WEDDING FLOWERS: Swedish Royalty
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Showing posts with label Swedish Royalty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swedish Royalty. Show all posts

Meet Baby Bernadotte

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He's home. The newest member of the Swedish Royal Family has left hospital with his parents just a day after being born. And here's the photo to prove it.



The little prince, sixth in line to the throne, was born at 11.24 on August 31st 2017 at the Danderyd Hospital. He is the second son of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia and a little brother for nineteen month old Prince Alexander. He came home on Friday September 1st and we were treated to the now traditional photo of proud royal parents with little person in car seat as he headed into the Villa Solbacken. His names and title will be announced on September 4th but in the meantime, the newest royal on the continent is back home with his family.

Sweden has a new prince

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Royal Baby Sweden is a boy.  The announcement was made by proud dad, Prince Carl Philip, at a press conference at Danderyd Hospital where his son was born earlier today. The baby, a second child for the prince and his wife Princess Sofia, weighed 3.4kg (7lbs 7oz) and measured 49cm.


The baby was born at 11.24 on August 31st 2017 and is the second son for the couple who married on June 13th 2015 in Stockholm. Their first child, Prince Alexander, is now 16 months old, arriving on April 19th 2016 at the same hospital.  Carl Philip announced the arrival by referring to a little brother for Alexander and described his new son as ''charming'' and ''pure joy'' as well as ''perfect''.


The baby prince is sixth in line to the throne of Sweden and the sixth grandchild and fourth grandson for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. His names and title will be announced at a special cabinet meeting on Monday.

Photo credit: kungahuset.se

A royal baby for Sweden

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Sweden has a new royal baby. Princess Sofia has given birth to her second child. The new sixth in line to the throne was born on August 31st 2017 at 11.24am local time at the Danderyd Hospital. Mother and baby are well. A happy beginning to a new royal chapter.




The announcement came in a brief communique from the Marshall of the Realm. We don't yet know whether the baby is a boy or a girl - that will come in a press conference with proud papa, Prince Carl Philip, a little later on today. The new baby is a little brother or sister for Prince Alexander who was born on April 19th 2016 and a sixth grandchild for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.



The new second time mummy was last seen in public at a friend's wedding. Her last public engagement was at the start of August when she attended a conference on Sustainability in the Future. It's not yet known when she will leave hospital with her second child. But we do know that Sweden's latest royal baby provides a happy end to the regal summer. Well done, that princess.

Photo credit: kungahuset.se

5 royal brides who didn't wear tiaras....

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Royal brides wear tiaras, we all know that to be true. And if you're hubby is a) a ruling sovereign or b) quite likely to end up as one then a diadem is all but compulsory. However, several very important royal brides have bucked that trend including one who celebrates her 49th wedding anniversary today and walked down the aisle with only flowers in her hair. Here are five famous royal consorts who didn't wear tiaras to their weddings.



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Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
April 26th 1923


When Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Albert, Duke of York at Westminster Abbey she wasn't expected to be queen. She was also marrying into a royal family that hadn't really done bridal tiaras for a while. So the lack of diamond diadem was less surprising than it might have been. Instead, the woman who would end up as Queen Mother chose to wear myrtle in her hair with a white York rose on either side of her headdress. Yep, even then, Elizabeth knew just how to do things right. This dress is very 1920s and really rather simple for a woman who would become one of the last empresses of the 20th century. Not many of those just wear flowers in their hair.





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 Princess Astrid of Sweden
November 1926

Just three years later, one of the most popular royal brides of the twenties swerved a wedding tiara chance not once but twice. Astrid of Sweden's marriage to Leopold, heir to the throne of Belgium, was one of the love stories of the time. The couple were hugely popular with massive crowds gathering for both their civil wedding in Stockholm on November 4th 1926 and again for their religious ceremony at the Cathedral of St Michel and St Gudula in Brussels on November 10th that year. Astrid didn't wear a tiara to either celebration. She kept things very traditional for her home wedding, choosing a Swedish crown of myrtle to top her lace veil. There was even less adornment for her Belgian wedding even though just about every female guest at the ceremony was wearing a tiara. Astrid was marrying an heir to the throne but chose to do things her way. She would become Queen of the Belgians in 1934 on her husband's accession as Leopold III. Queen Astrid died following a car accident on August 29th 1935.




