Easter week has seen a wave of young European royal families heading for the ever-popular Mediterranean island of Majorca with their buckets and spades to soak up some sunshine during the school break.
Spain's Infanta Cristina and her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, have really had their hands full: as well as their own children - Juan, Pablo, Miguel and Irene - they were also taking care of their niece and nephew Felipe Juan Froilan and Victoria Federica, the Duke and Duchess of Lugo's offspring.
Accompanying them on the sun, sea and sand vacation were Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, with his Spanish-born wife Rosario Nadal and their three children – Mafalda, Olimpia and Tassil. Even with the child-friendly facilities of Majorca, where there are loads of outdoor activities to enjoy while parents kick back in the sunshine, nine little ones running about makes for quite a hectic holiday.
But the Spanish royals are famously family-oriented, and the Infanta, who is the King's younger daughter, at one point briskly lined the kids up in the sand for a few snapshots to take home to their grandparents in between the youngsters' dips in the sea.
And Majorca was definitely the place to be for royal-watchers over the past few days, with Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and his family also chilling out on the Balearic island.
Careful to slather his face with sun cream, the prince wheeled his four-month-old son, Prince Sverre Magnus, along the beach in his pushchair while Crown Princess Mette-Marit played with their toddler, Princess Ingrid.
As well as its gorgeous beaches, Majorca offers a lovely and vibrant old town area in its capital, Palma de Mallorca, and spectacular inland scenery. But for the royals with small kids to entertain and tire out, the beach is clearly the way to go right now.
Photo: Rex
Photo: Rex
