Danish prince to relocate family to US after his children were stripped of their titles

Prince Joachim of Denmark, whose four children were stripped of their royal titles in September is to move to the United States.

The 53-year-old prince, who is the second son of Queen Margrethe II and sixth in line to the throne will relocate to Washington DC next year, according to the Danish paper B.T.

Prince Joachim is currently working as defence attaché in Paris, a post he has held since 2020.

He is expected to cross the Atlantic in the second half of the year.

Queen Margrethe said her decision to remove the titles was intended to ensure the country’s monarchy was “keeping with the times”.

It means that her grandchildren: Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10, will no longer be known as princes or princesses.

Instead, they will go by the titles Count and Countess of Monpezat instead.

Denmark is the latest European country to strip back its monarchy.

Similar moves to slim down have been made by royal families in Sweden and Belgium. King Charles is reportedly also considering plans to follow suit.

In Denmark, Prince Joachim, 53, the Queen’s second son, who said he was only given five days notice of the decision, voiced his anger at the time in the Danish media.

“We are all very sad. It’s never fun to see your children being harmed. They have been put in a situation they do not understand,” he told the Ekstra Bladet newspaper.

Bullied at school

His wife, Princess Marie, said their youngest child, Princess Athena, had been bullied at school.

The move was also attacked by the Prince’s first wife, Alexandra, 58, who is the mother of princes Nikolai and Felix.

She said her sons felt “ostracised” by the decision which came like a bolt from the blue.

Queen Margrethe’s spokesman said the move was a natural extension of her desire to slim the Danish monarchy down.

“We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen’s wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.”

The Danish royal household insisted that Prince Joachim was first informed of the decision to remove his children’s titles back in May.

Queen Margrethe added: “No one should be in doubt that my children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride,

“I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation.”