While the second birthday of Prince George may have grabbed many of the headlines, he’s not the only prince blowing out candles in this hot part of July. For as the third in line to the throne goes to bed after lots of presents, cake and partying there are two other royal men in Europe looking back on memorable birthdays.
Sharing the actual day is Prince Felix of Denmark, who on 22 July 2015 became a teenager. The second son of Prince Joachin is currently eighth in line to his country’s throne and as he turned thirteen. The Danish Court shared some new images of the prince who posed alongside big brother, Nikolai, for the portraits.
Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, Count of Monpezat was born on 22 July 2002 in Copenhagen and was fourth in the line of succession at the time of his arrival. His mother is Alexandra, now Countess of Fredriksborg, who had married Joachim, second son of Queen Margrethe II, in 1995. His parents divorced in 2005 and Felix now has two younger half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Marie Cavallier.
But perhaps the most royal birthday celebrations of recent days took place in Belgrade where Prince Alexander, the pretender to the throne of Serbia, was joined by kings, queens, princes and princesses to mark his 70th birthday. Prince Alexander, who was born in London on 17 July 1945, was the last Crown Prince of Yugoslavia. He spent much of his early years in Britain and can count The Queen among his godparents.
The celebrations for his seventieth birthday went on over several days but perhaps the highlight of the festivities was a gala dinner held at the Royal Palace in Serbia. Among those present were King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, accompanied by Queen Silvia, and Prince Albert II of Monaco, who was paying his first visit to Serbia. Queen Sofia of Spain, mother of the current reigning monarch Felipe VI, was also present.
Queen Sofia of Spain standing next to royal birthday boy, Prince Alexander of Serbia, at a gala dinner in Belgrade this weekend
In a speech at the dinner, Prince Alexander reflected on several stages of his life. He told those present that despite being born in exile and declared an enemy of the state when he was two years old he was “celebrating my seventieth birthday finally rehabilitated in my homeland, in my home, with my family, people and my friends from around the world.” He continued that it “is an emotional moment’ and ‘something I have wished for all my life.”
The last half of July has also seen other big royal celebrations including the second anniversary of the accession of Philippe as King of the Belgians which fell on July 21st. The Duchess of Cornwall turned 68 on July 17th, Prince Michael of Kent hit 73 on July 4th while Queen Sonja of Norway celebrated her 78th birthday on the same day. Her son, heir to the throne Crown Prince Haakon Magnus was 42 on July 20th, during the first in line to the Swedish throne, Crown Princess Victoria, was 38 on July 14th.
So while he may have dominated headlines, helped by a rather striking birthday image taken by Mario Testino (already retweeted almost 9,000 times), Prince George is still sharing the July birthday limelight with many other famous royals.
Photo credit: The Office of HRH Crown Prince Alexander
