Queen Margrethe admits to ‘difficulties and hurt’ after removing grandchildren’s titles

Denmark's Queen Margrethe pays her respect to the coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, following her death, during her lying-in-state at Westminster Hall on September 18. Photo / AP

The Queen of Denmark has opened up about the “difficulties” and “hurt” she caused in the Danish royal family after she decided to suddenly strip four of her grandchildren of their titles.

Queen Margrethe, 82, announced in September that the four offspring of her youngest son, Prince Joachim, 53, would no longer be able to use the title of prince or princess after January 1. Instead they will be known as the counts and countesses of Monpezat.

That dramatic downgrading came into force on Sunday.

Her rationale was that the children – Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10 – should be allowed to live more normal lives.

The decision was also part of efforts to streamline the royal family and adapt it to modern times, the royal palace said.

But speaking in a televised New Year address on Saturday, the queen said she was saddened by the trouble she had caused.

“That the relationship with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie has run into difficulties hurts me,” the queen said.

“Difficulties and disagreements can arise in any family, including mine. The whole country has witnessed this.”

She hoped the family could move on.

“We have now had a quieter period and time for reflection, and I am sure that our family can embark on the New Year together with confidence, understanding and new courage.”

A recently released image of the Danish royal family. The image was taken on September 11 when the Queen hosted a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace on the 50th anniversary of her accession to the Danish throne. Photo / Per Morten Abrahamsen

The bad blood and upset caused by Queen Margrethe’s move has striking parallels with the toxicity within the British royal family, amid a public debate over whether Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex should lose their titles.

A survey by YouGov at the weekend found that 44 per cent of respondents thought the

Duke of Sussex should be stripped of his royal title.

Royal commentators say that King Charles III will be closely watching how Queen Margrethe fares in her overhaul of the Danish royals, amid speculation that he too favours a slimmed-down British monarchy.

Crown Prince Frederik, who is next in line to the the Danish throne, and his wife Crown Princess Mary. Photo / Getty Images

Announcing the change in late September, the Danish royal palace said: “Prince Joachim’s descendants will have to be addressed as excellencies in the future. The queen’s decision is in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years”.

But the decision caused deep dissatisfaction among the affected royals, with Prince Joachim saying that his children had been “mistreated”. His wife, Princess Marie, claimed her youngest child had been bullied at school.

Count Nikolai, Prince Joachim’s eldest son, said he was “very bewildered” by the decision.

To add further fuel to the fire, Princess Marie said that their relationship with the heir apparent to the throne, Crown Prince Frederik, and his Australian-born wife, Crown Prince Mary, had become “complicated”.

Crown Prince Mary, who comes from Tasmania, has supported the queen’s slimming down of the Danish royal family – perhaps not surprisingly, since her four children will retain their titles.

“Change can be difficult. But this does not mean the decision is not the right one,” she said last year.