Who’s who in the posse of teenagers gearing up to be European monarchs – and how they’re preparing by doing military training, studying at Oxford, and giving confident speeches

Most people celebrate turning 18 with their first legal drink or a night out with friends.

But if you’re a future king or queen of Europe, your adulthood celebrations might be a little different.

Grand galas, state addresses to parliament and documentaries about your life if much more typical for royalty.

This weekend, Prince Christian of Denmark reaches the milestone – and will have a grand gala in his honour with many of the highest houses in Europe in attendance.

And just two-weeks his junior is Princess Leonor of Spain, who will give a speech to Parliament to mark her 18th birthday on October 31.

The pair are the latest to turn 18 and take on more responsibility ahead of taking the throne.

In Belgium, Princess Elisabeth, 21, has been stepping into the limelight in the last three years – balancing public duty with military training and studying at Oxford.

Meanwhile, Ingrid-Alexandra of Norway, 19, is undergoing military training.

While Prince George is a while away from turning 18, Prince William had a low key 18th – as he was in the middle of his A-level exams. Prince Harry had a relaxed celebration – just enjoying lunch with William and Charles.

Here, FEMAIL looks at how the future of monarchs of Europe are preparing for the throne. 

PRINCE CHRISTIAN  OF DENMARK 

A documentary, a gala dinner, and a special radio show are all part of the preparations for Prince Christian’s 18th birthday this weekend.

While the future king is still studying, his parents Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary are certainly preparing the teen to step up and take on royal duties, with him gradually appearing more and more in the spotlight.

For the first time, a new documentary airing Sunday, will give an insight into the teenager’s life – which the palace have said will give Danes chance to get ‘up close and personal’ with the prince like never before. 

Set to air on the eve of his birthday in Denmark, the Prince’s documentary will see him learn about institutions in Danish society and give and insight into his relationship with his father.

Christian, who is a four-times great grandson  of Queen Victoria and fifth cousins with Prince William and Harry, has previously taken time away from royal duty to focus on his studies.

Last year, the palace announced he will  only take money from the royal grant when he turns 21 – unless his father ascends the throne before.

But that hasn’t stopped the royal from stepping into the spotlight.

The documentary about Prince Christian, shown on the eve of his 18th birthday, will see him speak freely and frankly about his learning of the profession.

Mary and Frederik allowed cameras to follow around Christian last August, where he took ‘King lessons’ alongside his father.

‘Together, they undertake this adventure with a clear mission: to ensure that Prince Christian knows better the country of which he will one day be king,’ the Palace said in a statement.

The documentary will show him meeting with  Danish Parliament, as well as members of the Supreme Court and representatives from the Danish church.

As well as the documentary, a local radio station in Copenhagen will host a call-in, asking listeners what they wished they’d known aged 18.

There will also be a gala held in his honour – with hundreds of well-heeled guests from across the commonwealth in attendance.

The Danish Royal Household has already posted a video teaser of courtiers sending out the invitations, with guests expected to include notable young people and representatives from youth organisations.

Leading royals from around Europe are also expected, including, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Christian’s godmother, with her daughter Princess Estelle , 11.

But the real question is this: after all those dating rumours, will Princess Marie Chiara of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies be invited to the dinner, hosted by Queen Margrethe.

In recent months he’s been linked to Princess Maria Chiara – from the defunct Italian royal family.

Rumours that Chiara, 18, and Christian were close began when the two were pictured together at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.

Neither her sister, Princess Carolina, nor mother, Duchess Camilla, did anything to dispel the rumours.

The guest list seems likely to include young royals from other European households – particularly those from Scandinavia.

Possible guests include Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, 19, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 19, Princess Leonor of Spain, 17, and Princesses Elisabeth, 21, of Belgium.

In November, Prince Christian will formally promise to uphold the country’s constitution, an important step forward in his journey as a king-in-waiting.

Christian was born on October 15, 2005, at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, and is known by his title of Count of Monpezat.

He is second-in-line to the throne of Denmark behind his grandmother, Queen Margrethe, and his father. 

Crown Princess Mary and Prince Frederik chose to keep their son’s upbringing relatively private in his early years.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Christian attended his first official royal engagement with his grandmother, the Queen. 

