Queen Margrethe of Denmark has insisted stripping four of her grandchildren of their royal titles will be ‘good for them in the future’, in her first appearance since the dramatic decision.
The monarch, 82, has removed prince and princess as well as ‘His/Her Highness’ titles from Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, the children of her youngest son Prince Joachim.
Margrethe, who recently attended the Queen’s funeral, hopes the move will allow the siblings to ‘shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and duties’ that a formal affiliation with the Danish Royal Family involves, according to a statement released yesterday by the royal household.
Speaking at a function at the National Museum in Copenhagen last night, Margrethe said: ‘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.’
The siblings, who are currently seventh through tenth in the line to the throne, will maintain their places in the order of succession. They will be known as either His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat from January 1, 2023.
The grandchildren of her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick, who is married to Australian-born Crown Princess Mary, will keep their titles.
Queen Margrethe has removed prince and princess as well as ‘His/Her Highness’ titles from the children of her second son, Prince Joachim: Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10. Pictured l-r: Nikolai, Princess Marie, Athena, Henrik, Joachim and Felix in September
Speaking at a function at the National Museum in Copenhagen last night, pictured, Margrethe said: ‘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’
The monarch (pictured in September 2022) has removed prince and princess as well as ‘His/Her Highness’ titles from Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10
Prince Nikolai of Denmark, 23, walks runway during the Dior Pre-Fall 2019 Men’s Collection show on November 30, 2018. He has also appeared on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia
Nikolai and Felix, who are both models, are the sons of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.
Prince Joachim married his second wife, Princess Marie, in 2008, and the pair share Henrik and Athena. The couple live in Paris with their youngest children.
Queen Margrethe’s decision does not impact the four children of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, who is heir to the throne.
Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 15, and 11-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine will all continue to hold royal titles and be part of the royal household.
The statement said: ‘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.
The royals, who were formally known as Prince Felix and Prince Nikolai of Denmark, will now be known as their Excellencies
Nikolai, on the cover of local magazine Euroman, has been enjoying a flourishing career as a model since his late teens
Felix, 20, has also cultivated an edgier image since debuting his career as a model in recent years
The royals haver respectively been on the covers of several magazines and multiplied modelling campaigns. Nikolai pictured in an ad in Raffles luxury hotel
Prince Nikolai, from left, Princess Marie, Prince Joachim and Prince Felix arrive for the command performance at the Danish Royal Theatre to mark the 50th anniversary of Danish Queen Margrethe II’s accession to the throne in Copenhagen, Saturday, September 10, 2022
Prince Nikolai of Denmark celebrated his 23rd birthday in August at home with his parents and siblings in Copenhagen. Pictured left with Prince Felxi, 20, Prince Henrick, 13 and Princess Athena, ten
Nikolai with his stepmother Princess Marie, siblings, and father Prince Joachim, on the balcony of Amalienborg palace during the Danish Queen’s 78th Birthday in April 2018
The grandson of Queen Margrethe made royal swoons in his official birthday portraits, pictured, before taking to modelling
‘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.
Prince Joachim’s eldest sons, Felix and Nikolai, have been enjoying 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.
His younger brother Felix has since then followed into his footsteps and posed in a series of moody snaps for jeweller Georg Jensen’s new Reflect collection in February this year.
Nikolai and Felix with their parents, Princess Marie and Prince Joachim, during the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne on September 10
Both of Margrethe’s grandsons turned to modelling in their late teens. Pictured with their grandmother in May 2021
Prince Felix looking moody in a modelling shot. The royal is just starting his modelling career after having quit his military training last year
Felix made his modelling debut in February by posing in a series of moody snaps for jeweller Georg Jensen’s new Reflect collection
The royal looked casual in a knitted sweater and leather trousers as he modelling silver jewellery for the shoot
Nikolai sent royal fans into a frenzy when he posed on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia in February
Felix quit his military training last October because it ‘wasn’t for him’ and set his sights on modelling, a suiting career for the good-looking royal
Nikolai showing off his royal smoulder in a floral jacket while posing for Vogue Scandinavia in February
Nikolai has become a runway staple at every fashion show after making his debut for Burberry in 2018, left. Right, pictured walking for Dior Homme Menswear that same year
The handsome royals have grown up in the spotlight, thanks to being the Queen’s grandsons, but they were always expected to be working royals
Nikolai modelling a short and gloves and a leather bumbag for Dior during Paris fashion week in 2020
Left Nikolai wearing a pastel suit for Dior in 2018 at Paris Fashion Week. Right: The royal strutting his stuff on the runway in January 2020
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.
Nikolai in a loose, tailored suit on the runway during the Dior Homme Menswear Spring/Summer 2019 in Paris in 2018
The two handsome royals are naturals at making fans swoon by showing off their good looks in snaps
Growing up, Felix and Nikolai were never afraid to show their cheeky side in front of the cameras
No further detail was given about his plans for the future, but it now seems the youngster is eyeing up a career in modelling.
While they are growing to be their own person,
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.
He scared his family in the summer of 2020 when he suffered from a stroke and had to be rushed into hospital for emergency brain surgery while holidaying in France with his family.
Eight months on, the Danish Prince and his wife opened up about the ordeal in an interview with Hjernesagen’s member magazine, where Marie admitted the stroke could have ‘changed their lives.’
‘It was so close to a tragedy that could have changed our lives forever,’ she said.
The father-of-four revealed he could count on his wife ‘amazing’ support throughout the ordeal, and added she held his hand in the ambulance all the way to the hospital.
Margrethe, who is Europe’s longest serving current monarch and the world’s longest serving queen, 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.
Nikolai and Felix pictured when they were much younger. They are the sons of and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg
Princess Marie with Prince Joachim, Prince Felix, Prince Nikolai, Princess Athena and Prince Henrick with Joachim’s first wife’s Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg in 2020
Queen Margrethe and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Margrethe tested positive for Covid-19 only 24 hours after Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday September 19
Margrethe is the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden. She became heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne.
Margrethe succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972. On her accession, she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union.
In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she had two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim.
The Danish queen celebrates her Golden Jubilee this year.
Queen Margrethe was pictured out and about for the first time on Monday after testing positive for Covid-19 last week. She attended a gala dinner at the Grand Hotel in Oslo after receiving the Nordic Association’s Language Award
Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 82, attended the ‘reception of the century’ at Buckingham Palace, which was hosted by King Charles and Camilla before Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
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.