Royal picnics! 8 best photos of Duchess Kate, Sophie Wessex, The Queen & Co outdoors

The English picnic season is upon us, and now that the UK lockdown is easing and the sun is out, we're certainly making the most of it. From a quick sandwich and bottled drink to the full-blown fancy hamper, executive camping chairs and posh rugs – British picnics come in all shapes and sizes.

But here's the question… do the royal family enjoy picnicking too? Do Charles and Camilla produce a luxury organic spread for friends in the grounds of Highgrove? Does the Duchess of Cambridge throw a fun family picnic for her children at Kensington Palace complete with garden games like croquet?

Well, by the look of the photographs below, the royals are just as keen on a picnic as you and I. Take a look at these royal picnic snaps from past days for a little summer nostalgia…

The Duchess of Cambridge

Prince William's wife Kate looked just like any of us as she enjoyed a car boot picnic with her three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis back in July 2019. The royals were at a polo match in Wokingham to watch dad William compete. George and Charlotte looked adorable eating their lunch in the boot, while doting mum Kate fed Louis on her lap.

MORE: Kate Middleton's daily diet revealed – what the Duchess eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Zara Tindall

Here is the Queen's granddaughter Zara with her husband Mike Tindall at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy Match in Tetbury, in June 2017. Mike's got the picnic basket and croquet stick – how very royal – while Zara is engrossed with her phone.

The Queen

We love this! It's June 2001 and Her Majesty is having a peek inside a picnic basket with actress Prunella Scales and Sir David Ford. The monarch was attending a council picnic in Windsor Great Park, just a short hop from her castle. Funnily enough, Prunella played the part of the Queen in a TV drama at the time.

MORE: Cath Kidston's new summer picnic collection has Kate Middleton written all over it

The Countess of Wessex

Sophie looked ultra-glamorous when she attended the Diamond Jubilee 'Big Lunch' picnic in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in 2012. We can't imagine she sat on the grass in that white outfit – probably more of a camping chair situation. Has anyone invented a picnic throne yet?

Princess Beatrice and Eugenie

Another blast from the past. It was July 1998 and the young princesses had a picnic with their grandmother Susan Barrantes at a charity golf tournament at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey. We can spot cheddar breadsticks and Ryvita!

MORE: Camilla's daily diet: what the Duchess eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Prince Charles

Aw, just look at this! Rewind 60 years to a royal picnic in the grounds of Balmoral with the Queen, the late Prince Phillip and a very young Princess Anne and Prince Charles. Ok, we can't see any food, but the picnic rugs are out and we're assuming they had a sophisticated outdoor luncheon together.

Princess Diana

Here is the late Princess Diana with her then-husband Prince Charles at a desert picnic at Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates in March 1989. A huge feast was put on for the royal couple and they certainly looked like they enjoyed themselves.

Duchess of Cornwall

Probably about the closest we've seen Camilla come to a picnic… here is the royal joining a picnic lunch inside Newquay Fire Station, during her annual trip to Devon and Cornwall in July 2017. The Duchess met residents from Tregunnel Hill, a neighbourhood built on Duchy of Cornwall land in Newquay. Looks like a right royal knees-up!