The British royals aren't the only ones facing family drama.
Prince Joachim of Denmark claimed that he hasn’t talked to his mother, Queen Margrethe II, as well as his brother Crown Prince Frederik or his sister-in-law Crown Princess Mary since the palace announced his four children would lose their prince and princess titles next year.
Recently, the 53-year-old sat down with Danish outlet B.T. for a joint interview with his wife Princess Marie. He alleged that the monarch, 82, "unfortunately" had not connected with them since the announcement of the title change.
"It’s also family. Or whatever we want to call it," he said.
Joachim shares sons Prince Nikolai, 23, and Prince Felix, 20, with his first wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. He remarried in 2008 to Marie, and they share son Prince Henrik, 13, and daughter Princess Athena, 10.
On Wednesday, the Danish royal palace announced that on Jan. 1, 2023, Joachim’s four children will lose their royal titles. Instead, they will be known as His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat. Joachim, the second son of the queen, is sixth in line to the Danish throne. His children will maintain their places in the order of succession, which is currently seventh through 10th.
"With her decision, 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 without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves," the palace said in the statement.
It is believed the change was made to streamline the monarchy’s future. However, Joachim argued that family should come first.
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"The reality must still be: Whether you modernize or slim down, it must be done in a proper way," he told the outlet. "It’s about children. Orderliness and children. It is a very heavy matter."
Margrethe has apologized for upsetting members of her family with the decision. However, she refused to change her mind.
"It is my duty and my desire as queen to ensure that the monarchy always shapes itself in keeping with the times. Sometimes, this means that difficult decisions must be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment," she said in a statement released Monday by the royal household.
"This adjustment ... I view as a necessary future-proofing of the monarchy," Europe's longest reigning monarch said. She has not altered her decision.
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"I have made my decision as queen, mother and grandmother. But, as a mother and grandmother, I have underestimated the extent to which my younger son and his family feel affected. That makes a big impression, and for that I am sorry," Margrethe said in the statement.
Joachim previously told the Ekstra Bladet daily in Paris where he lives and works, that they "are all very sad."
"It’s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that. They themselves find themselves in a situation they do not understand," he said.
When asked how the decision had affected his relationship with his mother, Joachim replied, "I don’t think I need to elaborate here."
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Joachim’s first wife said they were confused, saddened and in shock.
"The children feel ostracized. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them," Alexandra said.
Joachim also alleged he received a five-day warning of the change. He said he was originally presented with a plan in May that would have removed the children’s titles when they reached age 25.
Margrethe’s decision was in line with moves that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years. In 2019, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf announced that the children of his younger children, Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip, would lose their royal titles. His oldest daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, is heir to the throne, followed by her children. They will retain their titles.
Margrethe was proclaimed queen on Jan. 15, 1972, a day after the death of her father, King Frederik IX.
Some royal watchers have said Britain’s King Charles III may be observing the situation in Denmark.
The 73-year-old's two grandchildren from his second son, Prince Harry, were expected to receive prince and princess titles once he became king. However, there’s speculation that the monarch is waiting to learn about the contents of Harry’s upcoming memoir before making a final decision. Sources have previously shared that the grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, shouldn’t receive HRH titles because their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aren’t working royals.
In 2020, the couple announced they were stepping back as senior members of the British royal family.
