From the Danish King Frederik to the Swedish Princess Sofia.
Tattoos and royals may not be two things you immediately associate with each other. But although there are a lot of protocols about how things should be in royal circles, tattoos are not necessarily taboo. And quite a few highnesses have gratefully made use of that. We list them for you!
1. King Frederick of Denmark
Let’s start off right, because Danish King Frederik has not one, but two tattoos. On his bicep is a piece of art that means “pingu” – the nickname he was given during his training in the Royal Danish Navy. He also has a shark on his calf, another symbolic reference to the Navy.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
Both of his tattoos are related to his time in the army. The shark one on his calf represents the insignia of the Danish Navy’s elite frogman corps, the 2nd one on his biceps means “pingu” and refers to the nickname he earned during his training. pic.twitter.com/9UpuXenipN— Lili (@Lili_in_London) August 4, 2023
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2. Frederick IX of Denmark
That the current Danish king loves tattoos is not so strange, because it runs in the family! His grandfather, Frederik IX of Denmark (father of Queen Margrethe), also had a penchant for tattoos. Just like his grandson, many of Frederik IX’s tattoos came from his time in the navy.
King Frederik 9th of Denmark
(our Queens father) And yes the Tattoos are real #Denmark pic.twitter.com/ld00IcOSqN— Kim Kaos (@KimKaosDK) September 11, 2014
Anchors, birds, Japanese dragons: the king was certainly ahead of his time. Very cool, as far as we’re concerned!
3. Princess Eugenie
Princess Eugenie of York, daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, has also had a tattoo. Although she opted for a more subtle one: she had a small circle tattooed behind her ear.
She never revealed the meaning behind it, but there are speculations that the tattoo is a tribute to her grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth. It could be a reference to the Sovereign’s Orb, which is used in the coronation ceremony of a British monarch. Whether this is really the case, we dare not say, but it is at least a creative theory.
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4. Princess Stephanie of Monaco
The Grimaldis aren’t afraid of a little ink either. Princess Stéphanie has a tattoo of two dolphins jumping out of the water on her left ankle and a bracelet with a sun on her right wrist. The two dolphins represent Louis and Pauline, her children with Daniel Ducruet, the sun is Camille, her daughter with Jean Raymond Gottlieb.
She also has a few relics from her time as a rock princess, such as a tramp stamp on the lower back, and an S in vines on her upper back.
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Stéphanie also passed on her love for tattoos to her children:
6. Sofia Sweden
Princess Sofia of Sweden had most of her prominent tattoos lasered away before her engagement, but the sun between her shoulder blades remained. This was at the request of Prince Carl Philip, who thought it suited her because she ‘always radiates’. Aww! The sun was also clearly visible at their wedding on 13 June 2015:
7. Prince Bernhard
Even among the Dutch royals, tattoos are not taboo. For example, Prince Bernard had a snake coiled around a staff on his arm. Over the years, a number of bizarre theories were formulated about the meaning (think occultism, secret societies, even more illegitimate daughters), but in reality it was not that exciting. It is the emblem of physicians, simply because Bernhard had to undergo medical procedures exceptionally often.
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8. King Vajiralongkorn
We close the list with a king who is quite controversial for several reasons: King Vajiralongkorn. From wild parties, shady appointments and various mistresses, this man doesn’t always seem to have it all together.
In 2016, he surprised us again when photos leaked showing the king in a white crop top, revealing a number of gigantic tattoos.
Meet the new king of Thailand crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn who wears crop tops and has fake tattoos… pic.twitter.com/GWr7AxBfzw
— The Muthoka® (@MuthokaTito) October 15, 2016
Later it was claimed that the tattoos were fake, but that doesn’t make it any less special. Oh well, we all experiment with our style sometimes. And with his status as a ‘demigod’ it doesn’t matter to Vajiralongkorn if he makes some controversial choices.
Source: Daily Mail | Image: NL Beeld, Getty Images
