40 Vintage Photos of Royals as Teenagers

While most teens are worried about college applications or prom, growing up is more intense for those born into royalty, as the world watches them come of age in the spotlight.

Although some royal children might have been able to enjoy relatively normal upbringings at school and on sports fields, others had to balance life as a teen with their royal workload. Case in point: Queen Elizabeth II was just 13 years old when she gave her first public address. And while ordinary teenagers get to delete less-than-favorable young photos, royals aren't afforded the same luxury. From official portraits to paparazzi shots, there is plenty of photo evidence of their teen years.

Here are 40 photos of young princes and princesses from around the globe as teens, from images of a British royal getting his driver's license to photos of a Spanish prince meeting with a U.S. president.

Prince William, age 17

William happily exits a car after passing his driving test in July 1999. Although he took the test on a borrowed Ford Focus, his first car was actually a Volkswagen Golf, a birthday gift from his father.

Prince Harry, age 17

Harry takes a penalty kick during a charity trip to West Ham United's stadium in September 2002 to mark his upcoming 18th birthday. The Guardian reported that both William and Harry received their own unique coat of arms ahead of turning 18.

King Charles III, age 18

Charles poses for a birthday portrait in the library at Balmoral Castle in 1966. Royal biographers have noted that Charles had a lonely upbringing, due to his parents' busy royal schedules and childhood bullies.

Princess Anne, age 19

Anne, Queen Elizabeth II's only daughter, smiles while riding her horse in 1969. Anne has quite the decorated equestrian résumé: She began competing at age 11 and continued riding competitively even after becoming a working royal. In 1976, she became the first British royal selected to the Olympic team.

Prince Edward, age 19

After returning from his gap year in New Zealand (Charles and Diana visited him on their 1983 royal tour), Edward—Philip and Queen Elizabeth's youngest child—enrolled in Cambridge University to study history. His acceptance caused quite the stir after the royal's less-than-stellar grades were revealed. The controversy was even mentioned in season 4 of The Crown.

Queen Elizabeth II, age 18

Elizabeth is all smiles as she cuddles one of her beloved corgis, Sue. Her lifelong love for corgis was well-documented throughout her life.

Prince Philip, age 14

Speaking of Gordonstoun, Prince Philip started the tradition of attending the Scottish school. Here, the Greek-prince-turned-British-royal shows off his costume for a performance of Macbeth in 1935.

Princess Margaret, age 19

Margaret, pictured here in uniform, was a lifelong supporter of St. John Ambulance. She served as Commandant-in-Chief Ambulance and Nursing Cadets from 1947 to 1970 and later became Grand President of the organization, a role she held until her death in 2002.

Princess Diana, age 13

In a 1974 photo taken from the Spencer family photo album, Diana poses with her pony, Souffle, outside of her mother's Scotland home. The future princess was no stranger to royal living: She was born at Park House on Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate.

Queen Elizabeth I, age 19

The Queen Mother, then known as Lady Elizabeth Bowles-Lyon, smiles for a portrait in 1919. Although she wouldn't officially become a royal until she married Prince Albert in 1923, she was no stranger to royal life either: She lived in a castle as a child.

King George VI, age 19

When this Royal Navy portrait of King George VI—Queen Elizabeth II's father—was taken in 1914, he was known as Prince Albert. He grew up as a shy child who didn't have much interest in being the heir to the throne, until his older brother abdicated, making him the new king of England in 1937.

Princess Beatrice, age 18

Photographers catch Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, arriving at a private party at the Ritz Hotel to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006.

Princess Eugenie, age 17

Eugenie, Beatrice's younger sister, attends a service at Westminster Abbey held to honor Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's Diamond Wedding Anniversary in November 2007. Eugenie and the queen were reportedly very close—Beatrice often accompanied Her Majesty to public events, even though she is not a working royal.

Zara Phillips, age 19

Zara, the daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, attends the Cheltenham Races. While the royal was dressed up for this race, it was more common to spot the accomplished equestrian (and future Olympian) competing.

Peter Phillips, age 19

While many royals partake in equestrian pursuits, Peter, Princess Anne's son and Queen Elizabeth II's oldest grandchild, prefers rugby. Pictured here in 1996, Peter was the captain of the school rugby team during his years at Gordonstoun in Scotland.

David Armstrong-Jones, age 17 and Sarah Armstrong-Jones, age 15

David and Sarah, Princess Margaret's children, smile outside of Clarence House before the Queen Mother's 79th birthday celebration.

Princess Caroline of Monaco, age 16

Caroline sports a pair of oversized sunglasses at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. She was following in her parents' footsteps by attending the event. After all, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier met at the 1955 festival.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, age 19

In 1977, Prince Albert II of Monaco moved to America to attend college at Amherst University. In a 2021 interview with his alma mater, he revealed that he also considered Princeton and the Naval Academy before deciding on Amherst.

