All is not well in Denmark. Specifically, there are shenanigans afoot in the Royal House of Glücksburg. This week, Queen Margrethe of Denmark made the bold decision to remove the prince/princess titles and the royal stylings from four of her grandchildren, all of the children of Prince Joachim. Prince Joachim is the younger brother – the “spare” – to Prince Frederick. Frederick and Crown Princess Mary’s children will all still be princes and princesses with royal stylings, because they are the children of the direct heir. But Joachim’s kids? They’ll now go by counts and countess of Monpezat and will be styled as his/her excellency, rather than HRH. Queen Margrethe had more to say about it yesterday:
Queen Margrethe of Denmark has insisted stripping four of her grandchildren of their royal titles will be ‘good for them in the future’, in her first appearance since the dramatic decision. The monarch, 82, has removed prince and princess as well as ‘His/Her Highness’ titles from Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, the children of her youngest son Prince Joachim.
Margrethe, who recently attended the Queen’s funeral, hopes the move will allow the siblings to ‘shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and duties’ that a formal affiliation with the Danish Royal Family involves, according to a statement released yesterday by the royal household.
Speaking at a function at the National Museum in Copenhagen last night, 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.’
QM made it sound, in her announcement, like this had been discussed within the family for some time and that Prince Joachim and his children knew it was coming. But… it now sounds like it came as a surprise to Joachim and his kids. And his ex-wife, mother to his two older kids:
Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg is said to be “saddened” by her former mother-in-law Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s decision to change Prince Joachim’s children’s titles. Alexandra, who shares Prince Nikolai, 23, and Prince Felix, 20, with Joachim, reacted to her sons losing their Prince titles, reportedly telling B.T. (translated to English), “We are all confused by the decision. We are saddened and in shock.”
She added, “This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracized. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them.”
The Royal House announced on Sept. 28 the Queen’s decision to remove Prince Joachim’s children’s titles of Prince and Princess. In addition to Nikolai and Felix, the Danish monarch’s youngest son is also a father to Prince Henrik, 13, and ten-year-old Princess Athena, whom he shares with his second wife Princess Marie.
Yeah… I don’t know. The more I think about it, the more pointed it feels, that Joachim’s children are being snubbed rather suddenly. It’s interesting that Joachim’s ex-wife seems to have had no idea that this was happening too. Is Denmark providing royal cover for King Charles with the Sussexes? Perhaps. The sh-t will still hit the fan if Charles decides to suddenly remove Archie and Lilibet’s titles though, because the title issue in the Windsor clan has been mishandled for years. Margrethe looks like a callous grandmother, whereas King Charles will look like a petty, punitive racist.
Oh wait, Prince Joachim has spoken (in Danish) and it’s BAD BAD BAD. What the hell was QM thinking?
“I was given 5 days notice."
– I heard that you were told this in May. That is not correct?
"In May I was presented with a plan, which basically stated that when the children each turned 25, it would happen. Athena turns 11 in January."
🎥 Ekstra Bladet #detdanskekongehus pic.twitter.com/fYPo1ilgzG
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND ** Paris, FRANCE – Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark, Prince Frederik of Denmark, and Princess Mary of Denmark attend a dinner event at the City Hall of Paris in honor of the Princely Couple of Denmark. Pictured: Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark, Prince Frederik of Denmark, Princess Mary of D BACKGRID USA 8 OCTOBER 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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Suuuper messy. Yikes.
I haven’t liked Marie since she criticized Meghan, but I feel bad for Joachim and Alexandra and the kids being blindsided by this.
What did she say about Meghan?
“Princess Marie of Denmark said “complaining is useless” in an apparent criticism of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s retaliation against the media.
Marie, who worked in marketing and finance before marrying Prince Joachim, said she is strategic about what private moments of her life she shares publicly in a bid to protect herself. In an interview with Paris Match, she was asked how she copes with life in the royal fishbowl and Meghan was mentioned as an example of a royal “complaining” about press interest”
This was in 2019,
Well, she needs to share that viewpoint with Joachim then. I guess, it’s different if it affects you.
Complaining an entitled woman’s way to describe a racist, country wide smear campaign organized by one’s in-laws so intense it drives one to consider suicide.
When did this happen?
Am surprised Marie said this considering, I read an interview that Joachim and her did where they said that they were basically kind of exiled to Paris ans she wanted it to be known that it wasn’t their decision.
Well, Marie…”what goes around comes around”. She should have sat and ate her food.
Now, what does she think of her husband complaining in Paris streets about his family’s treatment of his children.
Good.
Meghan’s karma is truly some high level thing. Her kids might loose their titles but at least she was smart enough to tell the world, these people were trying to push a narrative that her and her husband weren’t okay with and WHEN it will happen you will see it for what it is now the truth is out there.
Now, you have Joachim being in his feel because he thought his mother and brother would be kind to him when they were literally treated him like a second rate royal and exiled him for France for a reason to be out of the way. His wife, Marie, now will learn a lesson.
Not surprised it was Joachim’s kids—y’know, *the mixed race* family—that got targeted.
Umm, it’s all his kids. Nothing to do with race
What a mean grandma! What a mess.
The timing is certainly interesting.
Especially considering that Joachim’s oldest two children, Nikolai and Felix, are mulitracial.
He and his kids were overshadowing the heir and didn’t get along well. So he was exiled to France. They prevented him from doing certain jobs. So yeah I’d be heated. I think Marg did this to cover for cousin chucky.
That’s not true at all Mary and Fred and their kids are very much front and center and have high approval ratings.
They were exiled because Joachim sold his castle that the Queen gave him.
And all she got out of covering for cousin Chucky’s ass was COVID
OMG the delusions in here.
1. The dk queen absolutely is not working to help the imagined media strategies of kc3. That dude and that drama takes up headspace with watchers of that family. Not the rest of the world.
2. This has nothing to do with race. Please don’t trivialize the seriousness of racism by ascribing it where there is nothing to indicate it.
3. Most danes over 30 are fully familiar with the many antics Joachim has subjected his family, and his subjects to over the course of his lifetime. He is not Harry. He is a spoiled, arrogant, self-indulgent do-nothing. He is known for incessant cheating, for being an ass about titles, formality and pomp, and for selling the huge castle that was given to him.
