Prince Joachim of Denmark to Attend Mom Queen Margrethe's Abdication Solo After She Stripped His Kids' Titles

Queen Margrethe's younger son moved to the United States last year

Prince Joachim of Denmark will attend the abdication of his mother Queen Margrethe without his wife and children.

Queen Margrethe’s second son and his wife, Princess Marie, relocated to the United States last year with two of their children nine months after the monarch stripped Prince Joachim’s four kids of their royal titles, and Hello! has reported that Prince Joachim will attend her abdication day events on Sunday solo.

"Prince Joachim will be there, but the children go to school, there is no special reason," a palace spokesperson told the outlet. The rep added that Princess Marie will stay in Washington, D.C., where they now live, and that Prince Joachim will leave Denmark the next day.

Prince Joachim is a father of four, and shares his two eldest sons, Count Nikolai, 24, and Count Felix, 21, with his first wife Alexandra. They divorced in 2005 after a decade of marriage, and Joachim remarried in 2008. He and Marie went on to welcome a son and daughter — Count Henrik, 13, and Countess Athena, 11.

Related: Queen Margrethe of Denmark Makes Last Public Appearance Before Controversial Abdication

Queen Margrethe rewrote history last January when she stripped Prince Joachim’s four children of their royal titles in a decision she later described as “necessary future-proofing of the monarchy.” The siblings had previously been styled as prince or princess and known as "His/Her Highness" since birth.

Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena each retained their respective places in the line of succession and are now known instead by His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat. The titles passed from their late grandfather Prince Henrik, who died in 2018.

Queen Margrethe, 83, announced the title switch in September 2022, and the change was made effective on Jan. 1, 2023. Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and Alexandra all spoke out about the shocking news, and Joachim claimed he was only given five days’ notice of the major change.

“To tell my children that on New Year's their identity will be taken from them. I am very, very sorry to see them uncomprehending about what is happening over their heads,” he told Danish newspaper B.T. after the announcement.

Related: Why the New King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark Won't Have a Coronation Like King Charles

Queen Margrethe, however, maintained that the plans had been in motion for a while and said the move was made in the best interests of her grandchildren. She also issued an apology saying she "underestimated" how greatly the shock of the news would affect the family dynamic. The initial announcement from the palace said that "the Queen's decision is in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years,” and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s similar decision in 2019 came to mind for royal watchers.

The title strip shakeup did not affect the four children of Queen Margrethe’s eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, who will become the king and queen of Denmark when Queen Margrethe officially abdicates in a few days. The royal couple are parents to Prince Christian, 18, Princess Isabella, 16, and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

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More title changes are on the way with Frederik acceding the throne. Courtiers confirmed shortly after Queen Margrethe’s unexpected abdication announcement on New Year’s Eve that Prince Christian will be known as the Crown Prince when Frederik becomes king.

“HRH Prince Christian becomes the heir to the throne and will henceforth be referred to as HRH Crown Prince Christian,” the Danish Royal House said in a statement.

Unlike the British royal family and some other royal houses around the world, King Frederik and Queen Mary will not be crowned in a coronation service. Instead, a lower-key proclamation of the new reign will be made at Christiansborg Palace on Jan. 14, the 52nd anniversary of Queen Margrethe’s accession.

According to Royal Central, the prime minister has proclaimed each new monarch on the balcony of the Danish palace since the early 1900s, and the Danish Royal House has shared the full schedule for the succession on Sunday online.

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