Christian became the first Danish royal to attend a public state school, Tranegårdskolen in Hellerup, and his siblings, Princess Isabella of Denmark, 15, and Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 10, joined him in the years that followed. 

At the start of 2020, all four of the royal children began a 12-week program at the Lemania-Verbier International School in Switzerland. But, just weeks into their studies the COVID-19 pandemic hit and they returned to Denmark.

Christian is currently undertaking the final years of his education at Ordrup Gymnasium, a state school in Copenhagen.

In June, Christian announced we would forgo his royal allowance to instead focus on his education.

He will wait until he is 21 before becoming a full-time royal.

PRINCESS LEONOR OF SPAIN 

The future queen of Spain, who reaches the milestone on October 31, has been making solo appearances and training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza to ensure she’s ready for her future in the monarchy.

Both the royal and her sister Infanta Sophia, 16, have been taking a bigger role in the spotlight as they come of age – with Leonor giving yearly speeches at the Princess of Asturias awards and often taking centre stage at family outings.  

Unlike Prince Christian of Denmark – who is just two weeks older than her and also a future European monarch – Leonor’s 18th birthday celebrations will be decidedly low-key.

While Christian is set to celebrate with a gala to mark his 18th, the heir to the Spanish throne will instead swear an oath to the Spanish constitution before the congress and senate on her big day.  

There will be some fanfare however,  the Royal Mint of Spain will create a limited edition 40-euro coin to mark her birthday. Up to one million of the coins will be put into circulation by the Bank of Spain during the last three months of this year.

The coin will weigh 18 grams and be made of a mixture of silver and copper with the effigy ‘Her Royal Highness the Princess of Asturias’ engraved on it.

The 17-year-old is currently undergoing military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza.

The school dubbed Spain’s equivalent to Sandhurst and follows a strict timetable, but the princess is able to return home at the weekends if she is not on manoeuvres.

Before starting at the academy, she took place in her first engagement without her parents as she headed to Gironda with sister Sofia.

She has also cut a professional figure at the Princess of Asturias Awards.

The UNESCO-approved awards reward scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work. She has delivered a speech at each one since the age of 13.

After the Princess’s year in Zaragoza, before moving to a naval school and will then spend her third and final year of training at the General Air Academy.

The heir to the Spanish throne will become commander-in-chief of the armed forces once she is monarch.

Snaps shared by the Royal Household last month suggested that this is a role Leonor will be comfortable in- despite saying she was feeling ‘a little nervous’ when she was dropped off at military school.

One of the snaps, taken during a training exercise, shows the princess smiling with her fellow cadets, while dressed in fatigues and holding what appears to be an automatic rifle.

Another of the photos shows her posing with fellow students, dressed in camo and protective gear.

The princess revealed her enthusiasm for being a cadet at the Princesa de Girona Foundation award ceremony in Girona, in Catalonia, on July 5.

She said: ‘I have just finished high school and I am about to start a new stage with a period of military training.

‘I am happy because I know how much the Spanish value our armed forces… it is an important moment in my life and I feel very excited and determined to continue learning and giving my best effort.’

Meanwhile, to celebrate turning 18 Princess Leonor will also receive the symbolic Collar of the Order of Charles III from her father on her birthday.

The Collar is a historic gift, created by Carlos III in 1771, and represents the possibility that Princess Leonor will one day assume the crown.

King Felipe VI received the Collar of the Order of Charles III on his 18th birthday in January 1986.

Princess Leonor will be given it in a ceremony attended by the royal family, senators and elected representatives. This will be the second honour the Princess of Asturias has received from her father King Felipe VI.

In 2015, on the day before her tenth birthday, he granted her the Order Of The Golden Fleece. The Order Of The Golden Fleece is a Catholic order of chivalry that was established in 1430 by the Duke of Burgundy.

Princess Leonor’s 18th birthday celebrations will mark the end of a busy month for the heir to the Spanish throne.

Before starting at the military academy, Princess Leonor was a pupil at the UWC Atlantic College in the Welsh county of Vale of Glamorgan.