4. I fully see the queens point in that this will help the kids and Joachims response proves her right too. He says, the kids have had their identities taken away. They have not. It is titles. I imagine she sees a faint chance that these kids will be more than spares or watered down nobility, with no accolades apart from a title they were given at birth. His oldest son is displaying the same behaviour as his dad, dropping out of military school after only a few months for a modelling career. Military education is a standard part of royal life, in dk and everywhere else and no one should drop out of anything for a gdmd modelling career.🙄 This is tough love, and it just might work too. My fingers are crossed, exactly for the kids. Let them accomplish things, work, art, degrees, instead of turning into do-nothings, who base their identities on a title. Noone needs titles or castles to be happy. And the world hardly needs more Andrews, Williams or Catherines.
@godiva thank you! The decision may give Charles some cover but that’s not why it was done. And everything else you said. Joachim has been feuding and causing issues for years. I doubt this is that big a surprise. QM is pretty blunt. I think he closed his eyes and ears and thought it wouldn’t happen. He definitely takes after his late father.
@godiva Doubling down on the thank you! The BRF’s mess being in such close proximity makes it very appealing to equate the two situations, but it’s not even close. Joachim’s been a nuisance for years, and this is just another chapter. At least Margrethe is finally putting her foot down. Would that Elizabeth have done this with Andrew while she was alive.
@jess, CP Mary’s family are indeed “very much front and center” precisely because, many believe, Joachim and his family(ies) were basically told to dim themselves (to borrow from what Meghan was told) and restrict the number of their engagements so as to not eclipse the more boring and bland Crown Princely family. I have always viewed CP Mary as Denmark’s version of Kate. Remember, Kate enjoys high approval ratings in the UK as well. That does not mean she is a good, confident and secure woman who can deal well with a beautiful, strong, confident and hard-working sister-in-law (I am thinking in particular of Alexandra).
@Godiva et al.:
If you’re white, none of you get to say what is and what isn’t racist. Black and Brown folks like myself know exactly how sensitive whites get when it comes to blood ratios, especially those “old money”, “true blood”, literal figureheads of white supremacy embodied in these archaic monarchies. Monarchies which all participated and benefitted from *colonization and violent racism*. Meghan pointed out how people *in the royal family* were concerned about her kids’ skin color, and so far, it is literally only her kids who are being targeted. That’s not a coincidence. These folks *are that racist*. Y’all keep acting as if these rich whites think and operate on the same level as we do—no, they don’t. They can do pretty much anything, including being incredibly racist, without consequence.
Why do people point out race when it comes to Joachim? His first wife is Asian. His oldest kids are white-passing, sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that their mother isn’t. Y’all think these *old* old fashioned racists would never, but they do.
Thank you Godiva! I’m glad to have this info and I agree that this will probably be better for the grandkids in the long run. I think as time goes on, fewer and fewer people in these royal extended families will have titles of any kind and will just be private citizens. It truly is better for the kids, better in general. The whole idea of monarchy is dated and ugly.
@ Godiva – Thank YOU! I agree, so silly to be thinking that other royal families are “helping” Charles out. It’s the equivalent of the belief by some that Covid was a conspiracy by the US and that the entire world was “helping”.
Joachim has definitely not helped himself with his behavior. I LOVED Alexandra loved reading about what she was doing and looking at her style. But it’s harder as less is available about Alexandra nowadays. Her boys are good looking indeed but if they were acting spoiled due to learning this from their dad I say Good Job Queen M.
@ PURGAMENTUM people of all races can have the opinion that Queen M doing this is not racial. It would be racial if only Alexandra’s kids were demoted. And you don’t know if Godiva is a POC.
All of the royal houses in Europe are doing this because all of those countries do not want to pay for all of these people anymore. I think this is becoming the norm for European royalty.
Pretty sure when the time comes for Frederick, Haakon, Victoria to ascend their second children’s kids will also not have royal titles. Nothing about being “snubbing” anyone. Nothing about being Petty. This thinking is bizzare. It’s common sense that if the public is complaining about all the people they have to “support” then the families have to do something.
@ Mary, that’s how I see Mary too. Even got her prince the same way, by being the royal sidepiece while he was cheating on his girlfriend. Took her shot at all the princes in the bar that night, only drunk Fred went for her. Her fans have whitewashed her past and her negative behaviors as much as Kate fans do for Keen. Mary spends horrific amounts of money on designer clothes, they overspent their budget for years. According to her calendar, Mary works about 90 days a year. But pro-monarchy Danes and her fans ignore those facts. KFG, I agree. Fred and Mary aren’t interesting. Her fans praise her clothes more than anything, but that means even her fans think she’s a clothes hanger and not much else.
It is, and I’m like the FBI I don’t believe in coincidences. With that being said Harry and Meghan have made a HUGE success of their lives and all the Royal houses are watching. They are TRAILBLAZERS and the NEW ROYALS PROTOTYPE ❤️
The timing is interesting as in “get it done before I kick the bucket like Lizzy”.
Sounds like maybe War of the Marie/Marys?
Alexandra has been rather remote in all this.
Based on about 2 minutes of googling, I have a feeling Marie is… difficult.
Sounds like cousin Chuckie has convinced her to say this (after him or his people gave her Covid) about untitling her grandkids, so he would not look as big of a jerk as he really is.
She isn’t doing anything for Charles. She is just happens to be as petty and mean as he is.
I shared yesterday that this seemed shitty to do to the kids after you as the big boss queen has had all of that goes with the royal status. It’s how I feel about Meghan and Harry’s kids, their titles are their birthright. So let the kids have it. Periodt.
Especially since it has already been proven that having a hrh prince/princess status can be separated from royal life. Example princess beatrice and eugenie. They are completely free to shape their own future.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Having titles and styles hasn’t prevented Bea and Eugenie from living somewhat normal lives.
Same with the Duke of Gloucester. Before his older brother died and he had to take over the dukedom, he was just HRH Prince Richard and working as an actual architect in a firm.
But so far as I can see, none of QEII’s great grandchildren (with the exception of William’s kids since he will eventually be monarch) are being offered HRHs. B and E’s kids do not have titles. The succession line is filled with names of royal family members who have no titles. So where’s the birthright here? Also bear in mind that taking away someone’s HRH is a bit different from not offering them one in the first place.
We’ve already been through this re. birthright. QEII didn’t change the Letters Patent from 1917, so Harry’s kids automatically became prince/princess and HRH the moment Charles became king. re. 1917, grandchildren of the monarch are automatically raised to prince/princess and HRH. Charles has mumbled through sources that he’s changing that in the future, so that IS removing an HRH and title that are legally automatic to the Sussex kids.
