Queen Margrethe of Denmark STRIPS four of her grandchildren of their royal titles

The Danish royal household has hit back after Prince Joachim claimed his four children were only given five days’ notice that they would be stripped of their titles by their grandmother Queen Margrethe. 

The palace said in a statement today that there are a ‘lot of emotions’ but that the decision had been a ‘long time coming’ and was designed to ‘future-proof’ the monarchy. 

It came after Prince Joachim, 53, the youngest of Margrethe’s two sons, said his children Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, had been ‘harmed’ by the news that they will have prince and princess removed from their titles, and will no longer be able to use His or Her Royal Highness. 

‘We are all very sad. It’s never fun to see your children being harmed. They are been put in a situation they do not understand,’ he said in an interview with Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet today. 

Prince Joachim, who is sixth-in-line to the throne behind his brother and his children, was speaking outside the Danish Embassy in Paris, where he lives with his second wife Marie and their children Henrik and Athena. Nikolai and Felix, who are both models, are the product of his first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. 

Alexandra, 58, who was married to Prince Joachim for 10 years until 2005, said the news came like a ‘bolt out of the blue’ and her sons now feel ‘ostracised’ from their family. Her spokesperson also claimed Joachim learned the news through a royal aide, rather than from his mother directly. 

Margrethe’s other four grandchildren – Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 15, and 11-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine – born to her eldest son and heir Crown Prince Frederik will maintain their titles. 

The move has created an ‘icy’ atmosphere within the Royal Family, according to one local media report, and has driven a wedge between a seemingly united family. ‘There has never been a public conflict between the Queen and Prince Joachim,’ Danish royal reporter Kenth Madsen told FEMAIL. 

Indeed, they put on a united front just weeks ago when they celebrated Queen Margrethe’s Golden Jubilee. 

Queen Margrethe, 82, who attended the funeral with her eldest son Crown Prince Frederick, said she hoped the move would allow her grandchildren to ‘shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and duties’ that come with a formal affiliation with the Danish Royal Family. 

The statement also hinted that it is a move designed to streamline the monarchy – in echoes of King Charles’ desire for the British Royal Family, and those of other European royal households. 

Queen Margrethe last night defended her decision, saying at an event in Copenhagen: ‘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.’

It had been reported that Prince Joachim was first informed of the decision in May, however he has claimed this morning that he was only informed of the decision five days ago. 

‘I was given five days’ notice to tell them. In May, I was presented with a plan which, by and large, was that when the children each turned 25, it would happen. 

‘Now I had only five days to tell them. Athena turns 11 in January,’ he clarified. 

His ex-wife, Countess Alexandra, added in a statement to Danish magazine Se og Hør: ‘This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracized. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them.’

Her spokesperson Helle von Wildenrath Løvgreen told another news organisation that Joachim learned of his children’s fate via an aide. 

Queen Margrethe spoke neither to her sons nor her grandchildren, it is claimed. 

‘The children have received the message that they are losing their titles, delivered by their father, just as Countess Alexandra was told by Prince Joachim,’ the spokesperson added. 

This afternoon the Royal Household released another statement, saying: ‘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.’ 

Under the agreement, Nikolai, Felix, Henrik, and Athena will be known as either His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat from January 1, 2023. 

However they will maintain their positions in the order of succession. 

They are currently seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth, but would move down if any of Crown Prince Frederick’s children were to have children. 

The bombshell announcement was made in a statement released yesterday by the Danish Royal Household.

It read: ‘In April 2008, Her Majesty the Queen conferred the titles of Count, Countess and Comtesse of Monpezat on her sons, their spouses and their descendants. 

‘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.

‘As a natural extension of this, Her Majesty has decided that with effect from 1 January 2023, the descendants of His Royal Highness Prince Joachim can only use their titles as Count and Countess of Monpezat, as their previous titles as Prince and Princess of Denmark will lapse. 

‘Prince Joachim’s descendants will henceforth have to be addressed as Excellencies. 

‘The Queen’s decision is in line with similar adaptations that other royal houses have implemented in different ways in recent years. 

‘With her decision, Her Majesty the Queen wants 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.

‘All four grandchildren maintain their places in the order of succession,’ concluded the statement.