Grace Kelly
April 19th 1956

Grace Kelly wasn't just marrying a sovereign when she walked down the aisle in Monaco to say 'I do' to Prince Rainier III on April 19th 1956. She was creating the image of the perfect princess. The Hollywood superstar turned royal bride was dressed to impress by Helen Rose of MGM and the two of them decided to ditch the diadem. Instead of a tiara, the bride the world wanted to see wore a beaded lace Juliet cap. But then Grace didn't need diamonds to sparkle. Her wedding look was iconic from the moment it appears and remains the same today. 

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Paola Ruffo di Calabria
July 2nd 1959

Like Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Paola didn't think she was marrying a future king when she said 'I do' to Albert of Belgium in Brussels in July 1959. Her new husband was the younger brother of King Baudouin of the Belgians who, at that time, was expected to wed and have children himself. So Paola's marriage - which she had wanted to have in Rome - was a lower key affair although still packed with royalty, a huge train and epic amounts of flowers. And the bride's decision to wear orange blossom in her hair rather than a tiara was a bit of a departure from the expected norm at the time although all eyes were on her Brussels lace veil, a family heirloom of hers. Paola ended up Queen of the Belgians when Albert succeeded his brother in 1993 after Baudouin and his wife, Fabiola, had no children of their own. Albert abdicated in favour of his son, Philipppe, in 2013.

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Sonja Haraldsen
August 29th 1968

Like many a 1960s bride before and after her, Sonja Haraldsen went fake flowers for her hair ornament. Never mind that she was marrying the future King of Norway. Never mind that their royal romance had caused all kinds of controversy as the Crown Prince was meant to marry regally. Never mind that on saying 'I do' Sonja became the leading lady of Norway as her new father-in-law, King Olav, was a widower. None of that was enough to persuade Sonja to drop her dream look and swap a (rather pretty) artificial flower arrangement for a tiara. She chose a small spray of white flowers to top her simple veil and dress. Sonja, who became Queen of Norway in 1991, has never knowingly shied away from a tiara since her wedding but on the day she became a royal bride she chose to do things her way and keep the flowers unreal.

Royal Number Seven

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Sweden's royal baby boom continues and the latest pregnancy announcement (Madeleine, number three, March next year, all well) has put the country's king and queen in a rather special situation. For this little prince or princess will be grandchild number seven for Carl Gustaf and Silvia. Seven is a bit of a magic number, lucky for most and special for many. So in honour of their exciting news, here's a run down of who else makes the number seven royal grandkids club. We'll start with the current monarchs of Europe and their broods...




United Kingdom



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Lady Louise Windsor is the seventh grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh

Name Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary
Born November 8th 2003, Frimley Park, Surrey
Daughter of Edward, Earl of Wessex (youngest child of Elizabeth and Philip) and Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Place in line of succession Lady Louise is eleventh in line to the throne
Title Lady Louise Windsor (though technically she is entitled to be known as HRH Princess Louise of Wessex)


Denmark



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Princess Josephine of Denmark is the seventh grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik


Name Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda
Born January 11th 2011, Copenhagen
Daughter of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark (and elder son of Margethe and Henrik) and Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
Place in line of succession Princess Josephine is fifth in line to the Danish throne
Title Her Royal Highness Princess Josephine of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat


Of course, many of Europe's monarchs are still raising their children so don't have grandchildren yet. That's not going to stop a royal review in its tracks. Let's go one generation back to the monarchs who have recently abdicated and put a call out for number seven....