KCIII has been talking about this for quite sometime actually and it relates to the slow emergence of a more role-based monarchy, with titles granted in the expectation that the holder will fulfill the role of prince or princess as required by the modern monarchy. There isn’t anything sudden or “mumbled” about this. Everyone seems to want a smaller monarchy. My source is https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/ btw.
I just did some googling and you are correct about the letters of patent, but everything I read also says no decision has been made yet by KCIII. There is a lot that is up in the air, including the possibility that B and E may lose their titles going forward. That will be a zinger if that happens.
Charles’s people have been leaking this info for ever, strong since his mum died, yes that means he’s ‘mumbling’ it through his sources. If it was QEII who wanted it changed, it would have been changed before she died. Charles is choosing to remove the HRH and titles from his grandchildren who legally have it now based on birthright re. 1917. That’s a deliberate decision based on his pettiness towards Harry’s decision, not based in who is a work royal and who isn’t.
Odds are due to 1) promises to mummy and 2) the threat of Andrew going off the rails even more? Charles isn’t removing HRH and titles from Beatrice and Eugenie. Harry has established the precedent that only the heir is a working royal, so HRH and titles should be removed from the younger W&K kids too as they won’t be working royals. IF they become working royals, titles could be returned if we want to pretend the basis is ‘working vs. non-working’.
You know who she should removed the royal titles from? ALL of them. Every single one, including herself. Now that would be good for them and good for the country.
Yes! That would have been an incredibly modern decision.
I can’t speak a word of Danish but just watching Joachim’s facial expressions and body language as he speaks to the reporter is something to see. So much sadness and disappointment, but still communicating that disappointment respectfully and politely.
Yeah, totally. And to me it doesn’t even seem to be about the titles and the money for him, it’s about the blatant “your kids are not longer with us, bye”. He seems truly hurt by the closest person possible.
It’s very sad; he’s clearly all but fighting back tears. That level of betrayal is always hard to watch. I, too, vaguely remembered when Margrethe did something crasty (C hit it on the nose; it was when she was nasty about Meghan) but this is in her own family and just rude.
Yeah I dont know what this is about, but I always had a soft spot for Joachim. I find him so sympathetic an personable. Alexandra as well. Not a huge fan of Marie though but she seems fine.
I don’t think the queen took charles into consideration but her excuse of “it will be good for them” doesn’t really satisfy me. Those kids are already free from the constraints of royal life. Prince Nikolai pretty much gets to do what he wants and has so far been quite successful in the modeling industry.
It definitely seems like these kids are being singled out.
I have a hard time feeling sympathy for wealthy privileged people no longer get getting to be called HRH. Like sorry, boo hoo. Your life literally won’t change at all except that people grovel to you less??
If monarchies are going to be “modern” (Ha.Ha.Ha.) then it should be just the direct line that stays “royal” and everyone else plans for a more “normal” life – but that also means that they all need to address the heir/spare dynamic where non-first borns aren’t made to feel worthless (richly, in their castles 🙄)
Same! this drama affects what, 0.0000001% of the population and we the hoi polloi are meant to sympathize that some uber privileged kid is no longer a prince or a princess?
And all this nonsense about birth rights? if a country decides to have a monarchy as head of state, fine, whatever, it is the equivalent of a ceremonial President ( which is what we have in my country, an ex British colony) , why on earth should ALL of his family members get to bear titles ?? Why should they even work for the crown? Charities to be visited is not a good enough excuse, you dont see any ceremonial president’s kids taking on official duty.
Totally agree,@Shazbot, @Dominique, and @Godiva.
Doesn’t matter if you’re 4 or 40; if you *need* a title to feel above people because it’s all you’ve known, that’s precisely why you shouldn’t have one (and they shouldn’t exist in the first place).
IMO, the BRF does NOT get the same benefit of the doubt (as another poster said yesterday) *because* of how shi%%ily they treated the one POC of who dared to join the family (on invitation from their white prince!). Charles and his advisers are stalling because they’re trying to figure out how to “slim down the monarchy” without (rightly) being called racist, having the commonwealth notice, without the criticism of racialised people all over the world, BECAUSE they primed this opinion of the BRF through their racist actions. Because they tied titles to security AFTER being called out for letting their multiracial family hang high and dry.
So they’re screwed either way; it doesn’t matter the degree to which their criticisers are right about their intentions, they can’t slim down the monarchy without it being another check mark in the “racism + monarchies + colonialism go hand in hand” column. And if they want a slimmed down monarchy, they should just bite the bullet and take that criticism and the fallout that comes with it and learn how to deal with THAT too. “Slimmed down” monarchy or fully abolished monarchy on your watch; you get to pick, Charles.
I mostly agree with you. They shouldn’t have had them to begin with. I’m questioning why now. His two oldest are adults. She didn’t think of this before they were born? She would have already been in her 60s.
I’m assuming she’s following the same path Sweden and UK (albeit sloppily as hell) are trying to take to make the business side of the family smaller/less expensive. And yes, it looks extremely bad for the mixed race royals to be the ones this is affecting in Denmark and the UK.
I don’t know enough about the Danish royal family to know if there are hijinks but Joachim’s family has lived in France for years so it’s not even like they’re working for Denmark. You can see the deep struggle non-heirs have on trying to carve out their own path but also holding onto their titles – it’s interesting how they mean something to them.
What makes it sloppy in the UK is that there is no mentioned plan to divest styles and titles from anyone below Archie and Lili in the line of succession.
It’s human nature or royally personal that being called HRH Prince/ Princess since birth, makes the title part of one’s identity. That’s just an unfortunate reality.
The same occurred to Princess Margaret when government officials destroyed her life and her sense of self after her father died, and after she had been promised she could marry Peter Townsend if they waited five years. Despite recent blatant attempts to rewrite what happened to Margaret, nope, she was privately told she would lose her HRH and all of her royal privileges if she married Townsend. Her sister, the Queen, actually tried to broker a deal where Margaret could marry and keep her royal status/ identity, but the deal fell through.
^^ I mean to say that it’s human for someone born royal to personally identify with titles that have been their identity since birth. There seems to be some complicated family dynamics going on in this Denmark royal family in any case, unsurprisingly.
I think it’s a bit harsh for Queen Margrethe to make to this blatant decision without discussing it personally and directly with each of her affected grandchildren, so at the very least they wouldn’t feel so snubbed and ostracized. She should likely also have kept to her original plan to wait till each kid turned 25. But obviously, the Queen herself might be dead by then, and the titles would feel even more apart of their identity.
