Queen Margrethe of Denmark last night apologised to her family for the ‘difficult’ decision of stripping them of their royal titles – but insisted that it was the right choice.
A bitter royal row within the Danish Royal Household has unfolded in recent days after Margrethe, 82, announced on Wednesday that she would be removing princely titles from Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10.
As of January 1, 2023, they will become Counts and Countesses, and will be known as Their Excellencies, rather than His or Her Royal Highness.
Days ago, Prince Joachim admitted his relationship with his brother Crown Prince Frederik is ‘complicated’ – and that he hadn’t heard from his mother Queen Margrethe II after she stripped his children of their royal titles.
In a statement last night, the monarch admitted she had ‘underestimated’ the impact of her actions but said was ‘a long time coming’ and it had been made as ‘a Queen, mother and grandmother.’
Queen Margrethe of Denmark last night apologised to her family for the ‘difficult’ decision of stripping them of their royal titles – but insisted that it was the right choice
In a statement released online, the Queen said she had made the decision as ‘a mother, grandmother and monarch’ and ‘no one should doubt’ her family are ‘her great pride and joy’
The statement read: ‘In recent days, there have been strong reactions to my decision on the future use of titles for Prince Joachim’s four children. It obviously affects me.
‘My decision has been a long time coming.With my 50 years on the throne, it is natural both to look back and to look forward.
‘It is my duty and my wish as Queen to ensure that the monarchy continues to shape itself in keeping with the times.
‘It sometimes requires difficult decisions to be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment.
Prince Joachim (right back), 53, the youngest of Margrethe’s two sons, said he was only given five days’ notice that Nikolai (left), 23, Felix (second from left), 20, Henrik (far right), 13, and Athena (second from right), 10, will have prince or princess removed from their titles, and will no longer be able to use His or Her Royal Highness.Pictured with their grandmother Queen Margrethe (centre) and Princess Isabella (behind Princess Athena)
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark (pictured) have admitted their relationship with Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary is ‘complicated’ – and that they still haven’t heard from Margrethe II after she stripped four of her grandchildren of their royal titles
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‘Carrying a royal title entails a number of obligations and duties, which will in future be the responsibility of fewer members of the royal family.
‘This adaptation, which I see as a necessary safeguard for the future of the monarchy, I want to make in my time.’
She continued: ‘I have made my decision as Queen, mother and grandmother, but as a mother and grandmother I have underestimated how much my youngest son and his family feel affected.It makes a big impression, and I’m sorry for that.
‘No one should be in doubt that my children, children-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride.
‘I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation ourselves.’
Meanwhile she signed off the note; ‘MARGRETHE R.’
The statement was released after it emerged Prince Frederik has spent the last week in St Tropez taking part in a sailing competition – while his brother expressed his sadness that his children were to be stripped of theit titles.
Prince Frederik joined friends to defend the prestigious BMW Trophy, which they also won in 2021.
Pictured together: Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary, Princess Marie and Prince Joachim of Denmark pose at the Paris town hall in October 2019
In a photograph from the event which was taken on Friday, the royal can be seen posing on a boat topless in the sunshine.
The Crown Prince appeared to recline on the boat as he chatted with friends during his seven day visit to the country last week.
The news comes after Frederik’s brother Joachim and his second wife Marie admitted their relationship is ‘complicated’.
A bitter royal row within the household has unfolded in recent days after Queen Margrethe, 82, announced she would be removing princely titles from Joachim’s children, Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10. Pictured, Marie, Joachim, Mary and Frederik on 11 September 2022 in Denmark
As of January 1, Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10, will become Counts and Countesses, and will be known as Their Excellencies, it was announced on Wednesday. Pictured, the children with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie on September 11, 2022
Speaking to
During the interview, B.T reported that a French woman approached the royal couple and told them their children will ‘always be princes and princesses to her’, apparently leaving Marie and Joachim in tears.