The school is often referred to as ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ thanks to its progressive approach to education and picturesque castle setting.

Leonor’s sister, Infanta Sofía of Spain, 16, began her studies at UWC Atlantic this autumn.

In September last year the Spanish palace announced that Princess Leonor will go to university to study law once her three years of military training have been completed.

While Leonor’s choice of university is unknown, the Princess’s academic background already bears a resemblance to that of her father King Felipe.

After graduating from high school at Lakefield College in Canada, Felipe returned to Spain and attended the General Military Academy of Zaragozo, and went on to study at the Naval Military School in Marín.

He ended his training with a stint at the General Air Academy in San Javier.

His also completed his military training with a stint on the shop Juan Sebastián Elcano aged 18 in 1987, and went on to study law at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

PRINCESS CATHARINA-AMALIA OF THE NETHERLANDS

Catharina-Amalia became the heir apparent when her grandmother Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013.

The royal, 19, missed out on the grand celebrations often afforded to a royal birthday as she turned 18 while the Netherlands still had Covid restrictions in December 2021.

While she is still at university – and has rejected her right to a 1.6 million euros (£1.36 million) annual income – she has been increasingly stepping into the limelight, but often stays by her parents and sister’s sides at royal events due to security fears.

 The 19-year-old, who started a degree in politics, psychology, law and economics at the University of Amsterdam last year, moved out of her student accommodation and returned to her home in The Hague in October.

 At the time, several Dutch media outlets reported that the princess, whose formal title is Princess of Orange, was under heightened security due to fears that criminal gangs may target her for kidnapping or an attack.

During her recent tour of the Caribbean, the royal briefly touched on her heightened security, and in a clip sharing by Dutch media site NOS, said: ‘I’m going to be very honest, I’m still having a very hard time.

‘I miss the normal life, the life of a student. Walking the streets, being able to go to a store.’

Meanwhile she said she had enjoyed having some freedom back during the international tour, saying: ‘I had a wonderful time.’

In October, Dutch news agency ANP quoted Queen Maxima, 51, during a state visit to Sweden with her husband King Willem-Alexander, saying: ‘She can hardly leave the house.

‘The consequences are very difficult for her. There is no student life for her like others have,’ she added with an unusual amount of emotional candour.

The name of the the princess, along with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, are understood to have come up in communications among organised crime groups which indicated they may be in their crosshairs for kidnapping.

‘I’m very sorry for her and I’m obviously very concerned about it,’ the prime minister said, without divulging details about the threats or the security measures.

‘That makes people angry who want to be informed,’ said the prime minister.

He added that Dutch authorities are doing everything to ensure that the princess is safe.

The Minister for Justice and Security, Dilan Yesilgöz, confirmed on Twitter that ‘measures’ have been taken ‘with regard to the safety of the Crown Princess’.

Amalia, heir to the Dutch throne, started university in September and had moved into an apartment in Amsterdam, but weeks later the royal couple said concerns for her safety have forced her to move back to Huis ten Bosch royal palace in The Hague.

Dutch police and the country’s secret service declined to discuss security arrangements around the Royal House.

Rutte said he could not specify the details of the threats.

Princess Amalia started her degree in September and was living in rented accommodation she shared with several other students in Amsterdam before she has had to move back home.

The princess is viewed in Holland as a relatively down-to-earth royal.

She is a keen jockey with a horse named Mojito and she was nicknamed the Cocktail Queen after working a summer at a beach bar in Scheveningen.

She recently took part in her first international tour, joining her parents on a lengthy visit to the Dutch Caribbean Islands.

In a biography published in 2021, Amalia admitted she was not ready to be queen.

Speaking at the time, she said she would ask her Argentine-born mother, Queen Maxima, to step in temporarily if her father, King Willem-Alexander were to die suddenly.

‘But I said to my father: you just keep on eating healthy and exercising a lot,’ the teenage princess added. 

The biography, simply titled ‘Amalia’, was written with the approval of the Royal Family to mark Amalia’s 18th birthday.

It offered a rare glimpse into the princess’s private life, which has been closely guarded by her parents since Willem-Alexander ascended the throne in 2013. 

