Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown
Revocation of titles at European royal houses - liberation from responsibility or unseemly favoritism?
The times they are a-changin’ for the Danish and British royals. The Danes have lagged far behind their British counterparts in the way of scandal, feuding, and gossip, but perhaps they can gain a little ground.
Danish Queen Margrethe II had a week of festivities planned to celebrate the golden jubilee of her reign, culminating on the weekend of September 10-11. But when Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, died on September 8, the main events in Denmark were postponed or toned down out of respect for the longer-reigning monarch. With Elizabeth’s passing, Margrethe herself became the longest-reigning monarch in Europe.
Those northern European royals all look alike
The Danish royal family received an invitation to Elizabeth’s funeral for two persons instead of the three expected for Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary, so Mary had to stay home. When the BBC, which broadcast the funeral from Westminster Abbey, announced the arrival of the various foreign dignitaries, it identified, Margrethe and Frederik as “the King and Queen of Holland” and then “the King and Queen of the Netherlands.”
On September 21, the royal media service reported that Margrethe had tested positive (DK) for Covid-19 and had to cancel her appearance at Danish Parliament again.
Demotion to excellency
On September 28, the same source announced that on January 1 four of Margrethe’s grandchildren, the sons and daughter of her second son, Prince Joachim, would no longer bear the titles “Prince” and “Princess” (DK). The stated purpose was that they “to a much greater degree could shape their own existence without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal relation to the Royal House as an institution entails.” The grandchildren would retain the titles of Count and Countess of Monpezat and their positions in the line of succession and would be addressed as “Excellency.”
“I think it is good for them,” said Margrethe, who had reportedly considered the change for a while.
Liberation or identity theft?
One person who promptly disagreed with the sovereign was Countess Alexandra (DK), Prince Joachim’s first wife and the mother of two of the princes: “We are saddened by this and in shock. [The children] cannot understand why their identity has been taken from them.”
The tabloid B.T.’s “royal correspondent,” Jacob Heinel Jensen, observed that Alexandra, a former commoner herself, had previously always done what had been agreed upon with the royal family (that is, after her divorce), but this pronouncement was “unusual.” He added that the queen’s decision was “incomprehensible” and “resembles a deliberate attack on Prince Joachim’s family” revealing a conflict in the royal family of the sort that “we are not used to in Denmark.”
Downsizing is the new fall of eagles
Lars Hovbakke Søren, a historian and expert on the royal family, also found Alexandra’s remarks surprising because she is no longer a royal herself and there has been a general tendency in Europe to slim down the extended royal families. For example, Swedish Princess Madeleine’s entire family had their royal status revoked.
Indeed, in an update of the British royal website on the same date, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were knocked down a few rungs on the line of succession and stripped of their HRH title. They now appear above only the disgraced Prince Andrew, who settled accusations of sexual assault out of court. The move is seen as a snub by the new King Charles III to punish Harry for defecting from his royal duties. One area where a constitutional monarch still has divine right is apparently in designating royalty.
A gift to tabloids
When Prince Joachim (DK), who works as an attaché at the Danish Embassy in Paris, was contacted for a reaction, he shared Alexandra’s sentiments: “It is never fun to see your children harmed in this way.” He had been informed in May that his children would lose their titles when they each reached the age of 25 but learned of the new plan only five days before. When asked how this would affect his relations with his mother, he responded, “I don’t think I need to elaborate on that here.”
Thomas Larsen, another expert on Danish royalty, called Margrethe’s decision a “violent escalation of the royal family’s internal crisis.” The family, and Margrethe in particular, have enjoyed widespread approval even among some subjects who think the monarchy is outmoded. But Joachim has always been in the shadow of the popular crown prince. This turn of events may win him some sympathy, surely more than that afforded to Harry, his more enterprising and ostentatious double.