Royal hobbies: Surprising things members of monarchies do with their spare time

By Anna Redman

10 May 2016, 09:57 BST

We celebrate their birthdays, take note of style choices, watch their children grow up and see them at work – waving from the balcony and making speeches for charity – but we rarely see our favourite royals at play. As it turns out, they use their free time for a wide range of endeavours. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall famously asked Kit Harrington for Game of Thrones spoilers, while the Queen’s love of dogs and horses is legendary.

Here, we look at some of the hobbies enjoyed by European royals, from hedge-laying and pigeon racing to bobsledding and ballet...

Prince Charles's green thumb isn't a big secret, but his skill for the dying art of hedge-laying is somewhat less known. The keen gardener is patron of the National Hedgelaying Society and has hosted the National Hedgelaying Championships at the Home Farm, located in the gardens of High Grove House, having laid many of the hedges himself.

Photo: © Getty Images

Fatherhood isn't the only new project on the agenda for Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. The handsome royal has also created a line of spring bathroom products for his home company Bernadotte & Kylberg, the interior design business he started in 2012 with fellow designer Oscar Kylberg.

Photo: © Kungahset.se

In 2005, after his life-changing gap year, Prince Harry turned his hand to documentary filmmaking in an effort to raise awareness for a cause close to his heart. The Forgotten Kingdom – Prince Harry in Lesotho focused on a number of issues in developing countries: limited education, the AIDS epidemic and poverty among them. The same experience that elicited the documentary also led Harry to start his charity Sentebale, which he co-created with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.

Photo: © Getty Images

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has a soft spot for expensive cars, which has resulted in the purchase of some enviable rides. The monarch's collection is said to include several Porsche 911s as those are believed to be his favourite.

Photo: © Getty Images

Much like the Duchess of Cambridge and his own mother, the Queen, the Duke of York has a passion for photography. The prince even released a book of his work – simply called Photographs by HRH The Prince Andrew – in 1985, which included an array of images from his travels. Andrew has since stepped behind the lens to capture the first official photographs of Lady Louise Windsor with her parents, images for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 and snaps marking Prince Harry's first birthday, taken on the royal yacht Britannia.

Photo: © Getty Images

Prince Albert was the mastermind behind his country's first bobsled team, created in 1986. An active participant on the team, the Sporty Monaco ruler competed in five straight Olympics, beginning in 1988 and ending in 2002. Last year it was announced that his adventures would be made into a movie entitled Royal Ice. Garry Marshall is rumoured to be the director and Prince Albert has requested that he be portrayed by Vin Diesel.

Photo: © Getty Images

Prince Edward dabbled in theatre and TV in the late '80s. He worked as a production assistant on numerous shows, including The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, before trying his hand at television. The Queen's youngest son also convinced members of his family – Prince Andrew, the Duchess of York and Princess Anne – to join him in competitions for charity. In the end, the show was not a success.

Photo: © Getty Images

Grace Kelly's oldest child has a keen interest in music and dance. In her younger days, Caroline, Princess of Hanover, studied the piano, the flute and took ballet lessons with Marika Besobrasova at the Académie de Danse Classique. In 2009 a new board of trustees was appointed for the school by the government, over which Caroline presides.

Photo: © Getty Images

Before he was crowned King of Spain, Felipe regularly participated in the King's Sailing Cup challenge. Now he attends when he can and always enjoys the experience. The monarch was also was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

Photo: © Getty Images

From diet books and autobiographies to numerous children's series, Sarah, Duchess of York has written a vast library. In the late '80s she even penned books about a helicopter named Budgie, which inspired a successful children's television series of the same name. More recently she has added the Little Red series to the mix, inspired by her own distinctive hair colour.

Photo: © Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge recently tried her hand at editing when she joined the British Huffington Post team as a guest editor as part of her efforts to raise awareness for mental health in children. Kate isn't the only Middleton to give journalism a go. Her mom Carol and sister Pippa have both penned articles for numerous publications, including Hello!.

You may be surprised to learn that the Duke of Edinburgh is a dab hand with an oil painting. Prince Philip typically paints landscapes, but in 1965 he did create a delightful picture of the Queen reading the newspaper at the breakfast table during a stay at Windsor Castle. Prince Charles is also a keen painter with profits from his works supporting several of his charities.

The new mother and former reality TV contestant may already be considering singing lessons for Alexander. As a youngster, Princess Sofia loved to act and sing and even took vocal lessons as a teenager. The hard work paid off when she secured a number of commercials in Sweden, including one for BOB's Jam.

Princess Caroline's son has a need for speed. Racing his first proper sports car at the Scirocco R-Cup in Hockenheim in 2014, Pierre Casiraghi's passion dates back to his childhood, when he could watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco live every year.Pierre also owns several notable cars of his own: “They are almost all old though, as I am a big fan of vintage and classic cars. They are mainly Italian, including an old Fiat 500. My only modern car is an Audi RS6,” he said.

Last summer the animal-loving Queen made the big – and expensive – decision to invest in a new pigeon loft on her Sandringham estate. Why, you may ask? Her Majesty has won every major British pigeon race and is one of the most successful owners and breeders in the U.K. The monarch is also patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.