Queen Margrethe II wants a slimmed down Danish royal family
(Picture: Getty Images)Queen Margrethe II has reportedly stunned the Danish royal family by stripping four of her grandchildren of their titles.
The children of the Queen’s second son Prince Joachim, who are: Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10, will lose these titles from January and will instead be referred to as Count and Countess of Monpezat.
A statement on Wednesday revealed that Europe’s now longest-reigning monarch wanted the descendents to “shape their own lives” although the four will maintain their place in succession.
The statement read: “Her Majesty The Queen wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent…
“[They can do this] without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves.”
Prince Joachim’s descendants will have to be addressed as excellencies in the future, the statement added.
Countess Alexandra, the mother of Prince Joachim’s two eldest sons, told the Daily BT that she was “shocked” by the decision.
“This came out of the blue. The children feel excluded,” she said.
“They can’t understand why their identity is being taken from them.”
The second in line to the throne Crown Prince Frederik, 54, and his son and successor Prince Christian will keep their titles as will Prince Frederik’s three other children, aged 15-11, although they will not receive an apparition when they come of age.
