Queen of Denmark strips grandchildren of title for them 'to shape their own lives', report says

The Danish royal palace announced on Wednesday that Queen Margrethe II has decided to discontinue the use of the titles of prince and princess of her four grandchildren. His Royal Highness Prince Joachim's descendants will only be permitted to use their titles as counts and countess of Monpezat.

Starting January 1, 2023, the children of Prince Joachim, the Queen's second son, will be known instead as His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat.

The palace elaborated on their statement, "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 four grandchildren: Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, will remain as members of the royal family and will remain in their places in the order of succession. At present, the four are seventh through tenth in the line to the throne.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden and her brother Prince Carl Philip have both addressed this new name change and are in full support of the Queen's decision to allow the children to find their own way into the world.

Princess Madeleine wrote on Instagram, "Earlier today, the court announced that Leonore, Nicolas and Adrienne will no longer belong to the royal house. This change has been planned for a long time. Chris and I think it's good that our children are now getting a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as private individuals in the future."

Similarly, Prince Carl Philip also shared, "Today, the King announced the decision that our children no longer hold the Royal Highness position. We see this as positive as Alexander and Gabriel will have freer choices in life."

Queen Margrethe was the first woman allowed to inherit the throne in Denmark's history. It was only after their 1953 Act of Succession was passed that women were given the "right of succession to the Danish Throne," and in 2009, "full equality in the succession to the throne was introduced," according to Denmark's website.