Princess Stephanie of Monaco, age 18

Princess Stephanie of Monaco, the youngest child of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer III, is seen attending at a golf tournament in 1983. The year before, Stephanie and her mother were driving to the train station when they were involved in the car accident that ultimately killed Grace.

Princess Victoria of Sweden, age 19

Sweden's Princess Victoria, pictured here arriving at her father's 50th birthday party in 1996, had recently enrolled at the Catholic University of the West in France. She studied there for a year before moving to the United States to attend Yale.

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, age 19

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden attends his older sister Victoria's 21st birthday party in 1998. Although he was initially heir apparent to the throne upon his birth, a constitutional change in 1980 made natural birth order the new Swedish royal succession model.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden, age 19

Princess Madeleine, the youngest daughter of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, dons a traditional Swedish gown to celebrate her parents' 25th wedding anniversary.

King Frederik X of Denmark, age 18

Frederik, then the prince of Denmark, served in the Danish army, as seen in this 1986 photo. He graduated from Aarhus University and spent a year at Harvard, making him the first Danish royal to receive a university education.

Prince Jochaim of Denmark, age 17

Denmark's Prince Jochaim, the younger brother of Frederik, poses with his father in 1986. Like his brother, Jochaim served in the Danish military.

King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, age 18

Vajiralongkorn, the crown prince of Thailand when photographed here in 1970, is welcomed at the Sydney Airport by a group of students. He completed his secondary education in the United Kingdom before attending military training and college in Australia.

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan, age 19

This photo of Wangchuck, the former king of Bhutan, was taken shortly after his 1974 coronation. He became king in 1972, when he was just 16 years old, after the sudden death of his father.

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, age 19

Princess Beatrix, who later became the queen of the Netherlands, speaks to the Dutch public during a radio broadcast marking Kingsday in December 1957. When this photo was taken, Beatrix was a student at Leiden University, where she studied law.

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, age 18

Dutch princess Margriet takes a stroll in Leiden in 1961. Upon her 1943 birth during World War II, the Dutch royal family was in exile, so she was named after the marguerite flower, a symbol of resistance to Nazi Germany.

Prince Felipe of Spain, age 19

Prince Felipe meets with President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1987. The Spanish prince was a midshipman aboard the Juan Sebastian de Elcano, a training ship that had recently docked in nearby Baltimore.

Infanta Elena of Spain, age 18

Elena, the oldest child of Spain's King Juan Carlos I, attends a wedding in Germany in 1981. Although Elena is the oldest child, her younger brother, Felipe, was first in line for the throne in accordance with Spain's succession laws.

Infanta Cristina of Spain, age 19

Cristina poses for a photo during a state dinner at the royal palace in Madrid. Like her older sister, Elena, she was also passed over in the line of succession so her younger brother could rule.

Prince Hussein of Jordan, age 15

Prince Hussein of Jordan celebrates the tenth anniversary of his father's accession to the throne in June 2009. Later that summer, the palace released a royal decree stating Hussein was next in line to the throne.

King Phillippe of Belgium, age 18

Philippe, who was then the prince of Belgium, participates in military training exercises in 1978 at the Royal Military Academy. He was the first crown prince to not attend private school and instead enrolled in traditional Belgian schooling.

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, age 18

Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume poses for a photo to commemorate his 18th birthday in 1999. The next year, Guillaume would become the new heir apparent after his father ascended to the role of Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, age 16

Carl, pictured here in 1962 when he was crown prince of Sweden, is spotted through a car window while leaving London's Heathrow Airport. He became the heir apparent as an infant when his father died in a plane crash, but officially became the crown prince when he was four years old.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, age 18

Princess Märtha Louise celebrates Norway's National Day with her father, Harald V in 1989. In recent years, Märtha has been involved in several controversies after she used her royal title to promote spirituality seminars.

King Haakon of Norway, age 16

In a photo from the same event, Märtha's younger brother, Haakon, waves to spectators. Although Norway's succession laws now state that the eldest sibling—regardless of gender—is the heir to the throne, the 1990 revision did not allow for retroactive changes to the line of succession, making Haakon the heir apparent.

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, age 19

On the left, Henri poses next to his mother, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, as the family welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Luxembourg in 1976.

Al-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei Darussalam, age 18

The future crown prince of Brunei looks on during a celebration of his father's 25th year as Sultan of Brunei. After graduating from school in his home country, he studied at various schools in London before graduating from Oxford, where a special curriculum focused on Islamic studies, diplomacy, and international relations was developed for him.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark, age 18

Margrethe poses for a portrait on her 18th birthday in April 1959. That year, she took a seat in King Frederik's cabinet, where she served until becoming queen in 1972.

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