Balmoral in Scotland and Cayx Castle in the south of France, the Balearic Islands and the lands of Gascony, Graasten Castle in Jutland, a region of southern Denmark, ancient Greece and the Peloponnese, the Tour Sarrasine à Cabasson in Bornes -Les -Mimos in Provence. These are some of the places where the European royal families have been spending their summer holidays for many seasons now. Shorter stays this year because many young crowned heads, from the royals of Belgium to those of Spain and Denmark, to the most glamorous couple, formed by William -Alexander and Queen Maxima, have chosen the Paris Olympic Games to encourage their respective teams.
They are places of the heart and memories, places of peace and absolute anonymity, far from the duties of the court, from the rigid rules of protocol. Philippe and Mathilde of Belgium are on the island of Yeu, in the Loire, where they will soon be joined by their four children, the heir to the throne Princess Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonor. An archaic land, of rugged beauty that allows them to recharge their batteries, between long bike rides, excursions and the possibility of kitesurfing.
The villa located west of the town of Kranidi in the Peloponnese was purchased in 2012 by William-Alexander of the Netherlands, before he had yet ascended to the throne, to recover from the hard work of being crown prince, but above all to be away from prying eyes. A complex of sophisticated beauty and rigor (the property was purchased for 4.5 million euros) built in the middle of a green clearing that boasts, in addition to numerous rooms and outbuildings, a swimming pool, a small port and a private stretch of beach. Alongside the royal couple, descendants of the Orange-Nassau family, there are also their three daughters Caterina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.
Balmoral Castle, in Scotland, has always been the long-awaited ‘buen retiro’ for the Windsor-Mountbatten family, and this year it will be open to the public for the first time. A private paradise in the mists of the Scottish Highlands, already loved by Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip. Long walks, afternoons spent fishing on the River Dee and barbecues, where the Duke of Edinburgh was the ‘master of ceremonies’. And Prince William and his family, cousins ​​Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York with their children will also meet in the ancient manor, purchased by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.
As is now tradition, Queen Margrethe of Denmark will divide her time between the Cayx estate, where she also produces excellent wines, and Graasten Castle where she will spend a few weeks in the company of her sisters, Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. A tradition strongly desired by her mother, Queen Ingrid, who could finally enjoy her many grandchildren. Today, it is Queen Margrethe who loves to surround herself during the summer with her children and their young heirs, such as the twins Vincent and Josephine, but also with her adopted children, the children of Prince Gustav de Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his wife Princess Carina, Gustav Albrecht and Mafalda, the first ‘royals’ born from ‘surrogacy’.
When you think of the Bourbons of Spain on holiday, your thoughts turn to the island of Mallorca, where the family owns a 13,000-hectare estate, the Marivent Palace, a 20th-century building in the heart of the Balearics, in Palma de Mallorca. They have spent their summers there since the 1970s, from Queen Sophia, always accompanied by her sister, Princess Irene, and her cousin Tatiana Radziwill, to the current royal couple, inseparable from their two ‘enfantas’, Princesses Eleonor and Sophia. The opportunity for King Felipe to participate in spectacular regattas and the famous Coupe du Roi.
The Grand Dukes of Luxembourg meet every summer at the Tour Sarrasine in Cabasson surrounded by their 5 children and 8 grandchildren. The latest addition, little Victoire, daughter of Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory, is eagerly awaited, while the heir to the Swedish throne, Princess Victoire spent a few days with her family, her husband Daniel, her children Princess Estella and little Oscar, at the residence of Villal Solliden on the island of Oland in the Baltic Sea where she celebrated her birthday (47 years) before reaching the island of Varmdo east of Stockholm. A family summer before the heir of the Bernadotte family, beloved by her people, resumes her institutional activities, always at the service of the crown.