 Biographer Claudia de Breij revealed Amalia had a part-time job at a beachside cafe, feels self-conscious when she is recognised by members of the public and would pursue a career as a singer or equestrian if she was not destined to be queen.

Along with her sisters Princess Alexia, 18,  and Princess Ariane, 16, Catharina-Amalia spent the early years of her life at Eikenhorst Villa in Wassenaar, an affluent suburb of The Hague. 

‘We do our best to be really with them – on holidays or weekends or even at breakfast in the mornings,’ Willem-Alexander once said in an interview.

The family enjoyed days out cycling and to the beach, and holidays to Maxima’s home country of Argentina.

However life changed in 2013 when Amalia’s grandmother Queen Beatrix abdicated and Willem-Alexander ascended the throne. The new king and queen moved their daughters into Huis ten Bosch, the royal palace in The Hague

Speaking ahead of his investiture, Willem-Alexander said: ‘Amalia’s title will be made formal when she’s 18 and she enters the State Council. Until then, we will protect her as much as possible.

‘That means she won’t participate in official engagements, or as little as possible. Her environment right now should only include her parents, her sisters, and her friends.’

She decided to take a gap year before starting her degree and turned down a €1.6 million yearly allowance that she would have been entitled to when she turned 18.

Writing a letter to Prime Minister Mark Rutte, she said that she would not feel comfortable taking the money without performing royal duties. 

The letter, published by NOS, the Dutch public news broadcaster, read: ‘On 7 December 2021, I will be 18 and, according to the law, receive an allowance.

‘I find that uncomfortable as long as I do not do anything for it in return, and while other students have a much tougher time of it, particularly in this period of coronavirus.’ 

In September last year, the Princess began studying Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics at the University of Amsterdam and revealed she would live in a rented house share with her fellow students.

However, the Princess was forced to move out of her student accommodation and return to The Hague the following month fearing a gangland plot to kidnap her.

Earlier this year, the royal opened up about ‘missing normal life’ over the incident and in a clip shared by NOS, she said: ‘I’m going to be very honest, I’m still having a very hard time. 

‘I miss the normal life, the life of a student. Walking the streets, being able to go to a store,’ she added.

Her mother, Queen Maxima, spoke openly during a state visit to Sweden with her husband King Willem-Alexander and was quoted by Dutch news agency ANP saying: ‘She can hardly leave the house.

‘The consequences are very difficult for her. There is no student life for her like others have,’ she added with an unusual candour.

In an authorised biography entitled Amalia, released in 2021, the royal admitted she did not feel ready to be Queen yet.

She said she would ask her mother to step in temporarily if her father were to die suddenly.

‘But I said to my father: you just keep on eating healthy and exercising a lot,’ the teenage princess added.

Biographer Claudia de Breij revealed Amalia had a part-time job at a beachside cafe, feels self-conscious when she is recognised by members of the public and would pursue a career as a singer or equestrian – she is a keen jockey with a horse named Mojito – if she was not destined to be queen. 

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 21

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 21, the eldest daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and heir to the Belgian throne, is certainly getting set for royal life.

A clear diplomat-in-training, the royal speaks four languages and is currently studying at Oxford University – while juggling military training.   

Last month,  she took part in the ceremony of taking the oath as an officer – swearing ‘loyalty to the King, obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the Belgian people.’

In snaps from the event, the Princess appeared serious as she took part in the ceremony – marching and saluting to the King alongside her comrades from the  160th Promotion of Social and Military Sciences.

It is not known how long Elisabeth plans to spend at the academy but her father King Philippe studied there for three years as a teenager.

The law was changed in 1991 so that the eldest child, regardless of whether they are a son or daughter, would be the next to inherit the throne. When her father became King in 2013, Elisabeth became the heir to the throne and Duchess of Brabant.

The young royal was also a former student of Atlantic College in Wales – known as ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ – , obtaining her International Baccalaureate in 2020.

She then completed a one-year course in social and military sciences at the Royal Military Academy which is said to teach in-depth about the four components of Belgian defence: Army, Air Force, Navy and Medical.

In 2021, she was photographed at the Lagland camp in Arlon, where she marched in formation with her fellow cadets.

