As summer comes to an end, royals around the world are back in action making appearances and soaking up the final vacation days this week. Just two days after the Dutch royal family enjoyed a day of sailing, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands set off for school on Monday morning by bike, the preferred mode of transport in the low-lying country.
The 11-year-old royal, who is the eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, was filmed leaving her house and pedaling down the drive of her home. The Dutch royal palace released a video on its official Facebook account of Amalia starting her first day of senior school at the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague.
The footage was a rare move for the King and Queen, who naturally hope to keep their children out of the public eye. When Amalia and her sisters started junior school in their younger years, press were not invited to the event.
Prinses Catharina-Amalia op weg naar schoolPrinses Catharina-Amalia vertrekt vanuit huis naar het Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in Den Haag, video: Z.M. de Koning.
Posted by Het Koninklijk Huis on Sunday, 23 August 2015
"It is in the princess' interest that she can travel to school in peace," the caption for a photo of Amalia on her bike read. "Her school is private. The princess has, like her peers, the right to a normal youth. Because her life will largely be devoted to public duties in the future, it is important to respect her privacy."
Princess Victoria and Princess Mette-Marit came together to highlight climate change Photo: Getty Images
Elsewhere, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden returned from holiday in France to take part in a Climate Pilgrimage on August 22 in Stromstad, Sweden along with Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. The pair were pictured on a wooden bridge, where Mette-Marit gave the Swedish princess a bottle of water on the border of the two countries to highlight the scarcity of water in many regions in the world.
And Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece posted pictures of her vacation in the Bahamas just days before bringing her daughter Princess Olympia to college in New York City.