As the sun comes out and temperatures soar, the royal families of Europe seize the opportunity to take a break in their favourite summer retreats.
Earlier in the week the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were the first members of the British contingent to retire to Sandringham House, Norfolk, where the family has a summer home. Crowds of well-wishers looked on as they attended a service at Sandringham church, just two weeks before the Queen Mother celebrates her 101st birthday.
This week King Juan Carlos of Spain took some time out to enjoy one of his favourite pastimes – sailing. Whilst waiting for his wife, Queen Sofia, to join him on the Balearic island of Majorca, he filled in the time cruising in his luxurious yacht Fortuna, with a party of friends. The high-tech craft has been recently refitted to contain all the latest navigational instrumentation.
Swedish King Carl Gustaf, his wife Queen Silvia and their three children are also enjoying a well-earned summer break. They were spotted in Sainte-Maxime, the beautiful holiday resort on the Cote d’Azur. Regular visitors to the enchanting coastal town, the couple were accompanied by their 19-year-old daughter Princess Madeleine. They are later to be joined by their elder daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, and her brother, Prince Carl Philip, who has just completed a five-month naval training course on board the HMS Carskona.
France seems to be a firm favourite with the royals, as another couple coming south to spend some time in the sun were Denmark’s Prince Joachim and his wife Princess Alexandra. Staying in the Caix Chateau, a popular southern French retreat for the Danish royal family, the young couple showed off their one-year-old son, Prince Nikolai, to photographers in the setting of the chateau’s extensive gardens.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