Margrethe, who is the world’s longest serving queen and celebrates her Golden Jubilee this year, is affectionately known as ‘aunt Daisy’ by European royals due to her close personal ties with many reigning monarchs.

She is a first cousin of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and a second cousin of Norway’s King Harald V. 

She enjoyed a close relationship with the Queen, a distant cousin, and the Duke of Edinburgh, and shared deeply personal tributes following their deaths. 

She was joined by her son Crown Prince Frederick at the Queen’s funeral earlier this month.   

The Queen seemingly enjoys a close relationship with both sons and all eight of her grandchildren, and makes regular appearances with both families.

However there is now said to be an ‘ice-cold air’ between the Queen and her grandchildren. 

‘There is ice-cold air between Queen Margrethe and her grandchildren after she decided that they will lose their titles as prince and princess from the New Year,’ leading Danish publication Ekstra Bladet reported. 

‘The news, which has crushed both the four children and their parents, was not delivered by the queen herself.

‘They have not been called to Amalienborg for a cold coke and an explanation as to why they must henceforth be addressed as counts and countesses. Not even that far.’

Joachim, the Queen’s youngest son, lives in Paris with his wife Princess Marie and has been working as a Defense Attaché at the Danish Embassy since September 2020.

In the summer of 2020, he suffered a stroke while holidaying in France with his family and had to be rushed into hospital for emergency brain surgery.

Prince Joachim’s eldest sons, Felix and Nikolai, are Margrethe’s eldest grandsons and have embraced a life in the public eye. 

The 20-somethings, who both live in Denmark, both enrolled in the National Military Academy but dropped out before completing their studies. 

They have enjoyed flourishing careers as models, posing for several advert campaigns and on the cover of magazines. 

Nikolai caught international attention in 2018 when he walked in the Burberry show at London Fashion week, before a front row that included Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Dockery, Naomi Watts, Zendaya, and Idris Elba.

He is signed to Scoop Models agency in Denmark and has been multiplying his modelling gigs. 

He sent royal fans into a frenzy in February when he graced the cover of Vogue Scandinavia.

The 22-year-old oozed sophistication when appearing in the magazine and looked effortlessly stylish in a matching pink Dior jacket and trousers as he posed in front of a number of colourful flowers.

When he is not modelling, Nikolai is studying Business Administration and Service Management at the  In 2019, Prince Nikolai began his B education at Copenhagen Business School.

Last year he was living in Paris as part of a school exchange, and could see his younger siblings and his dad more easily. 

At the end of last year, he started training at the Royal Danish Military Academy to become an Army Lieutenant, but in October it was announced that he’d quit after just two months because it ‘wasn’t for him’.

Prince Felix chose to make his modelling debut for jeweller Georg Jensen, appearing in pictures and an advert promoting the new Reflect collection of necklaces, earrings and rings. 

The royal is further down the line of succession, pursuing his own career path rather than being a ‘working royal’ was expected choice for Felix even before his grandmother’s announcement, and modelling is certainly a popular choice for minor royals across the globe. 

While they are growing to be their own person, Felix and Nikolai do attend royal events on occasion. 

They both looked very dapper as they attended the celebrations for their grandmother’s golden jubilee with their parents in early September.

Margrethe tested positive for Covid-19 last Tuesday, just 24 hours after attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and mourning events in London. 

She was in attendance at Westminster Abbey along with her son Crown Prince Frederik, and the two went on to the Queen’s Committal Service in Windsor afterward.

The royal also paid her respects to the Queen by visiting her coffin in Westminster Hall the night before the Queen’s funeral, and attended the Buckingham Palace ‘reception of the century’ where she was pictured chatting closely with King Charles.

On Monday, the monarch made her first appearance since she tested positive for Covid, joining Queen Sonja of Norway at a literary event in Oslo.

Queen Sonja of Norway presented the Nordic Association’s annual language award to Queen Margrethe of Denmark at Nordens Hus before they attended a gala at the Grand Hotel. 

Margrethe wore a vibrant long pink skirt for the gala dinner, which she paired with a navy blue lace top. 

She pinned her hair tightly back and was pictured with a navy shawl over her shoulders as she arrived at the Grand Hotel.