Spotted in Vancouver for the start of the Winter Olympics this weekend were Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima (with their little girls!) of the Netherlands, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, and Princess Anne of Great Britain.

Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince Frederik and Princess Anne are all members of the International Olympic Committee. Prince Frederik is the newest royal to join the committee, having made a member only in October of last year.

The Dutch royals (photo above) were on hand to witness and celebrate the gold medal win of countryman Sven Kramer in the men’s 5000m Speed Skating race on February 13, 2010. It must be quite thrilling for the little princesses, Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, to be watching the games with their parents.

Click on the gallery pictures below to find out which games Prince Frederik and Princess Anne watched in Vancouver.

images via Zuma Press

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Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary comes in out of the snow into the New Carlsberg Glyptoteque in Copenhagen on January 27, 2010. She attended the award ceremony of the Elite Research Awards, which are given to outstanding Danish scientists. She wore this striated teal-and-black coat. I actually love this color, and the coat doesn’t need much beyond the black scarf. What do you think? You can have a closer look at the front of the coat (without the scarf) in the gallery photos below (as well as the rest of the royal ladies’ coats).

images via Zuma Press

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The Danish royals were all bundled up and ready to have fun in the cold. The little ones are introduced to winter sports early, and 4-year-old Prince Christian appears to have already mastered his skis! Princess Isabella, who is 2 1/2 years old, seems content with sledding for now. But I’m sure we’ll see her on skis soon enough.

Princess Mary still looks very elegant and poised even dressed down in a ski suit and parka. Prince Frederik just looks as if he is having the time of his life, as always!

Every year, the Danish royals take a ski vacation, and Verbier is one of their favorite spots. Members of the British and Swedish royal families likewise favor the ski resort for their winter getaways.

images via Bauer-Griffin

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The royal ladies of Spain and Denmark, and their pretty bags, are the features for today.

Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia (with King Juan Carlos and Prince Felipe) attended the Foreign Ambassadors Reception, at Spain’s Royal Palace on January 14, 2010. Queen Sofia chose a royally purple little bag (left in photo above) with a gold chain. Princess Mary’s simple black bag accessorized her gray gown.

Photos of the full outfits and more royal bags are in the gallery below:

Bonus royal clutch: Merry Royals reader Andrea asked me about this union jack clutch seen on Sophie, Countess of Wessex. This is one of the Paparazzi clutch bags by ASOS, which are made to look like a rolled-up magazine. There are many variations on the magazine clutch. I saw a few of the union jack ones on the eBay UK site.

images via Zuma Press

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118 years ago

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, died of pneumonia on January 14, 1892. He was 28 and was about to be married to Princess Mary of Teck at the time of his death.

117 years ago

On January 10, 1893, Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania (right) married his distant cousin Princess Marie of Edinburgh in Sigmaringen, Germany. The couple had six children. Prince Ferdinand became King of Romania in 1914, reigning until his death in 1927.

38 years ago

After the death of her father King Frederik IX, Queen Margrethe II ascended to the throne of Denmark on January 14, 1972. She is the first female monarch since Margrethe I, who reigned in the 14th century.

5 years ago

Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, age 77, died on January 10, 2005. She was the eldest daughter of Leopold III and Queen Astrid of Sweden.

image via US Library of Congress

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Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik rode the coach from Amalienborg Palace to the Christianborg Palace, where they hosted a new year reception for officers of Denmark’s defense ministry and representatives of various organizations and foundations.

The gold color of the state coach doesn’t come from gold paint. The coach, also known as the Coach of King Christian VII, is covered in 24 karat gold leaf. It was made in 1840 by Henry Fife.

What a grand sight it makes! Make sure you click on the photos to see the bigger versions.

images via Zuma Press

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Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary welcomed their guests to Christiansborg Palace. The event is less formal and grand than the New Year’s Court of the Order of the Elephant, so we won’t be seeing any tiaras on the ladies this time around.

Hosting all these receptions one after the other could become rather exhausting, even for royals who are very much used to them. Prince Frederik, in particular, looks a bit tired in some of these photos. Well, I don’t blame him, since the galas and receptions come one after the other at this time of year.

images via Zuma Press

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Princess Nathalie, 34, is the youngest child of Princess Benedikte (sister of Queen Margrethe II) and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. She is a former dressage world champion and was a member of the 2008 Danish Olympic team. The photo above was taken in 2007 during a training event for the World Cup Challenge in Odense, Denmark. Princess Nathalie currently works as a horse breeder and trainer in Germany. Her fiance, Alexander, 32, shares her love of horses.

Princess Nathalie is the niece of Queen Margrethe, and first cousin of Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. While no date has been announced for the wedding, we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for it! Congratulations to the happy couple!

This takes the number of engaged royals up to five:

• Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling (wedding date: June 19, 2010)
• Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Jonas Bergstrom
• Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma and Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel. Prince Carlos is the son of Princess Irene of the Netherlands (sister of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands) and Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma.
• Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, and Tatiana Blatnik. Prince Nikolaos is the son of King Constantine II of Greece and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (sister of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II).
• Princess Nathalie and Alexander Johannsmann

image via Zuma Press

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The Order of the Elephant is the highest in Denmark, and dates back to 1693. The annual gala at the beginning of the year is hosted by Queen Margrethe for members of the order, government officials and the royal court.

At this year’s Court, both Queen Margrethe and Crown Princess Mary chose gowns in bright stunning colors, fuschia for the Queen, and orange for the princess. Princess Marie was in a more subtle gown of delicate pink.

The brothers, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, were handsome in their military uniforms. Their father Prince Henrik wore white tux instead of his uniform.

Click on the gallery photos below for more of the gowns and tiaras!

images via Zuma Press

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The three royals took the stage and talked with Adam Holm about the joint trip they took to Greenland and about climate change.

The Bright Green Expo, which was held at Forum Copenhagen this weekend, is an exhibit of more than 170 companies from all over the world. It showcases cutting-edge approaches to the climate challenge and saving energy. It is organized by the Confederation of Danish Industry.

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