Citing her desire to give them more control over their lives, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has relieved four of her grandchildren of their royal titles, the royal palace revealed on September 28.
“With her decision, 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 limited by the special considerations and duties than a formal affiliation to the Royal House of Denmark. as an institution implies,” read the statement from the palace.
The Queen initially granted royal titles to all of her grandchildren, according to the palace statement. From today, the children of Margrethe’s second son, Joachim, will no longer be referred to as prince and princess and “his highness”. This means that Nikolai, 23, and Felix, 20, whom he shares with his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, and his children with current wife, Princess Marie – Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10 years – will rather be called counts and countesses of Monpezat. Meanwhile, his eldest son and heir, Crown Prince Frederick, and his wife’s children, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 15, Prince Vincent, 11, and the Princess Josephine, 11, will retain their royal titles.
“The Queen’s decision is in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years,” the palace noted. In 2019, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf announced that the children of Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill, as well as those of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, would no longer be members of the royal household. Although they are still referred to as prince and princess, the king clarified that future partners and children would not inherit the titles. Princess Madeleine praised the change at the time on Instagram, writing: “This change is long overdue. Chris and I think it’s good that our children now have a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as individuals in the future.”
The titles of some of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s great-grandchildren have also come into question following her death on September 8 and King Charles III’s accession to the throne. While the grandchildren of a British monarch can inherit the title of prince or princess, these titles have yet to be officially awarded to the children of Charles’ son Prince Harry, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 year. Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate Middleton received the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales, as did their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, according to the palace website.