Lots of stories about the Danish royals these days, and I find it very interesting. In 2022, then-Queen Margrethe decided to make some bold moves to “future-proof” the Danish monarchy. That’s what they called it at the time, and I always found it significant that Margrethe made these moves just weeks after QEII’s passing. In any case, Margrethe decided to remove the royal titles and styles from all four of Prince Joachim’s children. Joachim is the spare, and his older brother Frederik is now king. Fred’s kids all have their royal titles and styles, while Joachim’s kids have less fancy count/countess titles and no royal styles. Well, last week, King Frederick invited his two oldest nephews (Joachim’s sons from his first marriage) to a royal palace. It was Fred’s birthday, but he had a gift for his two nephews: he awarded them the Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog.
King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark have passed the one-year mark as a reigning royal couple and continue to make bold and deliberate steps towards shaping the future direction of their monarchy. Danish palace insiders are said to be raving about the astute decision by Frederik and Mary to recently offer an olive branch to warring factions within the House of Glücksburg.
Last week, on his 57th birthday, King Frederik summoned his nephews, Count Nikolai and Count Felix of Monpezat, to join him for a family breakfast at Amalienborg Palace. It may have been the King’s birthday, but it had already been decided that the gifts would be bestowed on Nikolai and Felix. The sons of the King’s brother, Prince Joachim, and his first wife, Countess Alexandra, were awarded the prestigious Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog. The title is the second-highest honour that the King can bestow and is typically given to citizens of Denmark for outstanding service.
The Royal House’s official Instagram account shared pictures of the moment when the titles were ceremonially bestowed by the king onto his nephews, but little explanation was given for the sudden presentation. Like all Danish recipients of the Grand Cross, Count Nikolai, 25, and Count Felix, 22 will now have their own personal knight shields designed, which will be hung in the Knight Chapel at Frederiksborg Castle.
Nikolai lives in Australia with his girlfriend Benedikte Thoustrup, but travelled home to attend the King’s birthday breakfast and receive the honour in person. Afterwards, the young count said he was ‘very honored to have received the Order of the Dannebrog yesterday from my uncle on his birthday’.
The decision to award the titles at this particular moment has caught the attention of royal insiders, who have interpreted the gesture as a potential reconciliation moment two years after Prince Joachim’s children were stripped of their royal titles.
‘A stroke of genius,’ is how one source put it.
The longer Mail piece goes on and on, comparing the situation in Denmark to the Windsors’ situation with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. What’s remarkable is that no one would even dare acknowledge that the Windsors have f–ked up the Sussex situation for the past six years. Just sh-tty decision on top of sh-tty decision. What was great about the Danes’ situation is that Frederik and Mary (now the king and queen) spoke up in Joachim’s defense, and publicly showed sympathy for their niece and nephews. Frederick giving his nephews special honors was a great move because he’s showing that he still considers Joachim and his children part of the family, that they’re all on good terms and they’re always going to be invited to state occasions and family occasions. King Charles has never and would never. This is less about “King Fred watched and learned from the Windsors” and more like “the Windsors should watch how the Danes handle interfamily issues.”
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Danish Royal Family’s IG.
