Europe’s longest-serving monarch and only queen since Elizabeth II’s death has not removed the titles of the four children of her eldest son and heir apparent, Crown Prince Frederick.
The Danish Palace said: “Her Majesty the Queen wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to shape their own lives to a much greater extent, without being constrained by the special considerations and duties that a formal relationship with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution implies.”
According to the statement, the decision corresponds to “similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years”.
Follow-up is unaffected
Joachim, 53, is sixth in line to the Danish throne with his children seventh to tenth. Their place in the line of succession remains unaffected.
Countess Alexandra, Joachim’s ex-wife and mother to Nikolai and Felix, said they were “sad and in shock”.
“This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel left out. They don’t understand why their identities are being taken from them,” her spokesperson told celebrity magazine Se og Hor.
Margrethe was crowned in 1972 32 years old after her father’s death and was the first woman to inherit the throne in Danish history. The rules of succession were changed in 1953 to allow female royals to become monarchs.
While Crown Prince Frederik’s children will retain their royal titles, only Prince Christian, the future king, will receive an appanage, which is a provision of money, land or position for the maintenance of younger children of senior royals, following a 2016 decision.
Margrethe’s decision to slim down the royal family follows a similar decision by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In October 2019, he said children of Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neil, and Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, would lose their HRH titles.
There were behind-the-scenes fights over titles for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s two children after Charles became king, People magazine claimed.
Grandchildren of a monarch have the right to be called prince or princess, but there has been no movement to give the titles to Archie and Lilibet, it said.