Belgium


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Prince Gabriel of Belgium is the seventh grandchild of King Albert II and Queen Paola

Name Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie
Born on August 20th 2003, Anderlecht
Son of King Philippe of the Belgians (eldest child of Albert and Paola) and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
Place in line of succession Prince Gabriel is second in line to the Belgian throne
Title His Royal Highness Prince Gabriel of Belgium

Spain



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Princess Leonor is the seventh grandchild of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia

Name Leonor de Todos los Santos
Born on October 31st 2005, Madrid
Son of King Felipe VI of Spain (youngest child of Juan Carlos and Sofia) and Queen Letizia of Spain
Place in line of succession Princess Leonor is the heir to the Spanish throne
Title Her Royal Highness Princess Leonor, Princess of Asturias



Netherlands

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Countess Zaria is the seventh grandchild of Princess Beatrix and her late husband, Prince Claus

Name Joanna Zaria Nicoline Milou
Born June 18th 2006, London
Daughter of the late Prince Johan Friso (second son of Beatrix and Claus) and Princess Mabel
Place in line of succession None, Zaria has never held succession rights
Title Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau




In Norway, King Harald and Queen Sonja currently have five grandchildren and one step grandson while Luxembourg's Grand Duke and Duchess, Henri and Maria Teresa, have three grandchildren. Sweden's monarchs welcome their sixth grandchild in September when Princess Sofia is due to give birth to her second baby with Prince Carl Philip and number seven will arrive in March 2018 with Madeleine's latest arrival. 

Royal Baby Boom: Sweden's lucky seven

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King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia are awash with grandchildren. With just days to go until Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia welcome their second baby, the Swedish Royal Household has confirmed that Princess Madeleine is to be a mummy again. Madeleine's new baby will be grandchild number seven for the King and Queen of Sweden. Definitely lucky for them.







Madeleine and her husband, Chris O'Neill, also shared the news on the princess' official Facebook page with a short and to the point message. The couple already have two children, hence the maths. Princess Leonore was born in February 2014 while Prince Nicolas joined the family in June 2015.



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The official announcement gave a little more detail, saying that the princess felt well and that her baby is due in March 2018. The new royal will be tenth in line to the Swedish throne.  Princess Madeleine's last public appearance came earlier this week at the European Showjumping Championships which she opened in Gothenberg.




The King and Queen of Sweden have seen their family grow at a rapid rate in the past five years. In February 2012 they became grandparents for the first time with the birth of Princess Estelle, eldest child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. Leonore and Nicolas are numbers two and three on the grandkids list followed by Victoria's son, Prince Oscar, who was born in March 2016. Just five weeks later, Princess Sofia gave birth to her and Prince Carl Philip's first child, Prince Alexander. They will welcome baby number two in just a few days time. But their new prince or princess will be the baby of the family for just a few months with Madeleine's happy news. When it comes to royal babies in Sweden, it's time for lucky seven.

The Royal Week in 5 Photos

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And then we came to the end. After weeks of sunshine, shorts and sandals, the royal summer is beginning to pack its bags and head off for another year. Random royals are starting to appear with tans that clearly weren't acquired in the minstrels' gallery of some dusty castle and we'd now be shocked, if not horrified, to see anyone do a photocall in espardrilles. Yep, summer is saying goodbye and we're saying hello to a busier royal diary. Here are five fun photos to sum up the royal week where summer started to fade....





Autumn means back to school and even when you're second in line to your country's throne that still includes your dad making you roll your eyes. As Princess Alexia, now twelve, got ready for her first day at her new college, her dad took a video and some photos to share on the official Dutch royal social media accounts. OK, dad is King Willem-Alexander but that didn't stop this almost teenager looking, well, very actual teenager as she posed reluctantly for the family album. What's not to love?




This week also saw a return to royal duties for Alexia's mum, Maxima, after a summer where she lost her father, Jorge Zorreguieta. Maxima said a final farewell to her dad a couple of weeks ago but was back on duty to visit the Bartholomeus Guesthouse which provides shelter for those in need and the Buurtgezinnen Foundation which offers support to single parent families. The smile was mega watt but what else do you expect? This is Maxima, royal superstar.





Talking of royal superstars back on duty, here's Queen Margrethe. Denmark's monarch looked carefree and really very happy as she made her first appearance after two weeks in France with a husband who firstly gave a magazine interview in which he said she'd treated him badly over his decision not to be buried with her and who then ended up in hospital with a repeat of a leg complaint that has already given cause for concern. But if you'd missed all of that, you would never have known that Margrethe has had a really tough summer. She was literally glowing as she opened the Aarhus Festival. Keep royally calm and carry on. 




