What is actually going on with the Danish Royal Family?

The Danish Royal Family has been making headlines in the past week, with a major announcement about the future use of titles for her grandchildren that has caused "shock" and created a public rift.

The fallout has been such that, on Monday, the Queen apologised for the "strong reaction" - though stated she was sticking by her decision.

Yahoo UK breaks down what has happened and what the reaction has been.

What's happened?

Queen Margrethe, 82, has stated that the title of Prince and Princess and style of 'Highness' will be removed from four of her grandchildren in the new year.

Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena — whose ages range from 10 to 23 — are the children of the Queen's younger son, Prince Joachim.

They will keep their titles of Count and Countess of Monzepat and be known as 'excellencies' as well as maintain their positions in the line of succession.

The four children of 54-year-old Crown Prince Frederik will retain their current titles.

The family response has been divided and immediate. On one side, Prince Joachim and his family have made no attempt to hide their displeasure. On the other, Crown Princess Mary, 50, and Princess Benedikte — the Danish Queen's 78-year-old sister — have publicly supported the decision.

What have the families said?

Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg is the ex-wife of Prince Joachim and mother of the eldest two children: Nikolai, 23, and Felix, 20. She has made the family's views perfectly clear.

Speaking to BT — a Danish publication — she said: "We are all saddened and in shock [...] the children feel ostracised. They cannot understand why their identity has been taken away from them."

Alexandra's press secretary, Von Wildenrath Løvgreen, speaking to CNN on behalf of their family said, "Why now? Because there is no good reason." Von Wildenrath Løvgreen added that Prince Joachim "nearly cried" when questioned by journalists after sharing the news with his children.

Prince Joachim has reportedly said he was "given five days notice" to the change in titles and that he "simply [doesn't] know" why the decision was so rapid. He claims the initial suggestion was made in May that his children's titles would change when they turned 25.

He told BT: "I can say my children are upset [...] why should their identity be removed. Why must they be punished in this way?" He added: "I don't want to engage in speculation and mudslinging [...] I just want the truth."

In a follow up interview conducted from their home city of Paris, Prince Joachim and his wife Princess Marie also divulged that they had "unfortunately not" spoken to the Queen or his brother the Crown Prince.

"It's complicated," Princess Marie said.

When asked about the possible motivations behind the decision, Prince Joachim said: "The reality must still be: whether you modernise or slim down, it must be done in the proper way. It's about children [...] it is a very heavy matter."

The other side of the family has been more supportive. Crown Princess Mary said in response to questions from BT: "Change can be extremely difficult and it can really hurt [...] but that does not mean that the decision is not the right one. We will also look at our children's titles when the time comes." She added that "We cannot see what the royal house will look like when Christian's time comes."

Princess Benedikte also defended the Queen's choice. She is reported as saying to BT: "I think that of course it is difficult for [Prince Joachim's family] at the beginning, that's quite clear. But, my sister makes wise decisions as Queen and thinks ahead to the future and not right here and now. I think that's the most important thing."

Queen Margrethe's Apology:

Following the public back and forth between her family members, Queen Margrethe has made an official statement apologising to Prince Joachim and his children.

She said: "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 [...] for that I am sorry."

She also defended the announcement as being "a long time coming" and made with her "duty and [her] desire as Queen to ensure that the monarchy always shapes itself in keeping with the times"

However, she concluded her statement by saying, "no one should be in doubt that my children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride," and that she hoped that "as a family we can find the peace to find our way through this situation."

Why did Queen Margrethe make this decision?

In the official statement, the focus on 'why' was to do with the giving her grandchildren the freedom to make their own choices in their lives.

The statement said the Queen didn't want them to feel limited by the "special considerations and obligations" that being a royal requires.

This has been rejected by Von Wildenrath Løvgreen, who told CNN that Prince Joachim's children "will never get a normal life. If they do something very stupid it will always come back on the family."

Largely, as they grow up Prince Joachim's children may well be able to enjoy more freedom and less scrutiny now the Queen has made this decision.

But there is likely another factor at play.

Slimmed-down monarchies are regarded as the only ones that will have longevity in the decades to come, so being seen to trim any excess is viewed as an important public relations move.

It is not thought Joachim's children are funded by the Danish "public purse." Queen Margrethe's decision therefore is mainly a symbolic one - helping create an image of the House of Glücksburg as inexpensive.

Or, as Head of Communications for the Danish Royal House Lene Balleby puts it, to "future-proof" the monarchy. This idea of "future-proofing" was reiterated by the Queen in her apology, who called it "necessary."

How did the House of Glücksburg get here?

2016:

Back in 2016, it was announced that only one of Queen Margrethe's grandchildren would receive funding from the state going forward: Prince Christian.

Prince Christian is the eldest son of Crown Prince Frederik and second in line to the throne.

This shift was the first step in showing how serious the House of Glücksburg was about slimming down the monarchy.

2019:

Three years later, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden announced that the HRH style and title of prince and princess would be removed from six of his eight grandchildren.

These six grandchildren are from his younger children: son Prince Carl-Philip and daughter Princess Madeleine, so the decision only impacted those who are lower down the line of succession.

This set a precedent that Queen Margrethe and the Danish royal house seemed to indirectly reference in their official statement this week, saying: "The Queen's decision is in line with similar adaptations that other royal houses have implemented in different ways in recent years."

May 2022:

Prince Joachim has since claimed the move was first raised with him in May but that it was suggested the titles would be removed from his children when they turned 25.

September 2022:

The Royal House of Denmark announces that the change to the titles of Prince Joachim's will take affect from January 1, 2023.