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Queen Margrethe of Denmark strips grandchildren of royal titles
The Danish monarch issued a lengthy statement on Monday evening to further address the decision she has taken to “safeguard” the institution of monarchy in her country. While Queen Margrethe conceded she had “underestimated” how much her younger son Prince Joachim and his four children would feel affected by her move, she also said royal titles come with a “number of obligations and duties”.
A statement signed off by the Queen read: “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.”
Margrethe also said this decision “has been a long time coming” and it is her duty and wish as the sovereign to “ensure that the monarchy continues to shape itself in keeping with the times.”
Nevertheless, she addressed the hurt and shock expressed by Prince Joachim, his current wife Princess Marie, his former wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, and one of the grandchildren set to lose the title, Prince Nikolai.
Queen Margrethe II announced four of her grandchildren will lose their HRH titles (Image: GETTY)
Prince Joachim with his former wife Alexandra, current wife Marie, and four children (Image: GETTY)
The Queen said: “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.”
READ MORE: Queen Margrethe ‘sorry’ for stripping Danish royals of titles
Queen Margrethe is marking her Golden Jubilee this year (Image: GETTY)
Last week, Queen Margrethe announced that from January 1 the four children of her second son Joachim would lose their HRH styles and princely titles.
This means Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10, will be known within a few months as Their Excellencies rather than His or Her Royal Highness and will become Counts and Countess of Monpezat.
Hours after a statement on this matter was released, it became clear this move had created a rift within the seemingly united Danish Royal Family, as Countess Alexandra said her family was “confused by the decision”.
Alexandra, Joachim’s first wife with whom she shares Nikolai and Felix, continued: “We are saddened and in shock.
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Queen Margrethe has two sons – Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim (Image: GETTY)
Prince Christian is second-in-line to the Danish throne (Image: GETTY)
“This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracised.
“They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them.”
Prince Joachim later said he was upset by the change and claimed he had been given only a five-day warning before the move affecting his children was made public.
He told Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet: “It’s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that.
Monarchies in Europe (Image: EXPRESS)
“They find themselves in a situation they do not understand.”
His second wife Princess Marie also claimed her daughter has been bullied at school, with classmates asking her: “Is it you who is no longer a princess?”
Nikolai, who like his younger brother Felix is making a name for himself as a fashion model, also spoke to the press of the Queen’s move, saying he was informed about the upcoming change a few days prior to the announcement but felt more upset after it became public.
He told Ekstra Bladet: “We are, as my parents have also stated, in shock at this decision and at how quickly it has actually gone.
Joachim and Marie said their daughter was bullied at school after the Queen’s announcement on titles (Image: GETTY)
“I am very confused as to why it has to happen like this.”
While Prince Joachim’s children are all to lose their prince and princess titles, all the children of the heir to the throne, Crown Princess Frederik, will retain them for the time being.
However, Crown Princess Mary acknowledged change in the future may hit even some of her younger children as it is not known how the Danish Royal House will look like in the future and which decisions may be needed to keep the monarchy relevant and in touch with the modern world.
Her eldest son, 16-year-old Prince Christian, is second-in-line to the throne and destined to become King of Denmark.
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