The palace said on Wednesday, four of Queen Margrethe of Denmark’s eight grandchildren had their titles revoked. Queen Margrethe is the only reigning monarch in Europe and has been its longest-serving head of state.
The stated justification, according to the palace, was to enable the four children of her youngest son, Prince Joachim, to have more normal lives. This decision followed similar ones made by other European royal families to streamline their monarchy.
The titles of Prince and Princess of Denmark will no longer exist for the descendants of His Royal Highness Prince Joachim as of January 1, 2023, according to a statement from the royal palace. Instead, they will only be entitled to use their titles of Count and Countess of Monpezat.
The ages of Nikolai, Felix, Henrik, and Athena, the four offspring of 53-year-old Prince Joachim’s two marriages, range from 23 to 10.
According to the statement, “Her Majesty the Queen wants to establish a framework for the four grandchildren, to a much greater extent, to be able to shape their own existence without being constrained by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation with the Royal House as an institution implies”.
It said, “The queen’s choice is consistent with such adjustments that other royal families have implemented in recent years in various ways.
The decision “shocked” the mother of Prince Joachim’s two oldest boys, who spoke to Danish media.
The youngsters feel ostracized and are unable to comprehend why their identity is being stripped away, according to Countess Alexandra’s interview with daily B.T.
The future king, Prince Christian, will be the only one to receive an apnage when he reaches adulthood out of the four other grandchildren of the queen born to Crown Prince Frederik, 54. This decision was made in 2016.