Elsewhere, Marie, the mother of Joachim’s two youngest children, told the Danish news outlet that her daughter Athena is being bullied at school after the decision was publicly announced earlier this week.
‘They come and say (to Athena): Is it you who is no longer a princess?,’ she said, adding that her children were put under the public spotlight and so she feels the need to defend them.
Last week, Joachim hit out at his mother Margrethe’s decision, saying it ‘punished’ his children, as well as claiming he had only been told the news five days before it was made public – despite the Royal Household insisting the move ‘has been a long time coming’.
Front: Queen Margrethe, Middle Row (left to right): Prince Vincent, Princess Josephine, Princess Athena, Prince Henrik. Back row (left to right): Princess Benedikte, Princess Isabella, Crown Princess Mary, Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Christian, Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, Prince Felix and Prince Nikolai in a portrait celebrating Queen Margrethe’s Golden Jubilee
The Danish Royal Family tree. Prince Joachim’s children Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, will all be losing their titles on January 1 2023
Meanwhile, Princess Mary came out in public support of her mother-in-law’s move while speaking in an interview with in Copenhagen on Friday, saying that while ‘change can be extremely difficult and can really hurt…this does not mean that the decision is not the right one’.
The oldest son of Australian-born Princess Mary, 50, and Frederik is Prince Christian, 16, who is second-in-line to the throne.
Frederick and Mary’s four children – Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 15, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, 11 – remain unaffected by the monarch’s decision as they are direct descendants of the future King.
However Princess Mary suggested that might not always be the case, saying they will ‘also look at [their] children’s titles when the time comes’.
Speaking about the monarch’s intention to slim down the Danish royal family, Joachim said: ‘The reality must still be: whether you modernize or slim down, Pay4D it must be done in a proper way.It’s about children. Orderliness and children. It is a very heavy matter.’
Commenting on Princess Mary’s point that her children may too lose titles in the future, Joachim said: ‘I don’t know how they feel if they have to think it through.Now is preparation time. We didn’t have that.’
Last week, commenting on his children’s reaction to the move to
Prince Joachim of Denmark (pictured) has once again hit out at his mother Queen Margrethe II’s decision to strip his four children of their royal titles
Speaking in Copenhagen (pictured) Crown Princess Mary of Denmark defended her mother-in-law Queen Margrethe’s decision to strip four of her grandchildren of their royal titles, and suggested her own children’s positions might not be secure
Australian-born Princess Mary, 50, is the wife of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, who is Queen Margrethe II’s eldest son and heir. Their eldest son, Prince Christian, 16, is second-in-line to the throne behind his father Frederick. Pictured, Mary and Frederick with their children (from left) Isabella, Josephine, Christian and Vincent earlier this month
The prince, who is Margrethe’s youngest son, said: ‘I can say that my children are sad. My kids don’t know which leg to stand on. What they should believe. Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in that way?’
‘I don’t want to engage in speculation and mudslinging,’ said Joachim. ‘I am telling the truth… I was given five days notice… I was given five days’ notice of this. To tell my children that on New Year’s their identity will be taken from them.’
He added that in May, he was presented with a plan that his ‘children’s identity should be taken from them when each of them turned 25’, to which he asked ‘to be allowed to come back with my proposal’.
But he said he was given just five days notice that the decision was to be accelerated, adding: ‘I am so sorry for my children. I just demand the truth.’
Speaking at a function at the National Museum in Copenhagen on Wednesday 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’
Prince Nikolai said that he is sad, shocked and confused after his royal title was stripped ‘quickly’. Pictured modelling during the Dior Pre-Fall 2019 Men’s Collection show on November 30, 2018 in Tokyo
His ex-wife, Countess Alexandra, the mother of his two eldest children, 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.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS femail" data-version="2" id="mol-33ada540-409b-11ed-8922-c32f691ae937" website Margrethe of Denmark APOLOGISES to her family