Royals do a lot of waving but it's good to see that this most basic of regal staples can take even them by surprise. Princess Madeleine of Sweden looked really very excited indeed to be waving as she attended the European Showjumping Championships in Gothenberg this week.  Madeleine also appeared to have a great time doing those other royal favourites including cutting a ribbon and officially declaring the event open. Summers can be very long when you're a mummy to two small children - a day out takes on many layers of extra meaning after weeks of pureed food and kids TV.




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King Felipe of Spain returned to Barcelona at the end of the week to take part in a march in memory of those killed in the terrorist attacks in the city and in Cambrils last week. Some estimates put the number marching through the streets to pay their respects at around half a million. Many were holding banners reading 'No Tinc Por' - 'We are not afraid' but there were also posters protesting at the presence of officials including the King and Felipe was booed at one point. It follows a week of debate about Spanish government policy. Felipe ignored the protests, instead taking his place at the front of the march and in so doing, becoming the first Spanish monarch to take part in a popular demonstration.

Photo credit: casareal.es

Steel for August: Sweden's Steel Stash

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August has spinel and peridot as its birth stones and although we'll end the month with a look at some regal examples of those stones, there aren't enough to fill a whole four weeks of sparkly wonder. So this summer, we're taking a look at some of the tiaras that just don't fit anywhere else in the calendar of jewels including some of those made mainly of metal. Yes, metal. We've had a look at some of the golden additions to the modern European sparkle stash and now it's time to get really, well, metally, and start on the steel. Sweden has two tiaras made of the stuff and they're both rather pretty. Here's a sparkle fest you weren't expecting, Steel for August.


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The biggest and, in my opinion, best of the metal tiaras currently doing the round in Europe is the Cut Steel version seen in Sweden. This is a favourite right now of Crown Princess Victoria and on her head, sparkling away at major events, you would never guess that this diadem is a diamond free zone.




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The Cut Steel Tiara does what it says on the tin, all puns intended. It's made of steel, cut and polished to sparkle like a jewel encrusted diadem. The material was popular in the early 18th century for women who couldn't afford the diamonds and friends spectaculars that usually constitute tiaras and found a great vogue in the Napoleonic era which is where this beauty began its royal journey.




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It first belonged to Queen Hortense of Holland, the only daughter of the Empress Josephine by her first marriage. Mummy's second hubby was, of course, Napoleon. He arranged a marriage between his brother, Louis, and Hortense and then went on to make them King and Queen of Holland. Hortense gave it to her niece, Josephine of Leuchtenberg, who ended up Queen of Sweden through her marriage to Oscar I who was the son of another of Napoleon's loves. This tiara comes with a backdrop that would put a romantic novel to shame.



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But for all its evocation of empire, it became a sleeping partner in the rather impressive Swedish royal jewellery box - perhaps because the family have such a cracking set of sparklers to choose from. However, in 1979 it twinkled back into sight when Queen Silvia wore it on a State Visit having apparently found it while having a good old rummage at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It only goes to prove that there can be advantages to housework.



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Since then it's become a bit of a favourite and is most often seen on Crown Princess Victoria. It's central feature is a plume of feathers, surrounded by oak leaves and acorns atop a row of cut steel flowers. There's a bit of brass in there to add colour and the end result is a terrific tiara with plenty of originality.  But why stop at one steel tiara when you can have two? The Swedish Royal Family also owns a smaller, bandeau style diadem which has been worn by Victoria and Princess Sofia. It, too, first belonged to Hortense and spent over a century hidden away.



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It's much simpler, made up of a lattice of cut steel topped with a row of little studs that can't help but sparkle whichever way they move. It's pretty if slightly underwhelming, a tiara for a rainy day if ever there was one.




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Steel doesn't feature in other royal collections, making these two tiaras unique but all the more interesting for that. And in the case of the biggie, it's become so much of a go to for Victoria that it's even been featured on stamps. It's an emblem of this popular royal, another layer of history for a tiara with a special regal story of its own.

One royal week, five royal photos

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It's been a quiet week on the royal front if you're not Prince Henrik of Denmark. In which case it's been an expose yourself to global ridicule kind of seven days. But let's ignore him, it's the best thing to do with hissy fitters. Instead, let's enjoy some of the best photos of a quiet-ish royal week. Despite the summer lull we had enough regal sightings to keep us busy for another few days. Here are some of the pictorial highlights.


