Prince George's recent interaction with a European princess has gone viral online after meeting at a high-profile soccer match in Germany.
Britain's future king will celebrate his 11th birthday on July 22 and was taken to watch the Euro 2024 final between the English and Spanish national teams in Berlin earlier this month, by his father Prince William.
William is president of the Football Association (FA) and follows the developments of the England men's and women's soccer teams closely. At the Euro final on July 14, William and George were not the only royals in attendance.
King Felipe VI of Spain was also present in the VIP box, accompanied by his younger daughter, the 17-year-old Infanta (princess) Sofía of Spain.
The Spanish royals are distantly related to their British counterparts through King Felipe's great-grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenie (known as Ena) of Spain. She was born in England as a granddaughter to Queen Victoria and was named in her honor.
Uploaded to TikTok by user, @jura_leoso, on July 16, footage of George and Sofía greeting one another with a polite handshake has gone viral after being captured by stadium cameras covering the event.
The two young royals sat beside their fathers to watch the soccer match which ended with Spain winning the title, 2-1 score against the English team.
The social media clip of the prince and princess' brief meeting has received over 1.4 million views on TikTok in 48 hours, gaining in excess of 150,000 likes and numerous comments, many of which have praised their mature interaction.
"Wow the Infanta Sofia must be the only young European royal that's met Prince George," wrote one user.
"Future king and Infanta Sofia," posted another, with a further comment reading: "I love that Sofia was the first to move towards George to greet him. She is wonderful."
The princess is the second daughter and youngest child of King Felipe and Queen Letizia. Her 18-year-old sister, Leonor, the Princess of Asturias, is set to one day inherit the Spanish throne.
Prince George has made several high-profile public appearances since the accession of his grandfather, King Charles III in 2022, including as a page of honor at the coronation in 2023.
George is now second in line to inherit the throne. Though still only 10, he has not yet been photographed meeting large numbers of foreign dignitaries or royals.
The prince has previously met King Felipe of Spain. The king attended the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 2023 to watch his countryman, Carlos Alcaraz, win a victory against Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
Also in attendance were Prince William and Princess Kate, together with their eldest children, George and Princess Charlotte.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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