It might be some time before he sits on the throne, but the future King of Denmark is celebrating his 14th birthday today with new photos released for the occasion.
Taken by his mother, Crown Princess Mary, the photos show the Prince playing tennis.
Two more photos, shared on the official Danish royal Instagram, show the future king with his family’s pet dog. These images were also taken by Crown Princess Mary.
Christian is the eldest of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary’s four children; his three younger siblings are Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine.
He was born at 1:57 am in Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, and his birth was celebrated with 21-gun salutes later that day.
His name was not announced until his christening on 21 January 2006, per Danish royal tradition. As expected, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess kept with tradition and named their son Christian. Danish royal tradition has future kings alternately named Frederik and Christian.
Christian, second in line to the throne, counts the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, Crown Princess of Sweden, Crown Prince of Greece, and his uncle, Prince Joachim as royal godparents. Two friends of his parents were also selected as godparents: Jeppe Handwerk and Hamish Campbell.
Beginning in 2020, all four children will attend a 12-week stay at the Lemania-Verbier International School in Switzerland. Crown Princess Mary will accompany her children, and the Crown Prince will be with the family when his schedule allows.
At the completion of the 12-week programme, the children will return to their current classes at Tranegårdsskolen in Gentofte. Tranegårdsskolen is a public state school, and Christian was the first member of the Danish Royal Family to attend nursery school and a public state school.
The Crown Prince Couple want “to give their children a common experience in an international environment,” according to the Royal House.
