For the British royal family, etiquette and etiquette are king. They have rules about everything from how to properly sit in a chair to what types of shoes you can wear, so asking a member of the royal family if they have tattoos seems like a moot question. But it turns out that if you're a noble, getting ink isn't actually considered taboo. In fact, it has a long history in monarchies, with kings wearing tattoos as symbols and acts of goodwill.
For example, in 1862, Queen Victoria's eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, visited Jerusalem on a royal tour and stopped at the Razzouk Tattoo Parlor to have five Jerusalem crosses and three crowns tattooed to commemorate the trip. Some 20 years later, his two sons, Prince Albert Victor and his brother George (the future George V), visited the Holy Land and followed in their father's footsteps, visiting the same tattoo shop and requesting a tattoo. Same tattoo.
When Prince William became the first royal to visit Israel earlier this year, there was speculation about whether he would follow in his ancestor's footsteps and become the fourth prince to get a tattoo on his arm - but it turns out he chose not to this way. So have any of the latest royals gotten tattoos? Or do only those who go down in history have tattoos?
It turns out that as far as we know, only one member of the British royal family has tattoos, and that's Lady Amelia Windsor, who is also an aspiring fashion model.
Prince Harry and Prince William's royal cousin Lady Amelia Windsor, 22, has a series of different visible tattoos. She has a lion on her shoulder blades, three animal silhouettes on her arms, and a geometric shape that looks like a petal on her torso under her arms.
According to the Daily Mail , Lady Amelia is able to get tattoos in public because she is too far away from the throne. According to royal butler Grant Harrold, senior members of the royal family would not display their tattoos in this way.
"People like the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex wouldn't even consider these options because of their ever-increasing public profile, which reflects on the royal family every day," he shared. "Amelie Lady Windsor is not a senior royal or a princess, and as far as we know she is not even in the top 30 in line for the throne, so she would be aware that she could do that through personal choices (such as getting tattoos or modeling for international fashion houses). And get away with it.”
But that's not to say European royals don't have tattoos. Princess Sofia of Sweden has a sun tattoo on her upper back, which was visible on her wedding dress as she walked down the aisle. She also has a butterfly on her ribcage and a small tattoo on her ankle.
Princess Stephanie of Monaco, the youngest daughter of Grace Kelly and Rainier III, wore a floral bracelet on her wrist with a dragon on her spine and two leaping dolphins on her ankles.
Prince Frederik of Denmark has several tattoos, the most famous of which is a shark on his leg.
Even members of the royal family can get tattoos! Now we just have to keep an eye out if the likes of Meghan Markle or Kate Middleton get something while we're not looking.