It’s different for the young Wessexes having titles they never used, and using other courtesy titles since birth. I realize that it’s hard for us to identify with the antiquated designations and privileges of royalty.
I totally agree. She should strip them all of their titles including herself. Abolish the monarchy!
That said it’s funny because she only strips one of her sons kids of their titles.
The other brother ( the heir) has like 4 kids too. It looks strange when the 3 that aren’t the heir keep their titles but not their cousins.
aftershocks, it isn’t attempts to rewrite history. The facts are in the Royal Archive. Margaret was offered the deal of keeping her HRH, keeping her royal housing, stipend, duties, all of it. The only thing was her children wouldn’t be in the line of succession because of Townsend’s divorce. The Church of England wasn’t going to ignore his previous marriage while telling everyone else they couldn’t marry in CoE. No special cases for Margaret.
Margaret chose not to marry Townsend – which IMO was a good thing. The man was a predator, likely groomed her from her tweens, and started having sex with her on a royal tour when she was 17 and he was still married. He ended up married to someone almost 30 years younger who married him at 20/21. Predatory behavior. Why do people keep defending disgusting Townsend?
aftershocks, it isn’t attempts to rewrite history. The facts are in the Royal Archive. Margaret was offered the deal of keeping her HRH, keeping her royal housing, stipend, duties, all of it. The only thing was her children wouldn’t be in the line of succession because of Townsend’s divorce. The Church of England wasn’t going to ignore his previous marriage while telling everyone else they couldn’t marry in CoE. No special cases for Margaret.
Margaret chose not to marry Townsend – which IMO was a good thing. The man was a predator, likely groomed her from her tweens, and started having sex with her on a royal tour when she was 17 and he was still married. He ended up married to someone almost 30 years younger who married him at 20/21. Predatory behavior. Why do people keep defending disgusting Townsend?
The HRH had already been taken away from them. All four were HH, his/her highness. If Margarethe had been thinking about this for a long time, she should have done something then, instead of waiting until Nikolai and Felix were adults.
Same here! The fewer HRHs the better, and the goal should be to keep titles down to only those who are working royals, nobody else. Absolutely none of these children will lack for anything. They are still massively privileged.
Only one of Fred’s four kids will be a working royal, but she didn’t remove the HRH, HH, or titles from them. So yes, this was deliberate against Joachim’s family and not because of ‘working vs. non-working royal’.
Am I the first to use the “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” quote?
This is getting juicy. At least Archie and Lili are too young to know what bad Grandad is doing and being royal isn’t their identity. But these other kids having their identity yanked from them so suddenly and callously is cruel.
Was there money connected to having those titles? Are they losing financial support? Maybe these royal families aren’t as rich as their fronting. And/or they are getting greedy and don’t want to share.
Their father receives public money when he married his first wife, which was a breach of tradition where only the monarch and heir receives public money. Now there’s a moderate public pressure for him to no longer receive this money. Especially, since he he sold his estate for a very handsome profit.
I have no idea what’s going on in the DRF behind closed doors – but it does seem messy lately. Joachim has seemed a bit adrift since he sold his estate, maybe because he no longer had a primary job and he wanted to work more for the DRF. But the royal house wanted to keep focus on the heir and his heir since Prince Christian will turn 18 soon. I think they don’t want too many royals on public money for reasons of survival.
The they apparently agreed on the France solution (them working in France for the Danish Embassy). However, Joachim failed to ask permission from the Danish parliament to take his apange with him abroad. He was really criticized in the serious press and then he started whining that this criticism wasn’t fair – and that didn’t really land well with the public (we all have to dot our Is and Ts with stuff like this – and he just expects that the rules aren’t for him). Then he and Marie started giving interviews full of innuendos with the very worst of the Danish tabloid magazines, which isn’t a great look, mainly because of the publication they choose. This was very shades of Marie originally introducing herself to the Danish public as Joachim’s girlfriend through a big tabloid feature – interview + photoshoot. That was not received well and they initially broke up over it.
I do think that Margrethe made a rare misstep here. Usually, minor Danish royals loose their title when they marry commoners (but this isn’t a good look either in today’s world). I think the best way would be to simply make a rule that the great-grand children of the monarch will not have titles. Then they avoid the mess of taking titles away from family members.
Or simply limit the titles to the direct heir, since they are the ones who one day will be king/queen. And therefore the only ones who should be working for the monarchy. This leaves siblings, cousins etc to figure their future out for themselves.
Thank you, ArtHistorian. I knew I remembered some messiness about Joachim and his latest job. Just couldn’t remember the exact details. I know Marie is pissed.
Thanks for the history lesson!
It is funny how minor royals will lose their titles for marrying a commoner but both Frederick and Joachim were spared this fate.
When I say funny I really mean hypocritical.
Holland seems to have been much smarter about this. Only Willem-Alexander’s children have the title of Prince/Princess. His brothers’ children all have the title of Count/Countess, they are not part of the royal house.
Thank you for the context. This seems like another situation of the “spare” being raised without any support/guidance/consequences on what the future is going to be. And especially emotional IG. And then it’s changed, they don’t know how to process their emotions and they act out.
I’m not saying they should keep their titles, I think it’s a bit ridiculous how many “princes” and “princesses” there are out there. I’m just saying they treat their own like they are disposable. And that sucks no matter how much money you have.
It’s interesting Marie was tactlessly giving interviews to those kinds of tabloids complaining about their treatment, yet when asked about Meghan complaining (complaining was the word used by the interviewer), she went on about she [Marie] is more careful about what she puts out there and how complaining gets you nowhere. There’s so much hypocrisy from these folks.
I know in the UK we’re having a cost of living crisis and many people are rightfully questioning the existence of the monarchy. Maybe the same is happening in Denmark and they’re trying to get ahead of the curve and “cut the fat”. Then again maybe not.
And just in case someone comes for me I’m not defending the British royal family. Everything that’s happening to Harry & Meghan is obviously because of racism. I’m just speculating about the Danish family
Apparently the kids aren’t getting any money from the government anyway. Unclear if they’re somehow benefiting from the crown in a way that taking their titles removes. I don’t think removing the titles is the issues here, and similarly the case for H & M’s kids, it’s the way it’s being done that’s off putting. Clearly there was some miscommunication with the Danish royals. And with the British folks, there’s been a lot of smearing and hate involved that makes it seem punitive.
Their father get money from the public – and he and his wife do less work than Waity for the Crown.