The Earl of Wessex has been in Edinburgh, where he attended the first performance of the 2017 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle. The @edinburghtattoo is an annual series of military performances by the British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands that forms part of the Edinburgh Festival. Also in Edinburgh, The Earl, Patron of the Edinburgh International Festival, attended the opening concert of the 2017 Festival. 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of the festival and the opening concert of Haydn’s ‘Surprise’ Symphony and Mendelssohn's Symphony No 2 ‘Lobgesang’, also opened the first festival in 1947. The Earl became the @edintfest Patron earlier this year, making him the third Royal Patron, following The Queen and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
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Poor Prince Edward, there's not much that can be done to make this photo look relaxed and natural. The Earl of Wessex was taking part in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It's part of the Edinburgh Festival and Eddie has just become their patron. Quite why that meant ending up in full uniform while holding a small silver dish isn't clear. At least Prince Albert of Monaco kept him company. Let's face it, it doesn't really matter what's meant to be going on, you can't look at this photo and not smile. Edward and Albert get the royal troopers of the week prize.




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Princess Athena started school in Copenhagen and after a very shy photocall with her mum and dad, Princess Marie and Prince Joachim, she was all smiles as she arrived at Sisters of St Joseph School. Mum took a snap of dad and daughter and it ended up on the official Instagram page getting plenty of aahs in the process.



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King Felipe VI of Spain and the country's Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, put in a last minute bid to be part of this year's Strictly Come Dancing as they met in Mallorca. The men walked sideways up the steps of the Marivent Palace while smiling and waving. All they needed was a few sequins and a blast of Hollywood music and the audition might just have worked.







Queen Silvia was clearly feeling the chill as she attended the finale of the Scouts Jamboree in Sweden for this year. While King Carl XVI Gustaf was keeping it light, his consort chose a padded jacket with waterproof over it and a bright pink blanket just in case. You can't be too careful in August.






Back to Denmark where Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary and their four children have been on an unexpected staycation as their summer break comes to an end. The future king and queen have been hopping round some of their homegrown highlights with Christian, Isabella, Vincent and Jospephine and posting lots of photos on the official social media accounts while they are at it. This one shows the royal kids doing what all kids do on holiday - lark around while mum tries to get a great photo to remember her special times with her babies by. These princes and princesses have got the royal job down pat already - granddad might be huffing in France but they're putting on a smiley show and displaying their country to its best advantage while they're at it. That's a royal photo worth capturing.

Royal social media stars of July 2017

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Royalty relies on image. Since medieval times, the appearance of things regal plays a big part in the success or otherwise of a dynasty. From Holbein's portraits to Beaton's photos, one moment caught forever can have a huge say on the forever prospects of a royal family. In the 21st century, image remains just as important and is played out in many different ways with Instagram increasingly popular. Nearly all the royal houses of Europe have an official account now (we're looking at you, here, Felipe and Letizia because you broke our hearts not launching one to co-incide with the State Visit) and what they post there gives us a pretty good idea of how they want to be seen right now. Just as importantly, what we like gives a good indication of how we see the royals right now. And birthdays and cute kids always win. Nothing beats a birthday on Instagram. Except puppies, and we had one of those this month, too. In a cake filled month, here's what won hearts for the royals in July 2017.




To be honest, there was only ever one contender for most popular official royal Instagram of July 2017. Birthday boy George always had this one in the bag. Turning four guaranteed us a new official photo which had the top spot sorted before it was even released. But the Chris Jackson portrait of a smiling George was successful beyond anything seen so far on official royal Instagram accounts. It took 307k likes and counting in just a few days, making it easily that channel's most liked photo ever and. That's in a month with a lot of photos to get through as the Cambridges toured Germany and Poland, hit Wimbledon and did the whole State Banquet thing when King Felipe and Queen Letizia came to call. Nothing came close to George.





