Royal Watch News

Luxembourg royals get behind swimmers at Olympics

Aug 6, 2012, 12:02 GMT

Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy at the London Olympics

Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy got behind their country at the London Olympics last week.

The royal couple - who got engaged in April - held a blue, white and red Luxembourg scarf and flag aloft at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park, east Stratford, as they cheered on Laurent Carnol and Raphael Stacchiotti during their breaststroke and individual medley heats respectively.

Guillaume and Stephanie were spotted cuddling and laughing throughout the swimming events, but unfortunately their Olympians failed to advance into the final of their respective disciplines.

A host of other European royals have also descended on London to cheer on their countries, including Princess Charlene of Monaco - who competed for South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 4x100 medley - and her husband Prince Albert.

The couple also attended the Aquatics Centre as the blonde royal cheered on her compatriot, swimmer Chad le Clos, as he won a gold medal after defeating USA's Michael Phelps - the most successful Olympian ever with 22 medals, 18 of them gold - in the 200m butterfly.

Dutch royals Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Crown Princess Maxima, and their three young daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, were also at the venue to support their nation's swimmers.

However, Sweden's Princess Victoria decided against visiting the English capital city for the Olympic Games, where she was due to travel with her brother Prince Carl-Phillip and husband Prince Daniel, and opted to remain in the Scandinavian country with her five-month-old daughter Princess Estelle.

The British royals have also turned out in force to take in a number of events at the spectacle, including watching Zara Phillips - the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth - win a silver medal by helping Team GB to finish second to Germany in the three-day eventing competition last week.