I’m paying for him and I would like not to – especially since he has a very large fortune after he sold his estate. But apparently Joachim is hanging onto that money real hard (there has been some asides by Danish royal reporters that Marie has very expensive taste).
Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. They must know they’re in for a rough winter in Europe and want to appear like that they aren’t a drain on dwindling resources. Even if it’s just symbolic because titles cost nothing.
The whole stripping away of titles just feels mean and petty and more about internal family dynamics then anything less. Like abolish the monarchies and all the titles or at least have a clear plan that will be implemented for the next generation that is clear v early on.
I agree – it’s fine to institute new policies going forward, but any policy that actively strips people who already exist looks punitive. I think this is where we see QEII’s intent very clearly. If she agreed with the slimmed down monarchy, she would have changed LP a long time ago. Ideally, when she made Will’s kids prince/princess upon birth she could have made Harry’s and any future non heir grand children not prince/princess making it very clear going forward it would only be the heir’s line. However, she didn’t. She purposefully allow Archie and Lilibet become Prince/Princess upon her death. She forced KCIII into a corner.
Agreed, she wasn’t touching that issue, she dumped it in his lap leaving him to deal with it after she’s gone.
Go ahead and abolish all the monarchies whilst we are at it, this is getting ridiculous.
You took the words right out of my mouth, Scorpion. No monarchies, no titles. Solves the whole ridiculous problem.
Honestly?
Privileged people’s tears don’t move me.
And for me the monarchy and titles are something that should not exist in 2022.
Doing this somewhat refutes the idea of “special blood” for any of them, so maybe it will signal the beginning of the end for monarchies. These grandchildren are just as related to the monarch as the ones who kept styles and titles. Same blood just different birth order. Maybe this will make some royalists think and see the light. And, if there is no difference in funds spent on royalty, just fewer people hoarding that money, how is it making a difference? It’s just performative.
Exactly! Trying to fit the concept of royalty/a monarchy into a more current business or government type framework (as in, it’s a job, we’re trying to be mindful of misuse of overspending govt resources) in order to “remain modern” is just removing the first card from the house of cards.
Personally, I love it. But yea, it’s impossible for such a restricted monarchy to survive (see: Japan).
@equality: thats what this all boils down to isn’t it? Money. Because the danish monarchy is not going to spend less on their expenses. I am pretty confident about that one. Neither are they going to give up some of their properties. I am pretty sure about that too. So what we now get is that the remaining royal share the money with less people. Which leaves more for them.
Right. It’s just weird to try to perpetuate the notion that everyone born into your institution is innately better than the masses, while also trying to pick and choose who gets to have titles for that distinction and who doesn’t.
I hope hope Charles doesn’t think that this will go over the same with the Sussexes children considering they’re the only non white members of the BRF. Also but then again if he denies the Sussex children their titles might play well with his conservative base and they’re the ones who seem ti be keeping the monarchy alive. We’ll see.
Joachim’s eldest children from his first marriage are also mixed race. The Windsors aren’t the only racist royals.
The only royal family I pay attention to is the BRF. I have no idea who anyone else mentioned in this post. But I’m aware that BRF isn’t the only monarchy built on racism.
Ah! INTERESTING! Didn’t know they were mixed.
^^ Yep, their mother Alexandra, now Countess of Frederiksborg, was born in Hong Kong of mixed Asian-European ancestry. Her sons, Nikolai (23) and Felix (20) are both very attractive and have worked as fashion models for top designers.
I’ve been on a history kick lately. What strikes me is that the younger children used to be married off to other royal families to cement diplomatic alliances. We don’t really do that anymore, so what is the function of all these princes and princesses?
I agree that at this point, not giving titles to grandchildren makes sense. But taking them away from your grandchildren is a shitty thing to do.
Charles should have done the no grandchildren thing back before George was born. IMHO Harry wouldn’t have minded. But when it’s his beloved bi-racial babies? Hell to pay.
Agreed! Not having titles is a totally different thing than titles being taken away.
Yes, and previously the mark of aristocracy/royalty was that they did not work or have a profession — aside from management of their estates. But now the expectation is that everyone not directly in the work of royalling is expected to have some kind of profession.
His children are mixed race as well.
Joachim’s two oldest sons with his first wife are mixed race. The two youngest children with his second wife are not.
If Charles strips Archie and Lili of their titles, Harry should cut all ties with his father and not attend the coronation. If Harry loves and values himself, his wife and his children, he will take a stand and say enough is enough.
Meghan will not be invited to the coronation; only Harry will. Harry will not attend without Meghan. Problem solved.
His 2 oldest children are Chinese and White.Sounds like they’re trying to purify the lineage
Of course Meghan will be at the coronation and Archie and Lili may attend too.
Kate will be totally mad at being overshadowed again.
Harry should just take that stand now. Charles is just going to fail to recognize Archie and Lilibet as prince and princess and drag out the issue of their titles as long as he can. From press reports Charles already appears to be using it as a threat against Harry, eg, don’t publish your memoir or I will yank your kids titles.
Joachim is very upset about this. The royalists were attacking Countess Alexandra for speaking out yesterday but Joachim’s comments today show that they’re on the same page.
The cost of living crisis is global and one thing the public will do is turn against the monarchy. This is all to give the public (specifically their fanbase) the illusion they are “cutting costs” whether presently or in the future by “streamlining” the monarchy and who gets what titles if any. Plus if the public is focused on debating who keeps what titles or gets titles taken away it takes the conversation away from “why do we have a very expensive tax payer funded monarchy in the first place?” What Margarethe did was cold but that’s the thing, monarchies are ruthless and vicious that is how they have survived for this long esp in the West. Just b/c they dress up in period costume and publicly share family photos does not mean they are a happy or close family. Isn’t Margarethe related to QEII? I wouldn’t be surprised if the European senior royals have a whatsapp of sorts where they discuss certain things. The Swedish Monarchy did something similar a few years ago as well. I think they know if the British RF goes down its only a matter of time before they do hence the timing of all of this.
Carl-Phillip and Madeleine’s children still carry the title Prince/Princess just not the HRH.
The same for the princess of Norway. She still has her princess title but not her royal highness monicker.
And tbh her transgressions ( even prior to the shaman guy she is involved with now) has been pretty bad in terms of muddling private business with her princess title. But she’s always been protected by her status as a princess.
