of the Garter ceremony in 2019. Here Queen Letizia was pictured alongside Queen Camilla and the Duchess of Cornwall and last year she met with King Charles when the pair visited The Spanish Gallery. She and King Felipe married in 2004 and are parents to two daughters, Princess Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofia.
Princess Leonor of Spain, Princess of Asturias
Princess Leonor is the Princess of Asturias as the heir to the Spanish throne and if she ascends to the throne as she’s set to do, she will become Spain’s first Queen Regnant since Isabella II in the 19th century. As the eldest daughter of the King and Queen, Princess Leonor is often seen stepping out with her parents as she prepares for her future role.
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the first cousin of King Phillipe of Belgium and he married his Cuban-born wife Maria Teresa, the Grand Duchess in 1981. They are parents to five children including Guillaume, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Felix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Princess Sebastien. The Grand Duke and Duchess will attend King Charles’ coronation and in April the Grand Duke joined King Charles and King Abdullah of Jordan for the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst’s 200th Sovereign’s Parade.
Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Guillaume, is the eldest son of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and he became a father for the second time in March 2023. He and his Belgian-born wife Princess Stéphanie welcomed their son Prince François and are already proud parents to Prince Charles.
Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein
Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein is the head of the Royal Family of Liechtenstein, however in 2004 he transferred day-to-day governmental responsibilities to his son and heir Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein as a Regent. Prince Hans-Adam is a widower and was married to his late wife Countess Marie Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau for 54 years before she passed away in 2021. They have three other children besides Alois - Prince Maximillian, Prince Constantin and Princess Tatjana.
Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein and Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein
Prince Alois and Princess Sophie represented the Royal Family of Liechtenstein at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and it’s possible they will do so again at King Charles’ coronation, especially as the Prince is Regent. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK and married his wife Sophie in 1993. They are parents to Prince Joseph Wenzel, Princess Marie-Caroline, Prince Georg and Prince Nikolaus.
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
Whilst King Constantine was the last official King of Greece before the Greek Monarchy was abolished, his wife, eldest son and other relatives are often still referred to by their royal titles. This includes Crown Prince Pavlos who is King Charles’ distant cousin and he and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal whom he married in 1995 in London are expected to attend the coronation. Crown Princess Marie-Chantal is the founder of luxury babywear and gifting brand Marie-Chantal and she and Crown Prince Pavlos have four children - Princess Maria-Olympia, Prince Constantine-Alexios, Prince Achileas-Andreas, Prince Odysseas-Kimon and Prince Aristidis-Stavros.
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece is the widow of King Constantine, the sister of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and the cousin of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She was born a Danish Princess and married the King of Greece in 1964, making her children also technically Prince or Princess of Denmark. She and King Constantine have five children - Crown Prince Pavlos, Princess Alexia, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco
Amongst all the other European royals who are attending King Charles’ coronation are Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco. Prince Albert was the first royal from outside the United Kingdom to officially confirm that he would be at the ceremony. He is the son of the late Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, formerly known as Grace Kelly. Prince Albert met his wife when she was still a professional swimmer and they attended Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding together in 2011. He and Princess Charlene married in 2011 and in 2014 they welcomed twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella.
-
Is The Listeners based on a true story? The real inspiration behind the BBC seriesThe Listeners on BBC One has a very intriguing plot - if you're wondering whether it has basis in a true story, there's actually a very unsettling backstory to the tale.
-
The best winter accessories on the high street - from chunky striped scarfs to luxury leather glovesI'm a fashion writer and here are the winter accessories that have caught my eye this season
