Breaking Down the Royal Family’s Personal History With the Olympics
Here is a look back at the most notable moments of the British royal family's history with the Olympic Games.
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the British royal family has been hard at work supporting sporting events, both in England and nationally.
Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, presented Carlos Alcaraz with the Wimbledon Championship trophy on July 14, receiving a standing ovation when she entered the tournament stands. The event marked her second public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis in March.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]That same day, her husband William, Prince of Wales, and their son George, 10, traveled to Berlin to watch England’s soccer team go head-to-head with Spain in the EURO 2024 final, with the latter being crowned champions.
As eyes turn towards this summer’s Olympic games and the many sporting matches that will ensue, many are wondering who of the royals are set to attend the Olympics. Though no announcements have been made officially, there is a long history of royal participation and involvement in the games, which take place every four years.
London has hosted the Summer Olympic Games the most number of times: in 1908, 1948 and 2012. Each of these times, the British royal family has shown up to support Team GB.
In fact, the royals have been known to travel far to participate in the festivities and celebrations of the Olympics. In 1956, when the Olympics were in Melbourne, Prince Phillip opened the games, and when the games were in Montreal in 1976, the Queen presided over the opening.
“The Olympics has a unique cachet, so any royal involvement is both a matter of personal pride and often public joy as they not only represent their country but are symbolic of national unity,” royal historian Richard Fitzwilliams tells TIME.
After ascending the throne in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II served as patron of the British Olympic Association. As the new Sovereign, King Charles III will assume the patronage previously held by his mother. This transition precedes the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, scheduled to commence on July 26 and conclude on August 11.
Here is a look back at the most notable moments of the royal family’s history with the Olympics:
The royal family leads the 1908 and 1948 Olympics in London
When the Olympic games were held in London in 1908 and 1948, the British royal family were a staple at many events.
King Edward VII opened the first games on April 27, 1908, at White City Stadium in London. The 1908 games were originally intended to be held in Rome, but in 1906, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius caused major damage, and London was chosen as the replacement host city.
At these games, there is a tale—disputed and well-known nonetheless—of the royal family changing the marathon length to what it is known today as.
Allegedly, Queen Alexandra requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle, and finish in front of the Royal Box at the Olympic stadium—a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards). The random boost in mileage ended up sticking, and in 1921 the length of a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers).
“It used to be 25 miles, and the story goes that the Princess of Wales at the time, Mary, wanted the race to begin outside the royal nursery to give the kids a view, and it turned out to be 26.2 miles,” royal historian Marlene Koenig tells TIME. “That became the standard of how the marathon was run.”
The 1948 London Games, also known as “The Austerity Games,” were the first to take place since the end of World War II, and were opened by King George VI.
Princess Anne competes at the 1976 Olympics
When thinking of the Olympics, Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, is unequivocally the royal most heavily at the center.
She became the first British royal to ever take part at the Olympic games in 1976 when she competed in the three-day equestrian event on behalf of Great Britain.
Anne took part in her first equestrian competition at the age of 11, and also won gold at the 1971 European Championships. At the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, she rode the Queen’s horse, Goodwill.
“[Princess Anne] said it was a unique instance in equestrian history when the Queen had bred not only the horse, but also the rider,” royal historian and broadcaster Hugo Vickers tells TIME. “I thought that quote was something so like the Princess to say.”
Anne did not finish at the games, though. She fell off Goodwill and suffered a concussion due to the mud-slicked course becoming slippery.
“I don’t remember anything at all after the fall,” she said, according to the New York Times.
Equestrian sports is something that the royal family has historically been very interested in, from King Charles II’s passion for horse racing to Prince William and Prince Harry taking part in charity polo competitions.
“The horse doesn’t know whether you are [from] a royal family, they just know if you are a good rider, and if you’re not good enough, you’ll get thrown off all the same,” says Vickers. “I think that’s what makes them so interested in it.”
Anne’s former husband, Captain Mark Phillips, also rode for the British equestrian team, winning a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, before he wed into the royal family. He competed in the Olympics for a second time in Seoul in 1988, although he was forced to withdraw before the cross-country stage because his horse sustained a pulled muscle.
Now, Anne leads the royals in commitment to the Olympics as President of the British Olympic Association and a Member of the International Olympic Committee. According to Koenig, Anne had a significant role in obtaining London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. She also formally accepted the Olympic flame in Athens to bring back to London.
Queen Elizabeth II joins actor Daniel Craig in opening the London 2012 Olympic Games
To formally open the London 2012 Olympics, the late Queen Elizabeth II joined Daniel Craig, who was then the actor portraying James Bond, in a viral video helmed by Academy Award-winning British film director Danny Boyle. The video showed the Queen and Craig supposedly entering a helicopter which rode across London and adoring Olympics fans. A stunt double Queen-lookalike then jumped out of the helicopter with Craig to land in the Olympic Stadium.
Soon after, the real Queen, dressed identically to her stunt double, entered the stadium to officially open the ceremony.
“The video was simply an amazing marketing idea,” Koenig, who is the author of the blog Royal Musings, tells TIME.
According to production stage manager Sam Hunter, the Queen kept the cameo a secret from even the others of the royal family, and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Craig told Colbert that she cracked jokes with him and was “very, very funny” during the making of the video.
Read More: The Royal Family’s History With Wimbledon: From George V to Kate Middleton
Zara Tindall competes at the 2012 Olympics
At the 2012 London Olympics, Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall followed in the footsteps of her mother and father to compete with the British equestrian team. She had been a 2008 Beijing Games hopeful, but missed out when her horse, Toytown, was injured before the competition.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Prince Harry, cheered on their cousin at the games as she competed in her events. Tindall went on to win a silver medal with her team. Princess Anne and Queen Camilla also attended to show their support.
Prince William and Princess Kate, who were newlyweds at the time, attended many events at the 2012 London Games, leading to photos of them hugging each other while celebrating Team GB’s wins.
Who will attend the Olympics this year?
The royal family’s health has kept certain members away from more forward-facing duties than usual this year. In February, it was announced that King Charles had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer and would be undergoing treatment. He took a short break from public-facing duties, but returned to the forefront in April.
Meanwhile, in March, Middleton announced she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer following a planned abdominal surgery in January. She revealed she was undergoing a course of “preventative chemotherapy.”
Middleton announced her own return to some summer events in a post ahead of her Trooping the Colour appearance in a post on June 14.“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Middleton said, adding that she hoped “to join a few public engagements over the summer,” but is aware she’s “not out of the woods yet.” The royal has since made an appearance at the Wimbledon final.
According to Koenig, if the royals do attend the Summer Olympic Games, it will likely be later on in the proceedings, in the finals of any events that Team GB make it to. If they do attend, it is unlikely that there will be an announcement of royal attendance made prior dance, and they will attempt to be rather low-key.
Winners from Team GB will likely receive messages from the royal family, either on social media or in handwritten notes, congratulating them on their achievements—something the Sovereign has been known to do in the past. In 2022, Charles brought the Team GB competitors of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to Buckingham Palace for a reception to congratulate them on their achievements, since many of the celebrations were tapered down during the games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the most likely to attend will be Princess Anne in her roles as President of the British Olympic Association and a Member of the International Olympic Committee. “That’s Princess Anne’s job; she’s the cheerleader,” Koenig says.
Even this is up in the air, though, since late last month, the Princess Royal, was taken to the hospital with minor head injuries on Monday following a horse accident at her Gloucestershire home, Gatcombe Park. Last week, she returned to public-facing duties, visiting the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships in Gloucestershire to present awards and meet winners.