Tbh I don’t see the point at all in keeping the monarchy anywhere. They are at this point just glorified state funded celebrities and for the most part made their money from colonialism
Queen Margrethe and Queen Elizabeth 2 were cousins … Margrethe’s grandmother and Elizabeth’s grandfather were grandchildren of Queen Vicky. She was also a cousin of Prince Phillip. They are all in direct line from Queen VIctoria. Also King Christian IX of Denmark was called Europe’s father-in-law,.
“Five days notice” would line up with the queen testing positive for her second round of Covid after QE2’s funeral; she seems to have recovered quickly but I wonder if it scared her into thinking she needed to handle it asap instead of having Fredrick inherit the inevitable drama.
I hardly think Margrethe cares about giving cover to Charles and whatever he chooses to do about Harry & Meghan. It sounds like it has been a long time coming in Denmark. If any external factors were taken into consideration, I think the situation of Märtha Louise in Norway and Madeleine in Sweden are more likely to have influenced her than Archie & Lili.
I also wonder if Margrethe, having just been to QEII’s funeral, began to feel her own mortality and decided that she needed to stop putting this off. Perhaps she wanted to own this decision in her lifetime instead of forcing it onto Fred.
This has nothing to do with Charles, Meghan and Harry.
Yeah, I’m not sure why that’s gaining steam, lol. Queen Margrethe is going to do what she thinks it right or best or whatever, why would she care what charles is going to do for his grandkids?
Interesting that Joachim thought it would happen at 25 (18 seems to make more sense to me?) but it was changed so even the 10 year old is losing her title. Wonder if there were concerns about them getting married? Because if the 23 year old is a Prince and gets married next year, she’d be a princess, right? Maybe they wanted to avoid that? But that seems kind of silly.
Regardless I just find this whole “stripping titles” to be kind of nonsense. Either there is a hierarchy based on blood and birth or there isn’t. and it also seems to me that changing it going forward would be less dramatic than changing it now.
So does this mean that Frederik and Mary’s other children’s children (i.e. not Christian’s children) won’t be HRH Prince/ss either? So only the children of the direct heir will be HRH?
So does this mean that Frederik and Mary’s other children’s children (i.e. not Christian’s children) won’t be HRH Prince/ss either? So only the children of the direct heir will be HRH?
That’s what they’re not being clear about. They just stated Joachim’s children would lose their titles. Nothing about Frederick’s 3 youngest children’s children. If only those in the direct line deserve titles then make a change now instead of singling out hald of your grandchildren.
honestly, what she should have said (and what Charles should do) is that only the direct heirs are HRH. so here, Frederik and Christian. In the UK, William and George. Take it away from charlotte, Louis, Archie, Lili, take it away from Frederik and Mary’s other children (I would have to google to confirm names lol.) If it happens that George becomes king without any children then Charlotte can be HRH again.
honestly the very notion of a “HRH” is so antiquated that it might make sense just to do away with it altogether in some of these families. No, William, you are not “higher” than someone who was born without HRH. But I guess these monarchies are built on hierarchy so they need to reinforce that.
No it means only Frederik & Mary’s children will have the title Prince and Princess but only the heir’s children will have these title, the spares’s children won’t have any title.
Just like right there, only Joachim will keep his title but all his children will lose them.
I think the Queen was an idiot, she should have made this happen with the next generation so only he great grand children will be concern by this instead of children already born.
It’s only a title, it’s not like they are receiving any perks out of it except for the heir and his children.
These people are dumb, I think only Norway was smart enough to make this already, the only change they had to do in 1990 is making no distinction between a male or female heir, it’s directly the first born.
IMO if they’re taking it away from Joachim’s kids, they need to take it away from the three younger Fred&Mary kids at the same time. They’ve already announced that only the eldest, Christian, will be a working royal. So remove the titles and HRH-or-HH from all the grandkids except Christian. That way it would be equal. No reason for F&M’s three younger ones to have Prince/Princess titles as they have to go out and earn a living. Remove the titles and HRH/HH now before Izzy reaches 18 and it starts to become an issue with her using her title in the workplace like whackadoo Norse cousin Martha-Louise.
That’s what seems like would make the most sense, to me (not that QM asked me), and it would make the most sense for charles as well. Christian is HRH. George is HRH. None of the rest are.
No when/if they married Joachims kids would lose the prince/esse titel. That how it’s always been. Daisy’s one cousin nevet marry so she could keep her titel.
Even if they marry an aristo? Is that because they’re grandchildren of the monarch and not the children of the monarch? (Like I notice Joachim still has his title.)
Slightly off topic but I was curious about Alexandra, Joachim’s first wife, and found this quote about learning Danish: “It was my decision to learn the language immediately. It would have been terrible to have to stand up and speak English at an engagement, or thank someone for something. It would have been utterly wrong. This is my home, and so there was no other option”. Tell it to the Wales.
Just remember that all the European royal houses are related through Queen Vic. She married her brood across all the royal families. One royal house providing cover for another in the family probably isn’t unheard of. I would also not be surprised if KC3 spoke to her at some point during the mourning period. I believe she was QE2 best friend.
She was not her best friend. Not even close. Though they are distant cousins and friendly. They were third cousins through Victoria and Christian ix of Denmark both.
Queen Margrethe is much closer to Sonja, the norwegian queen consort.
I read the two older sons are models. I’m sure most of their cache comes from the Prince title. This move could actually harm their careers.
If QM believes this is truly good for them then she should only give the crown price a title.
They are not full time models. The older one is a full time student. He has said that his modelling is just a short term thing while studying.
If they aren’t receiving taxpayer money, then I don’t see the point of stripping the children of their titles. It seems like they’re being pushed out. Why not just change the rules for the next generation?
I’m sure KC will use similar language when he decides to strip A& L. But everyone knows his true motive. That’s why there’s so much fear/anger over H’s book.
I see there are a lot of people who are completely not familiar with the Danish family and are applying the BRF mess directly to this.
Two different families with different problems. The Danish Prince Consort was critical for years about not being given the King title and even moved to Egypt and France in his last years. This is a little harsh to me but Margethe does not care about personal feelings. She only cares about the institution. Fred, Christian, and Mary are her focus.
Joachim and Marie are not innocent so I really don’t have much feelings for them either. Just feel a touch bad for Henrik and Athena because kids never want anything taken from them.
” Margethe does not care about personal feelings. She only cares about the institution”
I mean that’s pretty much QEII in a nutshell lol. Charles and William were her focus. It only got cloudy bc of Andrew.
