Year of the Royal

This will be my last post of this year, unless Queen Elizabeth dies tonight and I feel compelled to have a post in her honour.

But because Her Majesty is still alive and sending out Christmas messages to us all, I will instead write about what a year it has been. Indeed, the year of the royal.

In twelve months, there have been so many major events that have drawn the royal crowds. The ever expanding royal crowds, I should say, because while monarchy is replaced by other forms of government, the royal families stand strong, and add to their team in anyway that they can.

This year especially. We had two Jubilees,

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth the Second of England and forty years of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

One addition to the great, extended family,

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg married Countess Stephanie de Lannoy

And two announcement of prospective additions.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden (pictured) got engaged to her boyfriend Chris O'Neill
Luxembourg's Prince Felix got engaged to Claire Lademacher

There were also two new princesses born into royalty,

Princess Estelle, born to Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden

Princess Athena, born to Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Sweden

With another one on the way.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have announced that they are expecting a baby

And the Olympics. How could anyone forget the Olympics?

Yes, there were a couple of unmentionable scandals (not pictured, because, well, the privacy of these people must be respected. To some extent.), but those aside, 2012 has been a most fabulous year for the royals.

And for us royal watchers.

Happy New Year, people on the Internet! Here's to hoping that next year brings us greater joy, royally and otherwise.

N