Royally shaken. Queen Margrethe of Denmark shocked her family after announcing her plans to take away the titles of Prince Joachim‘s children.
Joachim is the second son of Margrethe, who has sat on the Danish throne since 1972, making her the longest-serving current head of state in Europe. Along with Joachim, the monarch shared son Crown Prince Frederik with late husband Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, who died in 2018.
The world learned of Margrethe’s shocking decision on September 28, 2022. “In April 2008, Her Majesty The Queen bestowed upon her sons, their spouses and their descendants the titles of count and countess of Monpezat. In May 2016, it was also announced that His Royal Highness Prince Christian, as the only one of The Queen’s grandchildren, is expected to receive an annuity from the state as an adult,” read a statement from the Danish Royal Palace. “As a natural extension of this, Her Majesty has decided that, as of 1 January 2023, His Royal Highness Prince Joachim’s descendants can only use their titles as counts and countess of Monpezat, as the titles of prince and princess that they have held up until now will be discontinued.”
Joachim is sixth in line for the Danish throne and has four children: sons Nikolai, Felix and Henrik and daughter Athena. The palace defended the title changes as being “in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years.” (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s children were not given royal titles at birth, while the grandkids of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia were stripped of their titles in 2019.)
“With her decision, Her Majesty The Queen wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves,” the September 28 statement concluded.
Per CBS News, the decision does not impact Frederik’s four children — Christian, Isabella and twins Vincent and Josephine — whom he shares with wife Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark.
While the palace implied that the move was in the works for some time, Joachim wasn’t expecting the announcement. “We are all very sad. It’s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that,” he told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet one day after his mother’s statement. “They find themselves in a situation they do not understand.”
When asked how the drama has affected his relationship with the queen, Joachim replied, “I don’t think I need to elaborate here.”
Despite her son’s surprise, Margrethe didn’t waver. “It is a consideration I have had for quite a long time and I think it will be good for them in their future. That is the reason,” she told reporters as she arrived for an event at the National Museum in Copenhagen, per Hello! Magazine.
Scroll down for a breakdown of the Danish royal drama: