By Oyintari Ben
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, who has ruled the country for the longest period of time and is the only reigning queen in Europe, has stripped four of her eight grandchildren of their titles, according to the royal palace.
According to the palace, the justification was to allow the four children of her youngest son, Prince Joachim, to have more normal lives. This decision followed similar ones other European royal families made 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 on Wednesday. Instead, they will only be entitled to use the 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 palace, “Her Majesty the Queen wants to create a framework for the four grandchildren with her decision that will allow them to shape their own existence to a much greater extent without being constrained by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation with the Royal House as an institution implies.”
The statement said, “The queen’s decision is in accordance with similar adjustments that other royal houses have implemented in recent years in various ways.”
The decision “shocked” the mother of Prince Joachim’s two eldest sons, who spoke to Danish media. “This was a complete surprise. According to Countess Alexandra, the kids feel left out. They find it difficult to comprehend why their identity is being stolen,” she said.
The future king, Prince Christian, will be the only one to receive an appanage 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.
