The Olympic Games bring together nations from around the world to demonstrate and celebrate sporting excellence, and in addition to attracting the greatest sportsmen and women of the time they also count a number of famous names and faces among their spectators, including the royals.
Britain has hosted the Summer Olympics on three separate occasions and each time have been opened by the king or queen on the throne at the time.
In 1908, King Edward VII did the honor. In 1948 his grandson, King George VI, opened The Games and in 2012 it was the turn of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
As well as being spotted at the opening ceremonies and stadium stands during events, some members of the royal family have even competed. With Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter, Zara Tindall, taking a silver medal in the team eventing equestrian class during the London 2012 games.
As the Paris 2024 Games are underway, and the United States prepares to host the 2028 games in Los Angeles, Newsweek looks at five times the British royals stole the show at the Summer Olympics.
First Royal Competitor
In 1976, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's only daughter, Princess Anne, became the first member of the British Royal Family to compete in an Olympic Games.
The princess participated in the three day event equestrian class in Canada. The class sees individuals and teams compete in three separate disciplines (show jumping, dressage and cross-country), with scores tallied at the end to determine medal positions.
Anne suffered a bad fall during the cross-country discipline, leaving her with a concussion and no memory of the accident, though she was able to remount and finish the course.
Queen Elizabeth Meets James Bond
The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games featured a number of royals in the audience, including King Charles and Queen Camilla (while Prince and Princess of Wales), Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry.
Queen Elizabeth II, however, was the one to steal the show with her unexpected method of arrival. In a pre-shot sequence played during the ceremony, Daniel Craig, as fictional spy James Bond, escorted the monarch from Buckingham Palace to the Olympic Park.
To the surprise of the audience, the film included a stunt person dressed as the queen jumping from a helicopter above the stadium gliding under a Union Jack parachute.
The monarch's skit was kept a secret from her own family who saw it for the first time with everyone else.
Prince William's Winning Reaction
During the 2012 games, the British royals showed out in force across the events, with the newly married Prince William and Princess Kate briefly drawing eyes away from the sport on display.
When British cyclists Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy won a gold medal and set a new world record in the men's team sprint track cycling final, news cameras caught the couple's jubilant reaction, with William lifting his wife into the air in celebration.
Zara Tindall, Royal Medalist
While Princess Anne was the first British royal to compete in the Olympics, it was her daughter Zara Tindall who became the first to win a medal.
Competing in the team three day eventing discipline, professional horsewoman Tindall and her fellow squad members won silver medals, which were presented that day by the honorary president of the British Olympic Association who just happened to be Princess Anne.
Prince Harry's Nail Biting Moment
Prince Harry is also a well-known sports fan among the royal family, having founded his own veterans sports event the Invictus Games in 2014.
At the London 2012 games, the prince was spotted during a nail biting race of the track cycling discipline seated beside his older cousin, Peter Phillips.
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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