DANISH ROYALS STRIPPED OF TITLES!
A shock decision by the monarch has the princes feuding again
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe has made the bold decision to remove the prince and princess titles from four of her grandchildren – and not everybody is happy.
In a shock announcement last week, the palace declared the children of the queen’s second son, Prince Joachim, 53, will no longer have their titles or be able to use His or Her Royal Highness. Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, will instead be known as His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat come 2023.
COMPLETE CONFUSION
In a statement, Margrethe, 81, said she wanted her grandchildren to “be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties”.
While the queen, who celebrated her Golden Jubilee this year, is no doubt acting out of support for her offspring, the decision has divided the Danish royals amid rumours of a feud between Joachim and his brother, the heir Prince Frederik, 54 – and has left Princess Mary fearing for the worst, too.
Moments after the palace statement, Prince Joachim’s ex-wife Alexandra, 58, the mother to Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, told the media she was “confused” by the decision and feels her boys had been effectively shunned by the palace.
“We are all confused by the decision. We are saddened and in shock,” she said in a statement from her press adviser. “This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracised. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them.”
While it has come as a shock to Alexandra, palace insiders and royal watchers in Denmark insist the royal court had made Joachim and his wife, Princess Marie, 46, mother to Henrik and Athena, aware of the decision as far back as May.
When confronted by the allegation from her former daughter-in-law by a reporter at an evening gala, Queen Margrethe doubled down on her decision. “It’s a consideration I have had for quite a long time, and I think it will be good for them in the future,” she said.
It’s no secret Joachim and his family have been something of a source of contention for the Danish royals, particularly his brother Frederik. In 2019, allegations were rife of a feud following whispers Joachim was doing very little to earn his eye-watering $834,000-a-year salary – funded by the Amalienborg palace purse – leaving public pressure on Frederick and Mary, 50.
‘We are confused… saddened and in shock’
BROTHERS DIVIDED
According to Danish publication Se & Hor, which branded Joachim a “cheating prince” for his funded lifestyle, Joachim’s choices have not always gone down well with Fred and Mary.
“They're shouldering the full load while Joachim and his family are doing comparatively less by insisting on staying in Paris and living their lives out of the public eye. Mary's friends can see the toll it’s taking on her and say Joachim simply can't be allowed to get away with this,” a source said of the situation.
In a clear sign of the growing fracture between Joachim and Fred, last week the embattled prince and his wife Marie skipped out on another event hosted by Frederik and Mary. While the royal house advised they did not attend due to “private reasons”, royal insiders hint that Joachim is “not in the best place” with his brother.
Now insiders say that while Mary understands why Margrethe has made the decision and supports her, privately she can’t help but feel “a little betrayed” by it all, knowing that ultimately it will be herself and Fred who are left picking up the pieces when relations between the family become even more frayed.