Birthdays played big in Sweden, too, this month where the official royal Instagram account was on fire and winning more hearts than you can shake a stick at. There was a rush of shared images for the 40th birthday of Crown Princess Victoria and you put a popular princess, big birthday and Instagram together and you get a mad rush of likes. The most popular image, just, was this stand out snap of Victoria with her children, Estelle and Oscar, on the carriage ride through Stockholm on her birthday. This is what royal Instagram is all about. A fab photo, behind the scenes and giving us something we wouldn't otherwise see and all taken by Victoria's husband, Daniel, as the two of them tried to keep adventurous Oscar in the carriage itself. But it had stiff competition with official portraits of Victoria almost beating it to top spot and an image of the whole Swedish Royal Family released to celebrate summer hot on its heels. It's been a really successful month for Sweden's royals and that's written large on the Instagram page where the House of Bernadotte can currently do no wrong.
Belgium's official royal Instagram account also had its best month ever. This is one of the newest around and it's still building a following. Right now it has just under 6,500 followers compared to Kensington Palace's 2 million. So it's most liked image of July is a real triumph. OK, it's only on 3,000 or so likes but that's about half its followers and it's easily the most popular post it's had so far. And it shows that the next generation of the country's royals are bringing in the likes - this photo of heir to the throne, Princess Elisabeth, with her two brothers and sister was shared to mark Belgium's National Day on July 21st and outdid anything else on the account with no questions asked. Check out the comments, Elisabeth is a royal star in the making.




Back to the birthdays and another anniversary special ended up as the most liked Instagram post on the official Norwegian royal account. The slightly awkward photo of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus unveiling the, shall we call it unusual, statue of his mother, Queen Sonja, on her actual 80th birthday took at terrific 2,115 hears in July, making it one of this new account's most popular posts ever. This royal channel started out by promising to put the people and places visited by the Royal Family at the top of its agenda but in a summer of celebrating birthdays, it's the family itself who have ended up centre stage with the like count going up as a result.  Pretty pictures of princes and princesses are where it's at with Instagram.



If you don't have a really big birthday or a huge anniversary to post about, pets will always prove popular. Denmark's royals gave us a dog on Instagram in July 2017, what's not to love? Crown Princess Mary shared two photos of her family's new pet dog, Grace, on the official account and sent the heart meter soaring. The pair of snaps took in over 13,000 likes during the month. The comments are interesting, too. Plenty of those who left a message were oohing over Grace and remembering Ziggy, the princely pet pooch who passed away earlier this year. This post is a great example of how Instagram and social media allows the royals to take full control of their image - Instagram offers the royals a chance to add something more personal to the public image on their own terms while keeping their hands firmly on the keys to the castle door.
There were no really big birthdays or new pets for the Dutch royals to celebrate but fear not, that other favourite regal staple, the summer holiday pose, swept in from the right at the start of July and topped the official Instagram likes for the month. We got a whole album of lovely images from King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima as they posed alongside their three daughters and they got over 13,000 likes in return. It all comes back to the same thing, that image of happy family with a focus on the next generation. 
Did I mention birthdays were always popular on Instagram? That new photo of George at four was the most liked image on the official account of Clarence House with 12.1k hearts but coming in second was another birthday image. The Mario Testino portrait released for the 70th birthday of the Duchess of Cornwall, showing Camilla and Charles getting cuddly, took almost 9,000 likes which is a good showing for this account which is image heavy but usually sees pics taking 1-2,000 hearts a go. And it had a busy month with an avalanche of images of the couple's engagements as well as some fabulously fun shares from the past so this tally of support is pretty impressive all round.
Prince George also topped the poll on the official Royal Family account as well with 77,000 likes and counting there. Overall, that one image has taken around 400,000 hearts in just over a week of publication, an indication of the power of one photo. A photo of George, Charlotte and their mum and dad came in second with 36,000 likes. In fact, the Cambridges dominated the Royal Family most liked list, too, despite another busy month of regal images there. At a time when William and Kate are coming under increasing scrutiny over their workload, it's interesting to see that in the image led world of Instagram, one smile is enough to win plenty of friends and influence people, briefly at least. For that's the other side of social media. The narrative can change instantly on both sides. The posts tell us how the royals want to be seen, the likes tell us what we want to see and like everything in life, it's fluid. July 2017 was all about birthdays but it will be interesting to see where the love lies in times when there's no cake to eat.

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