Queen Margrethe snatch titles of four of her grandchildren

• Four of Queen Margrethe of Denmark’s eight grandchildren have their royal titles revoked.
• The stated justification, according to the palace, was to allow them to lead more normal lives.
• Decision “shocked” the mother of Prince Joachim’s two eldest sons, who spoke to Danish media.

The palace reported that on Wednesday, four of Queen Margrethe of Denmark’s eight grandchildren had their titles revoked. Queen Margrethe is the only reigning monarch in Europe and has been its longest-serving head of state.

The stated justification, according to the palace, was to allow the four children of her youngest son, Prince Joachim, to have more normal lives. This decision followed similar ones made by other European royal families to streamline their monarchy.

“As of January 1, 2023, the descendants of His Royal Highness Prince Joachim will only be able to use their titles of Count and Countess of Monpezat, their previous titles of Prince and Princess of Denmark ceasing to exist”, the royal palace wrote in a statement.

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.

“With her decision, Her Majesty the Queen wants to create a framework for the four grandchildren, to a much greater degree, to be able to shape their own existence without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation with the Royal House as an institution implies”, it said.

“The queen’s decision is in line with similar changes that other royal houses have carried out in recent years in different ways”, it added.

The decision “shocked” the mother of Prince Joachim’s two eldest sons, who spoke to Danish media.

“This came from out of the blue. The children feel excluded. They can’t understand why their identity is being taken from them”, Countess Alexandra told daily B.T..

The future king, Prince Christian, will be the only one to receive an appanage when the queen’s other four grandchildren, who were born to Crown Prince Frederik, 54, reach adulthood.

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