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Following These Royals On Instagram Will Take Your FOMO To A Whole New Level

by Alice Broster
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images /WPA Pool/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

One of my favourite procrastination past times is Instagram stalking. I have no shame. I’ll sit in Pret and check up on what the cast of Mama Mia have been doing — I feel personally attached to Young Bill at this point. And I like to know who in my year at school is most recently engaged, you know, just to gage how close I am to purchasing my five cats and going it alone forever. But as well as celebrities and old friends, I recently discovered there are royals you can follow on Instagram. Talk about striking gold.

Whilst the rules imposed by Kensington Palace are pretty stringent — you’re basically not allowed any sort of social media presence whatsoever — they don't apply to everyone. Obvsiouly, the likes of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William, and Kate Middleton are all prohibited from setting up personal profiles on apps like Instagram and Twitter, however, some royals are allowed to. And I'm not talking about Prince Charles' fourth cousin twice removed. I'm talking about some pretty high-profile princes and princesses.

So, if, like me, you want to see what the royals and royal adjacents of this world really get up to when they aren’t giving interviews on national television or appearing on page six, you can follow them on Instagram. FYI this lot seriously bring a whole new meaning to #Blessed.

1

Princess Eugenie (@princesseugenie)

The granddaughter of the Queen went where few other young British royals have been before and got a public Instagram account for the first time earlier this year. Joining on International Women's Day, her first post was captioned "I can think of no better day than today, International Women’s Day, to launch my personal Instagram. I hope to use this platform to share the causes, passions and people close to my heart. #scoliosis #iwd2018 #weday #firstpost." Love it.

Eugenie posts cute pictures of herself and husband to be, Jack Brooksbank, as well as cute AF throwback pics of her sister Princess Beatrice. She seems surprisingly easy to relate to which makes Princess Eugenie one of my favourite royals to have a nosy at.

2

Lady Kitty Spencer (@kitty.spencer)

The niece of the late Princess Diana is everything you would expect her to be — stunningly beautiful, chic, and sophisticated. She is regularly seen on the front row at fashion weeks around the globe and her Instagram feed shows it. If haute couture and high fashion is your jam, Lady Kitty is your girl and you need to follow her ASAP.

She is also known as a bit of a girl about town, so there is no lack of pictures with famous pals such as Idris Elba, Pixie Lott, and fashion giants like Stefano Gabbana.

3

Maharaja Padmanabh Singh Of Jaipur (@pachojaipur)

Another royal with (unsurprisingly) friends in high places is Maharaja Padmanabh Singh Of Jaipur. His Instagram offers a great insight into how the other half live. Aside from clearly being a polo fanatic, his feed is dotted with personal family pictures as well as pics with his celebrity pals. In one snap, he can be seen with Reese Witherspoon's daughter, Ava Phillippe at the Bal des Débutantes.

If you need a bit of an escape to the sunnier climates of Jaipur or just a bit of inspiration on where to take your next trip, Maharaja Padmanabh Singh is the jet-setting royal that you need to follow.

4

Arthur Chatto (@artchatto)

Now, I know Prince Harry is the original bad boy of the royal family, but if you are looking for a younger version to follow on Instagram, Arthur Chatto might be your man.

As the grandson of Queen Elizabeth's late sister, Princess Margaret, Arthur Chatto's feed looks fairly similar to a lot of other fitness pages — only this one has royal connections.

Posting pictures at the gym, on skiing holidays, and in night clubs it shows that in some ways the young royals really are like the rest of us.

5

Pauline Ducruet (@paulinedcrt)

Pauline Ducruet was born in Monaco and is the granddaughter of Grace Kelly. Fashion must run in her blood because this girl is so chic. If you want a more stripped back insight into what it is like to be a royal, it is worth checking out her Instagram account.

After moving to New York to study at Parsons School of Design, her feed is a real representation of how undeniably cool she is. Family is clearly also something that really matters to Prince Albert's niece, as she regularly posts photos with her mum Stephanie and half-sister Camille Gottlieb.

Taking pictures around New York with friends, interspersed with modelling shots, and her insanely cute dog Mala popping up every so often, to me, her feed feels more like the account of a socialite or ‘It’ girl than royalty.

6

Prince Mateen of Brunei (@tmski)

Prince Mateen was named by GQ Thailand as "one of Asia’s most eligible blue-blood bachelors", and after looking at his Instagram feed, it isn't hard to see why.

The royal is currently studying for a masters degree in international diplomacy in London, but that doesn't seem to stop him getting about. Sharing beautiful pictures of Brunei, selfies with family, and action shots of, you guessed it, polo, Prince Mateen's Instagram is a snapshot of the high life.

7

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden (@prinsparet)

If you are a fan of family Instagram accounts, look no further than Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden. The son and daughter-in-law of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia may have curated one of the most aesthetically pleasing feeds I have ever seen.

It's is a real mix. From posting images of public engagements to promoting causes and charities they represent to candid images of the couple with their two beautiful children, the account ticks every box. They serve some serious family goals.

8

Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece (@AlexiosGreece)

Whilst Prince Harry has been taken off the shelf, there is another very eligible alternative. Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece is not only the son of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, but he is also Prince William's godson. Currently enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington DC, Prince Constantine Alexios' feed is a mixture of intimate images of his family, edgy pictures of his mates, and artsy landscape shots.

With a really great eye for photography his feed is seriously one to check out.

9

Princess Olympia of Greece (@olympiagreece)

Prince Constantine Alexios is not the only one in the family that could be considered Insta-famous. His older sister Princess Olympia has a pretty big following of her own and a curated feed to die for.

Like some of her fellow royals, Olympia currently attends Parsons School of Design, and was named by Tatler as "the world's most eligible girl." She can be found at most of the fashion weeks worldwide with pal, Emma Watson. She also just so happens to ski with Robert Kennedy Jr.'s daughter, Kyra, and spends long, hot summers in Mykonos.

Luckily for us she brings her 156,000 followers with her and documents the whole thing.

10

There you have it...

A list of how to get a small insight into how the young, rich and the royal live. However, the only way we will ever get to see what William, Middleton, Markle, Harry, and the Queen herself get up to is through the official Kensington Palace Instagram account.

Markle famously had a lifestyle blog before she married Harry, but it's now inactive. However, speaking to The Cut, royal expert Lisa Ryan said: "Even though Meghan Markle had to cleanse her personal social media accounts and delete her lifestyle blog it’s known that many royals have social media presences."

Does this mean that somewhere out there, the Queen has her own little Instagram page to post her brunch or #ThrowbackThursdays? I am not so sure, but the thought of it is enough to make me want to scour Instagram to see if I can find it.