You don’t even have to compare it to the BRF mess to still think this was nasty move on Margrethe’s part. She already downgraded Joachim’s kids from HRH to HH years ago. The two older sons don’t get money from the royal house. The two younger kids only have access to whatever their father gets. So this isn’t even going to save money. Why not let the existing kids keep their titles and make new rule applicable to future generations?
The solution to all these titles is simple in this century. Only the King and next heir receive titles, funding, 1 house and security. It’s up to them how they want to spend their salary on their own family. They are head of state, there’s no need to have a royal family. For example in some diplomatic events only my President and the First Gentleman appear. Most of the time only my President appears.
OK, I’m about ready to ignore all the “royals” everywhere.
These hugely wealthy, pampered folks are out of date by at least 100-200 years.
When the, I think, Princess from Japan married her “commoner” husband and she was made to leave the royal family, that was brutal. Her younger sister reached out to hug her and it was a big drama at the time.
It’s all unreal to me.
I think it is dumb. It doesn’t really hurt anything. Let them have the titles.
None of this looks particularly good, it is not progressive.
If it was announced for yet unborn children one generation away, it would’ve appropriate.
They’ll do whatever they like, but I wish they have the fortitude to standby their decisions.
In this particular case, King Charles111.
I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned anywhere but aren’t Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix mixed race? Their mom Countess Alexandra is Eurasian (her dad had Asian and European ancestry and her mom had European ancestry) and grew up mostly in Hong Kong from what I’ve read. I don’t know how she or her sons identify but also not a great look to take away the prince titles from two princes of mixed race descent. I know their white siblings are also affected so not the same thing as Archie and Lili and the whole deal with their royal titles but there are some similarities. I’ve known about Countess Alexandra for awhile when I did my own research on European royal families years ago and it had to be a big deal in Denmark at the time to have a mixed race woman marrying into the Danish royal family in 1995. Not to mention Alexandra speaks several languages (widely reported to speak English and German and I’ve seen mentions she knows Cantonese which makes sense if she grew up in Hong Kong and also Japanese) and picked up Danish pretty quickly.
So yeah if I were her, I’d be pretty upset too. It doesn’t sound like they had much of a heads up. They could have done like the Swedish royal family where they let all the grandkids keep their prince/princess titles but take away the HRH/royal house designation. While monarchies are antiquated and don’t serve much purpose, it does seem odd to take away the prince titles from Nikolai and Felix who are legally adults at 20 and 23.
I guess QM was looking for the most effective way to drive a wedge between her sons, daughter-in law’s and grandchildren.
Joachim drive the wedge between himself and Frederick long ago.
Joachim saw Mary’s behavior the night she threw herself at three other princes before drunken Fred went home with her for a one night stand. Could be that impacted his opinion of her for years. Plus he and Alexandra were ordered to stay married while Fred dragged his feet about marrying Mary. That would have built up resentment.
I am definitely in the just getting rid of the monarchy camp. It’s weird to have or expect a title because of the family you were born into. It would be super weird to bow to a child “Prince” and call them your highness. Scratch that, it’s super weird to bow to anyone and literally refer to them as being higher than you because of their family and birth order. It’s 2022, how, how is this even still a thing.
Sounds like there is some family drama that will find itself into the public domain at some point. It feels pre emotive to me.
The children’s count and countess titles are inherited from the father’s side, and are French titles. The timing of this is very interesting. It seems like Marguerite had a road to Damascus moment and suddenly decided to remove titles from adult grandchildren. When Joachim and Alexandra divorced, she lost her princess title but the Queen made her a countess in her own right. Methinks something has happened to change her thinking. Alexandra was very popular in Denmark, and as far as I know, she got a lot of positive coverage from the tabloids because she provided not only bread and butter for them but a lot of cake. I remember reading that the tabloids were thankful to her. However, she was the only princess of the land, as Frederick had not married yet. Also, it didn’t appear that Alexandra was not cut dead from the family. They still acted like a family. However, I don’t know if Alexandra would have overshadowed Mary if she had stayed married, but we’ll never know that. Mary had a career and a life before Frederick, and has obviously worked hard to be a productive crown princess. I believe Frederick and Mary and family are very popular in their country. From the little I’ve read, it seems that Mary is the one who made Frederick pull his socks up.
Fred and Mary are very popular here – and Joachim is not, nor has he ever been popular. And there’s a growing amount of people who would like not to pay for him and the minimal work he does.
iirc they’re not ‘real’ titles inherited through Henri/Henrik. They’re made up Danish titles with Henri’s family name attached. In France the ‘laborde’ and ‘Laborde de Montpezat’ family are not considered nobles and the title is considered an affectation for a middle class family, not real members of nobility. ArtHistorian, is that correct?
The Monpezats were an old, wealthy but bourgeois family. Henrik was called a count with no legal basis. The French abolished their aristocracy eons ago. It was basically a sop to his ego in 2008 to have the title conferred on both their sons and descendants. Like Philip, henrik had a lot of skill and talent but unlike Philip never learned how to place himself in the consort position.
Margrethe made a lot of concessions for Alexandra after the divorce. She was gifted a tiara during her marriage, one that was an heirloom and passed down through generations, and it was outright gifted to Alexandra, as in it’s her personal property now. She was allowed to keep it after her divorce, and she wears it every once in a while when they have state events, to which she occasionally shows up.
And then obviously Alexandra was made countess in her own right, after her divorce, and kept very close to the royal family. I think that was largely only because Margrethe and her were always apparently quite close. The one thing that I think can be said about Margrethe is that she is close to her daughters-in-law, or at least she tries very hard to be close to them. How they feel abt it I don’t really know. I think a lot of the reason why Alexandra was very well-liked by the people of Denmark is bc she is very gracious, and I can see that extending towards Margrethe as well.
I am just here to talk about her train wreck broach.
A diamond rooster with a pearl egg inside of it?
https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2018/04/queen-margrethes-rooster-brooch.html#:~:text=Margrethe%20received%20the%20brooch%20in,route%20between%20Copenhagen%20and%20Oslo.
Ooof, don’t get me started. Margrethe has some really ugly jewelry, lmao.
That reminded me of Kate’s godawful Christmas tree brooch.
While you hate to see young children embroiled in this mess, this really isn’t on the level of the British idiots and their mess.
Joachim was given an estate by his mother and sold it instead to pocket a lot of money. He’s been looked down on since then, and the job in France his family arranged for him to get to continue “paying” for him has also not been popular. His two oldest trade on their royal associations for money ie their modeling careers, and there was a level of embarrassment that Nikolai cashed in on it to be in that tone-deaf and cringe Raffles advertisement series along with the Marquess of Blandford and “Princess” Olympia of Greece and Denmark.
