According to a number of foreign media reports, on September 28, local time, Danish Queen Margaret II stripped her youngest son Prince Joachim of the royal title of 4 children, and the Danish prince and princess titles of these 4 grandchildren will no longer exist.
The official reason for the royal family is that Margaret wants her four grandchildren to live a more normal life, unrestricted by royal status. But Prince Joachim's ex-wife, the Countess of Frederiksborg, with whom she had a second son, expressed confusion and shock at the decision, and said that the children also felt excluded.
Queen Margaret II of Denmark, now 82, became Denmark's first female monarch in 1972. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, she became the longest-reigning monarch in Europe and the only reigning queen in Europe.
Margaret had two sons with the late Prince Henrik, the eldest son, Prince Frederick, the Crown Prince of Denmark, and the Princess had two sons and two daughters; The second son, Prince Joachim, was the sixth in line to the Danish throne, and had two sons with his first wife Wen Yali (who was named Countess Frederiksborg after her divorce by the Queen of Denmark and the first Asian-American princess ever recorded by the European royal family), and had a son and a daughter with the current princess, Marie Kavalier.
According to the British "Independent" reported on September 28, the Danish royal family issued a statement on the same day, announcing that Queen Margaret stripped 4 of her 8 grandchildren of their royal titles.
The title change targets the four children of the Queen's second son, Prince Joachim, Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10, who will no longer hold the title of Prince or Princess of Denmark or the title of "His/Her Highness" from 1 January 2023, and they will only be able to use the titles of Count of Montpezart and Countess of Montpezart.
Although the titles used so far by the Queen's four grandchildren will be deactivated, the statement also notes that all four will maintain their succession order, and they are currently ranked seventh to tenth in the succession to the throne.
The Danish royal family's statement also noted that the queen wants her 4 grandchildren to live a more normal life, free from royal titles. "Her Majesty the Queen wishes to use her decision to create a framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their lives to a greater extent without being subject to the special considerations and responsibilities involved in formally being part of the Danish royal family," the statement read. ”
Queen Margaret of Denmark with Prince Joachim and her family
Notably, the Danish royal family also stressed that "this decision by the Queen is consistent with similar adjustments made by other royal families in various ways in recent years." According to Agence France-Presse on the 28th, previously, other royal families in Europe have also taken similar measures to streamline royal members.
For example, in October 2019, King Karl XVI Gustav of Sweden announced that the children of his youngest daughter, Princess Madeleine, and the children of his son, Prince Carl Philippe, would no longer be full members of the royal family, that they had lost the title of "His/Her Royal Highness" and were no longer expected to perform official royal duties. However, the Swedish king retained the titles of prince or princess for his grandchildren, but these titles would become personal titles to which none of their future spouses or children would be entitled.
However, although the decision of Queen Margaret of Denmark is exemplified, the mother of the Countess of Frederiksburg, Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, expressed her confusion and shock at the decision.
According to the American "People" magazine reported on the 28th, Wen Yali responded to the news on the same day, she said in a statement, "We are all confused about this decision, we are sad and shocked." It's like a thunderbolt on a sunny day. The children felt excluded. They don't understand why they are stripped of their identity. ”
Wen Yali with his sons Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix
Queen Margaret also gave an interview to the media after the release of the royal statement, explaining why she did so. According to the British "Hello! The magazine reported on the 28th that when asked by reporters about this "bold decision", Margaret responded, "I have thought about it for a long time, and I think it is good for their future." That's why. ”
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