Royals on social media

The royal families of Europe have been out and about braving the elements as a chilly January continues to unfold. And they've shared plenty of images and thoughts on their official social media channels. We've had big birthdays, big coats and big words this week from the royals - here are some of their social media highlights.

Happy Birthday to you

There were plenty of royal anniversaries being celebrated on social media this week. The biggest birthday wishes were for the Countess of Wessex who turned 50 on January 20th. The British Monarchy Twitter account encouraged everyone to wish Sophie well with the hashtag #HappyBirthdayHRH and shared images of the countess who spent her special day on a series of engagements with her husband. 

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians turned 42 on the same day. The official Belgian Monarchy Twitter account showed her at her day's engagements - a reception for EU officials at the Royal Palace in Brussels.

New Year's reception for the EU institutions at the Royal Palace in Brussels pic.twitter.com/kC83qqnUoG
— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) January 20, 2015

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway was 11 on January 21st and to mark the occasion the Royal House published a series of archive photos on their official Facebook page.

Nice coat

It's January so we can't expect the royals to turn up to engagements in anything other than huge coats. Scarves and gloves are optional. King Felipe and Queen Letizia went for matching black overcoats when they visited Navarre for the first time since taking the reins and images were shared on the official Twitter account of Casa Real.

Los Reyes, en la inauguración de Museo Universidad de Navarra @Museo_unav @unav http://t.co/FzGbxcX36I pic.twitter.com/EPhI3Lxwn2
— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) January 22, 2015

The Duchess of Cambridge got tongues wagging when she stepped out in a baby blue coat for a day of engagements in Kensington. Kate is six months pregnant with her second child and her choice of colour led to speculation that boy number two could be on the way. The duchess said she doesn't know whether she's having a prince or princess - there were plenty of chances to see the coat in a series of pictures published on the Kensington Palace Instagram account.

Words, words, words

The Duchess of Cornwall launched a writing competition for young people in the week with the help of TV presenter and DJ, Chris Evans. Images of the event starting the #500words contest were shared on the Clarence House Twitter account.

The Duchess of Cornwall and @simon_francesca meet pupils taking part in a @BBCRadio2 #500words writing workshop pic.twitter.com/75wbaxrRsS
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) January 21, 2015

The King and Queen of Sweden got their own new word in the week when it was announced that they would visit Finland in March and would be taking their own hashtag with them. #SWEFIN2015 got a mention on the official Facebook page of the Swedish Royals too.