If they’re not going to abolish the monarchy then they need to go the route of Norway and lock it down to an extremely select few and move on.
Olympia is Margarethe’s niece. You wonder what she thinks of the Greek former royals and titles. I can understand pavlos, he was born while there was a monarchy. As was his sister alexia. But the rest were born after it was abolished as were all the grandchildren.
The Greeks being former royals makes no difference to Margrethe. She’s of the generation where they don’t care. Former or not, currently ruling or not, in power or not–none of that changes the fact that there are those who are royalty, there are those who are aristocracy, those associated and descended from the aristocracy, and then there are the rest of the people in the world.
So Pavlos and his siblings will always be royalty, as far as Margrethe is concerned. They were born to the king and queen of Greece. So their children will always be royalty, whether they were born in exile or not. It’s who your biological parents are that matters to these people, not their status as ruling monarchs.
Now, ask what Margrethe thinks about Marie-Chantal, Pavlos’ wife, who is very much a commoner, born into a new-money family, who apparently brought her inheritance with her into the marriage, bailing out the cash poor Greek former royals, and that would be an interesting question to ponder about.
Marie-Chantal’s Daddy’s money bought her a royal husband, but not her first choice. She wanted Felipe but he refused, so she settled for buying Pavlos. That’s why M-C is such an unholy b*tch to Letizia and remains close friends with criminal Cristina.
@KM
Speaking as someone who has lived and studied in Scandinavia for the past few years I find your comment about Norway a bit off.
The princess of Norway has literally been trading on her princess title commercially for decades. And she is still representing the household and has her title and most of her privileges. There’s been a LOT of criticism. A recent survey showed that 51% of the people want her to stop representing the royal household. Only 13 % want her to stay. So it’s certainly not true that it’s all seamless in Norway. She is loosing patronage’s related to health care organisations because she is marketing and selling unscientific health care practices.
And certainly I can’t see that what she is doing is less problematic than some kid who is literally making some money modelling while attending university ( Nikolai).
I think KM is refering to thr practice of only giving the heirs children titles, not the gigantic mess that is Martha Louise. The heir’s youngest son are titled prince, but not HRH.
Princess Martha Louise lost her HRH title either at 18 or when she got married. Can’t remember when atm. She doesn’t get a royal appanage herself, but gets some from her father’s the few times she represents. She was told not to use her princess title for commersial business, but she did it anyway when she teamed up with shaman Durek. Before that, it was quiet for years. She is not the one marketing BS, it’s Durek, but since she is engaged to him, she gets associated with the BS. When you choose to be with a man who claims vaginas get toxic, talking BS about cancer etc, she can’t expect to be taken seriously. I know she’s “special”, but it’s gone downhill to crazytown really fast after she teamed up with him.
I think queen Margrethe saw what happened in Norway and thought, hell no, this is not going to happen here, not on my watch!
To me the issues of taking away titles is very simple. If you take them away and truly leave them alone, allow them to get any job they want, and go after the media with guns blazing the first time the media complains the job is “unroyal” or unbecoming or reflects negatively on the family, then great. They’re private citizens and you’re using your considerable media powers to ensure it. The issue in all these families is that they want to remove the titles and government money while also continuing to control their public lives and approve and disapprove of their jobs and future and choices. And certainly the English royals do not use any media wielding to protect the others. For example, if its really true that William “reigned in” Pippa and the courtiers were nasty about her enjoying the attention too much, well, that’s absurd. And that does seem to be their complain about anyone that doesn’t collapse in the spot light – see Meghan’s exile to Windsor
A “normal career, yes! They should all have them unless they’re a direct heir. But; monarch can’t expect to muzze the media when your daughter starts a school where you learn to speak to angels, and team up with a dodgy shaman who claims vaginas get toxic and that he can cleanse them.
I have no clue what to really think here, lmao. But uh, Margrethe’s just never been very good with the whole “feelings” business, I think, especially when it comes to her children. I can totally kind of see her thinking that this is an entirely straightforward decision, and being totally taken aback at the fact that both her son and former DIL are feeling really hurt by it. It’s kind of a rude thing to say, but I got the feeling that she’s always a little surprised at the fact that her sons have feelings that they want to express, lol.
As for Joachim–he’s always been a bit of an entitled weirdo? I remember reading something a long time ago abt how someone saw him at some F1 race or something, and he was really upset and angry and ranting at one of his staff members? Or his now-wife? I don’t know. I can’t remember the details, but the impression is that he is kind of rude and more than a little entitled, although he might have mellowed out by now.
As for Alexandra, Joachim’s former wife–her and Joachim got married long before Frederick and Mary did, and for a while there, she was THE fairy tale princess in Denmark. Everyone loved her, and Margrethe loved her as well. The marriage didn’t work out, but Alexandra was always really popular with the Danish people. I don’t know if she still is, but if she thought she and Margrethe were always close, I can see why she’d be more than a little upset at this move.
Well the Danish royals have certainly been getting the international spotlight right now. It seems like, according to Joachim’s ex-wife, that this was a bit unnecessary since they would lose the titles upon marriage, and it seems he was told one thing ( have titles until 25) while what was announced completely blindsided Joachim and his family. He has a right to be upset. Another point his ex-wife made was they’ll take away the titles but everything her sons do will still reflect on the royal family, so removing the titles won’t result in them having a “normal life”. Anyway, they’re upset, don’t know if the people over there care a lot or a little about it, and now everyone wants to see what Chuck 3 does and who all he’ll strip down just so he can get to Harry. So it goes.
I would hope that Joachim, his ex wife, and his children realize that their “identity” is not tied to whether or not someone calls them Prince or Your Highness. Hopefully they realize they are more than that and that just because they don’t get to be called Prince or Your Highness anymore, that isn’t the end of the world for them, which appears to be the position they are taking now, with each of them running to the media to complain about their Queen’s decision.
I think it is just a toxic dynamic for the eldest child and his or her kids to be treated as more special than the others, to get a title and privileges that the rest don’t have. I realize the title comes with a role and responsibilities but let’s be honest, if your brother’s kids are Princes and Princesses and your kids are not? That is just going to feel like you’re lesser. Like a snub by your own parent or grandparent. For better or worse (almost entirely for worse IMO), the title “Prince” just has a positive ring to it, earned or not.
These royal families shouldn’t exist any more. Or if they do, they should limit their families to one child so that they don’t pass down this generational fuckery.