Queen Margrethe of Denmark Apologises For Stripping ‘shocked’ Grandchildren of HRH status
Caroline Ameh.
Last week, in the wake of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s decision to remove the prince and princess titles of a number of her grandchildren, her second son, Prince Joachim expressed his misgivings about the move. In the latest update from the saga, the Queen has released a statement apologising for the ‘difficult’ decision to remove members of the family with their HRH status.
In a statement released last night, the monarch admitted she had ‘underestimated’ the impact of her choice but revealed that her decision had been ‘a long time coming’ and kept in step with her duties as ‘a Queen, mother and grandmother’.
The statement read: ‘In recent days, there have been strong reactions to my decision on the future use of titles for Prince Joachim’s four children. It obviously affects me. My decision has been a long time coming. With my 50 years on the throne, it is natural both to look back and to look forward. It is my duty and my wish as Queen to ensure that the monarchy continues to shape itself in keeping with the times. It sometimes requires difficult decisions to be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment. Carrying a royal title entails a number of obligations and duties, which will in future be the responsibility of fewer members of the royal family. This adaptation, which I see as a necessary safeguard for the future of the monarchy, I want to make in my time’.
It continued: ‘I have made my decision as Queen, mother and grandmother, but as a mother and grandmother I have underestimated how much my youngest son and his family feel affected. It makes a big impression, and I’m sorry for that. No one should be in doubt that my children, children-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride. I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation ourselves’. She signed the statement: ‘MARGRETHE R’.
Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, Joachim’s former wife and mother to his two eldest children, Nikolai and Felix, added that her sons were ‘saddened and in shock’, with a spokesman telling Se og Hør magazine: ‘This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracised. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them.’
23-year-old Nikolai himself, Joachim’s eldest son, told Ekstra Bladet: ‘My whole family and I are of course very sad. We are, as my parents have also stated, in shock at this decision and at how quickly it has actually gone… I am very confused as to why it has to happen like this.’
The Royal Household responded with a statement before the Queen released her own, it said: ‘As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming. We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen’s wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.’
The Danish Royal Family publicised the announcement on the evening of 27 September outlining Queen Margrethe’s decision to remove four of her grandchildren’s prince and princess titles, as well as their HRH status. The children of the Queen’s second son, Prince Joachim, (Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10), will, from 1 January 2023, be referred to as counts and countess.
In a statement released by the palace at the time, they outlined the decision: ‘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’. It went on: ‘they will thus have to be addressed as excellencies in the future’. The children will, however, maintain their places in the order of succession; the four royals are currently seventh through tenth in the line to the throne.
Prince Joachim’s sons from his first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, Nikolai and Felix are both models. In 2018, Nikolai, who also studies business in Copenhagen, was signed by Scoop Models (who first launched Cara Delevingne’s career), walking for Burberry and Dior in recent years. Prince Joachim married his second wife, Princess Marie, in 2008, and the pair share Henrik and Athena; the couple currently live in Paris with their youngest children.
No changes are being made to the current heir to the throne, Crown Prince Frederik, and his wife, Crown Princess Mary’s children, Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 15, and 11-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. The children will still remain members of the royal household and continue to be expected to carry out official duties after their 18th birthdays. In May 2016, it was announced that HRH Prince Christian, who is second in line to the throne, would receive an annuity from the state as an adult.
This is part of a number of changes that European royals have made over the last few years. In 2019, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf announced that the children of his daughter and youngest child, Princess Madeleine, would no longer be official members of the royal house; only the heir to the throne Crown Princess Victoria and her children now retain their HRH status. The Danish statement addressed this comparison, saying that Margarethe’s decision is ‘in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years’.
The news comes at a similar time that the British Royal Family moved the Duke and Duchess of Sussex down the order of their website, as the couple are no longer working royals. Harry and Meghan now sit above Prince Andrew, who stepped back from official duties after allegations of sexual abuse were made against him by Virginia Giuffre. It has also been widely reported that King Charles III has aspirations for a ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy, more in keeping with the contemporary climate.
Credit: Tatler.com
