King Harald of Norway
His Royal Highness, now 84, competed in yachting events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the 1968 Games in Mexico City and the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
He never won a medal but he was lucky enough to carry the Norwegian flag at the Opening Ceremony in Japan.
Sailing remains the monarch’s great passion in life. “Out on the water he’s allowed to just be Harald, he doesn’t want to be the king out there,” wrote Norwegian author Jon Amtrup.
Princess Anne
History was made at the 1976 Montreal Games when the Princess Royal became the first member of the British Royal family to compete at the Olympics.
Anne rode in the equestrian three-day Team Eventing round but, despite a series of strong rides, she did not get to the medal podium.
She was appointed a Member of the International Olympic Committee in 1988.
Princess Charlene
Representing South Africa, Charlene Wittstock was part of the women’s 4 x 100-metre medley team in the pool in Sydney that, despite a valiant effort, came in fifth, with the gold going to the Australian team.
Two years later at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, Charlene was part of the team that won a silver medal in the same event.
She still had Olympic glory in mind and was training to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but failed to qualify and retired in 2007.
Prince Albert
Monaco’s sovereign prince competed in the bobsleigh at five Winter Games, taking part in both the two-man and four-man events.
The highest position he has ever scored was 25th in the two-man bobsleigh at Calgary 1988.
Prince Albert’s Olympics roots stretch back to his uncle John Kelly, who represented the US in rowing four times, winning bronze at the Melbourne Games in 1956.
Mark Phillips
Princess Anne’s ex-husband, and father of Peter and Zara Phillips, won gold in equestrian three-day events at the ’72 Games, riding Great Ovation.
Mark already had a stack of triumphs to his name and later won silver in the same event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul with Cartier.
He was a winner at Burghley in 1971, as was Anne. “Part of the Olympics is walking away and saying, ‘I’ve done my best’,” Mark’s said.
Prince Frederik
Denmark’s Crown Prince had long harboured Olympic dreams of his own, and considered joining the Danish Olympic sailing team to compete at Atlanta 1996.
He never quite realised his ambitions, settling for an official role as main supporter of the Danish sailing team four years later in Sydney. They won gold in the Soling Three Person Keelboat event.
Since 2009, Frederik’s been a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Infanta Cristina
The sister of King Felipe of Spain competed in the Seoul Olympics in 1988 on Spain’s sailing team.
In 1996 while at the Atlanta Games, Cristina met and fell in love with handball star Iñaki Urdangarin. He competed in three Olympics and took home two bronze medals.
Years later, the couple landed themselves in hot water due to Iñaki’s business dealings. She was eventually cleared of tax evasion.
Zara Phillips
The Queen’s granddaughter followed the family’s tradition path into equestrian sports, but her dream of Olympic glory seemed ill-fated.
She missed out on both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 when her horse was injured, but at London 2012, she was riding high and took silver in the multi-event Team Eventing round.
The medal was presented to the team by Zara’s mother Princess Anne.