For the officer cadets of the Royal Military Academy, this camp is part of the last training phase for first year students, and constitutes part of the Initial Military Phase.  

In October 2021, the Princess began studying History and Politics at Lincoln College, Oxford.

According to Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the princess completed a written entrance exam in history ‘anonymously’ so that her social status would not affect her marks.

Elisabeth is believed to have chosen the course herself, in agreement with her parents, and reportedly consulted with graduates from various universities and made her decision based on what would be most useful to her in her role as queen later in life.

The high-achieving Princess, who is fluent in Dutch, French, German and English, continues to juggle her degree with military training back home.

For her 18th, Princess Elisabeth occasion with an official ceremony in Brussels which  broadcast live on three of Belgium’s biggest TV channels.

Usually, a live broadcast of a royal event in Belgium is reserved for weddings and funerals – unlike in the UK where the Queen’s Trooping the Colour parade for her birthday is aired on TV.

But the significance of the heir officially becoming eligible to ascend the throne warranted the exceptional treatment.

 Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 19

Second in line to the throne after her father, Princess Ingrid is the daughter of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and granddaughter of current ruler, King Harald V of Norway.

Ingrid Alexandra will become Norway’s second female monarch after her father secured her place in the line of succession by changing the law to allow first-born daughters to ascend the throne over their younger male siblings. 

The last Norwegian queen was 600 years ago: Queen Margaret reigned over Norway, Denmark and Sweden from the late 1380s until her death in 1412. 

Ingrid has a younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus and an older half-brother, Marius Borg Høiby, who is Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship.

In an attempt by her parents to give her as ordinary a childhood as possible, Ingrid Alexandra attended the same local primary school as her half-brother.

Newspaper reports said the princess would walk to school with Marius and school officials hoped to make it a place where she could make friends and enjoy some relief from public scrutiny.

She was later moved to a private international school in Oslo so she could become fluent in English and transferred to two more schools during her education.

The princess turned 18 at the start of last year and joined her grandfather, King Harald V, on the day for a cabinet meeting at the Royal Palace as she marked her coming of age.

In the next few years, she will increase her public profile and take on more responsibilities on behalf of the royal family but will continue to focus on her education, said the palace in a statement on her 18th birthday.

The pandemic meant that formal celebrations for the princess’s birthday were postponed. But she later held a glamorous party in June 2022 to mark the event in style.

A host of European royals were invited, including Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and King Felipe VI of Spain – all of whom are godparents of the princess, with their spouses.

A group of young princesses also enjoyed the party, including Princess Estelle of Sweden, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium – all of whom are also in line to inherit the throne in their respective countries.

Ingrid Alexandra has taken part in a number of public engagements, including opening a public sculpture park within the palace gardens in her name in 2016 to mark the 25th anniversary of King Harald V’s reign.

She was shown given Prince William and Kate a tour of the sculpture park while they visited Norway in 2018.

The royal also toured several army and air force bases in Norway to learn more about the country’s armed forces. When she ascends the throne, she will become commandant of Norway’s armies.

In 2021, she visited a female-only squadron of the army to learn more about their work and co-piloted a plane during a tour of a royal air force base.

Sitting in the backseat of an F-16 fighter jet, the teenage princess observed as a trained pilot flew it away from the base, and later was allowed to control it briefly during a flight over Northern Norway.

She was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of her godmother, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, in 2010. 

Aside from her royal duties, Ingrid Alexandra enjoys skiing, boxer and surfer, winning a gold medal in the Norwegian surfing championship for juniors in October 2020.

The Norweigan Royal Court announced in June that the future queen would spend the autumn working at a school before beginning a full 12 months of military service at the Skjold Camp in Indre Troms.

According to the Norwegian military’s website, members of the Engineer Battalion are specialists ‘who, among other things, work with defence facilities, bridges and other constructions and CBRN.’

In 2021, the royal toured several army and air force bases in Norway to learn more about the country’s armed forces. Sitting in the F-16’s backseat, she was allowed to take control of the plane and pilot it as it flew over Northern Norway.

When she ascends the throne, she will become commandant of Norway’s armies.