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Olympic Highlights: Royal Participation

The early Olympic competitions were limited to amateurs, like many sports in those days. Participation was mostly by upper class citizens as only they would have the available leisure time and funds required. In the 70s and 80s, it was state funded athletes, directed into sporting programs from an early age, that dominated the medals. Another section of the population not usually associated with involvement in Olympic competition is royalty. Below is a listing of royal family members that have been to the Olympics as participants, several of them medalists.

While searching for Olympic Royalty, I discovered there are many more Olympic Royals than are usually listed, some from quite obscure royal families and others who became royals after their Olympic success when marrying into Royalty. Here are those that I have found.

Summer Olympics Royalty

• Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia — a German prince who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, winning bronze in the Team jumping equestrian event.

• Olav V of Norway — He won a gold medal in sailing (6 metre class) at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam when he was crown prince. He became the king of Norway in 1957, and remained so until his death in 1991.

• Constantine II of Greece — In 1960 at the Rome Olympics, competing as Crown Prince Constantine he won a gold medal in the Dragon class sailing event. He became King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973.

• Juan Carlos I — In 1972, Juan Carlos competed in the Dragon class sailing event at the Olympic Games, finishing 15th. He became the King of Spain in 1975.

• Queen Sofia of Spain — She is the brother of Royal Olympian Constantine II of Greece, and married to another Olympian King Juan Carlos I. Prior to her marriage into the Spanish royal family, she took part as a reserve for her native Greece in the 1960 Olympics in sailing.

• Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca — Infanta Cristina is the daughter of Olympians King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. She participated with the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, just like her brother Felipe. Infanta is married to Iñaki Urdangarin (Duke of Palma de Mallorca), who became a Royal Olympian by marriage. Iñaki was an elite handball player. He competed in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics. In the last of those events, which were his first Olympics as a royal, he was the team captain. He won two Olympic medals – bronze in both the 1996 and 2000 Games.

• Felipe, Prince of Asturais — Felipe's mother, father, uncle, and sister were all Olympic sailors. He was, in fact, the most successful, with a 6th-place finish in the Soling Class event at the 1992 Olympics. He is first in line to the throne, followed by his two daughters Leonor and Sofia.

• Harald V of Norway — Harald represented Norway in Olympic yachting events like his father before him. He competed in the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics. The Crown Prince also carried the Norwegian flag at the opening parade of the 1964 Games. Harald is now the King of Norway, succeeded to the throne after the death of his father Olaf V in 1991.

• Anne, Princess Royal — Anne is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She competed as a member of the UK equestrian team in 1976, the only member of the British Royal Family to have competed in the Olympic Games. She competed in both the individual and Team eventing competition. In the individual, she placed 24th overall, and as a team Great Britain placed 9th. At these Games she was also the only female competitor not to have to submit to a sex test - as the daughter Queen Elizabeth II, such a test was seen as inappropriate. Her daughter Zara Phillips is also a very accomplished equestrian rider, and was in line to take part in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, but injuries to her horse prevented her from competing in either event.

• Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg — this Danish princess was a member of the Team Denmark dressage team in the 2008 Summer Olympics and was awarded a Bronze medal.

• Princess Haya of Jordan — she was on Jordan's Equestrian team in Sydney in 2000 for show jumping and didn't win a medal. She was also the flag bearer for Jordan.

Winter Olympics Royalty

• Constantin von Liechtenstein — a Liechtenstein prince who competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics in Alpine Skiing. He finished 99th in the downhill event.

• Albert II, Prince of Monaco — Prince Albert II competed in the bobsled event at every Winter Olympics from Calgary 1988 to Salt Lake City 2002. The press reported the prince refused any special treatment during his Olympic stints, and lived in the same basic quarters as all the other athletes. In 2011 he also married a former Olympian, Charlene Wittstock (now Princess of Monaco), a swimmer from South Africa. She finished in 5th-place in the 400 medley relay team at the 2000 Olympics. There is another Olympic link in this family. Albert's grandfather John Kelly (father of his mother Grace Kelly), won both the single and double sculls at the 1920 Games. John Kelly's son John junior (Albert's uncle) also competed in four Olympic campaigns.

Dubious Royals

• Australian Olympic swimmer Michael Klim married Lindy Rama, a former model and fashion entrepreneur, in April 2006. Rama (known in Bali as Anak Agung) is a Balinese princess, being the niece of Ida Cokorde Pamecutan XI, the king of Denpasar. Klim is trying to make the team for the 2012 London Games.

Related Pages

• More Olympic highlights