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The reining Royal Family, as far as the press and social media is concerned, is the Royal British Family who have recently seen a royal wedding and baby. Everyone knows the story of Princess Diana, and knows Prince William and Prince Harry by name and picture. While the British Monarchy is long standing and still very viable, countries around the world have their own Monarchies and royal family issues. Until Kate Middletown announces whether rumors of a baby bump are true or not, there are a slew of other royals families in Europe to get excited about.
Just this week, Spain's King Abdicated his thrown to his son, and Monaco's Prince and Princess are finally expecting a royal heir. Here is a look at the top 8 must watch, must follow royal families in Europe. Get to know their names and faces before they hit the news.
8) Dutch Royals
The Dutch royal family is on the edge of becoming newsworthy. An official report just came out, stating that the Dutch Royal Family cost more to maintain than the British monarchy, and the people of the Netherlands aren't too pleased. Money scandals have always been close to the family, and the Dutch people seem to be fed up with their monarchs. King Willem-Alexander is reportedly known for being rebellious and loose as a prince, and for not wanting to take the crown. He married Maxima Zorreguieta, an Argentinian investment banker and has settled down with three daughters. Maxima's father didn't take kindly to the marriage, and the couple started their lives together under public scrutiny. Look for a growing dissent of the Dutch people to come to pressure one of Europe's youngest Monarchies to leave.
7) Danish Royal Family
After meeting at a pub at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where the Crown Prince Frederik introduced himself as Fred, to Aussie born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, the two fell in love and have had a fairy book life every since. The couple have four children, the youngest being twins. The family's eldest are middle school aged and things should start to become more interesting as the children grow up. The family is classically very good looking and seems to be everything a royal family should be. You won't see them in any scandalous headlines, but look for pictures of this poised family at charity events, balls and galas. This is seemingly the ultimate glamorous royal family.
6) Liechtenstein Royal Family
The Liechtenstein Royal family is one of the wealthiest families in Europe, with one of the smallest holdings. Reigning Prince Hans-Adam II and his wife, Princess Marie have four children. Notably their second eldest son Prince married Princess Angela, born in Panama and of Afro-Panamanian descent. Keeping in line with Liechtenstein's openness to interracial marriages and royalty. The eldest son, Prince Alois, is married with four children of his own. Eldest being Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, 19, who as a descendant of Stuart monarch Charles I is second in line to the throne of Scotland after an 80-year-old childless relative. While it is unlikely that Scotland could gain independence from England, a union with the wealthy Liechtenstein is not out of the question. Potential of for some royal drama runs very high.
5) Monaco Royal Family
Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco have recently announced that they are expecting their first child. The 36-year-old South African former Olympic swimmer, Princess Charlene is expecting her first child after three years of marriage to her older royal husband. This new baby will be heir to throne over Prince Albert's sister Caroline. Despite this good news, Prince Albert, along with the rest of the royal family, is unhappy about the newly released film about his mother Grace Kelly, and her move from Hollywood superstar to Princess of Monaco. Prince Albert has gone so far to call the movie a complete sham.
4) Norwegian Royal Family
The Norwegian Royal Family has had its share of scandals that should only heat up the press more, as the family gets older. Princess Mette-Marit was a commoner when she met Crown Prince Haakon when he returned home from his studies at Berkeley. At the Time, Mette-Marit was known to travel in circles where drugs were involved and had a son out of wed lock with a known drug-dealer. Despite her past, the Crown Prince moved in with Mette-Marit before they were even engaged. To say the Crown Prince was causing an uproar with his choice of wife is an understatement, and Mette-Marit went through the classical make-over to become Royalty ready. Now that all of this is behind them, look out for tensions between Mette-Marit's first son and his much younger half siblings, Princess Ingrid Alexandra who became Norway's first ever female heir to the throne, and younger brother Prince Sverre Magnus.
3) Swedish Royals
Easily one of the most attractive Royal Families, the Swedish royal family is one to watch for three good reasons. First, husband to Princess Madeline is Chris O'Neill, a British-American businessman. The non-Swedish commoner snagged this model beauty out from under the British Royalty, as it was rumored the Pretty Princess was slated to marry the British heir. While Princess Madeline isn't the crown princess, she has the perk of being able to share more of her life online and has a huge following on Facebook. And Lastly, although she didn't wed into the British family, her daughter, Princess Leonore, is the right age to be play mates with British Prince George. A Swedish-British marriage may be in the works thirty years from now, you never know.
2) Spanish Royals
The Spanish Royal Family has blown up in the news this week, with King Juan Carlos abdicating the throne to his son, Prince Felipe. King Juan Carlos ruled for 40 years, leading Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy. Despite the good he has done, many speculate that he is stepping down not because of generational differences, but because of the money scandals that surrounded him while he was King. Prince Felipe is a well educated prince. He obtained a law degree from Madrid's Autonomous University, and a master's in international relations from Georgetown University. He was on the Spanish Olympic Sailing team, and married parent approved, Princess Letizia, a former television journalist. As King Felipe VI, he will face many challenges, including rewriting laws, allowing his eldest daughter to become heir to the throne and facing a growing movement to get rid of the Spanish Monarchy. Surprisingly, Princess Letizia is making waves as another lovable middle class to royalty story, just like the now famous Kate Middletown. Don't expect this Royal Family to be out of the news any time soon.
1) British Royals
Everyone's favorite royal family won't be out of the news anytime soon. Prince George is growing up to be quite a cutie and his mother, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middletown is continuing to be a fashion icon. After returning from their tour of New Zealand, rumors are flying about a potential pregnancy and second royal baby. On top of that, Prince Harry is single and still on the prowl for a wife. An unattached Harry means keeping an eye out for some impressive shenanigans. Also, the ruling Queen will be addressing issue of Abdicating Kings, and Scotland's plea for independence.
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