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.
And one such recent move, impacting the extended Danish royal family, may be their most astute yet.
Undoubtedly, King Frederik, 57, and Queen Mary, 53, would have closely examined not only the previous decisions of former monarch Queen Margrethe II, but also those of other royal families further afield, for inspiration on what strategies have succeeded – and what to avoid at all costs.
When it comes to the latter, they need to look no further than Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle‘s unceremonious exit from the frontline of British royalty, and the many fumbled attempts they have since made to get back into the fold.
In light of this, 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.
King Frederik and Queen Mary celebrated his 57th birthday on May 26 with an appearance on the Amalienborg Palace balcony, after a crucial moment for the extended Danish royal family
On the morning of his birthday, King Frederik (centre) invited his nephews Count Felix (left) Count Nikolai (right) to join him at the palace, where they were awarded prestigious royal titles
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.
The accompanying caption read: ‘At a private event before the family breakfast at Amalienborg, on the occasion of His Majesty the King’s 57th birthday, the King awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog to Their Excellencies Count Nikolai and Count Felix.’
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.
More than two years after their grandmother Queen Margrethe II stripped them of the princely status they had held since their births, their uncle King Frederik awarded Count Nikolai (left) and Count Felix (right) the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog
The Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog is the second-highest honour a Danish monarch can bestow and is typically given to Danish citizens as a result of outstanding service
In September 2022, former monarch Queen Margrethe II announced the decision to revoke the royal titles of four of her eight grandchildren.
The decision impacted then-titled Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix along with their younger siblings Prince Henrik and Princess Athena, who were born to Joachim’s current wife, Princess Marie.
The abrupt and unexpected decision was made by Margrethe, now 85, in the 50th year of her reign as a move to reportedly ‘future-proof’ the royal family and ‘slim down’ the court.
At the time, the then-Queen explained that removing her grandchildren’s titles was to enable them to ‘shape their own lives, without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation to the Royal House of Denmark entails’.
The decision was also ‘in line with similar adjustments’ made by neighbouring royal households, where royals lower down in the line of succession have had their HRH titles removed.
But what felt unfair about the decree was that while Joachim’s four children would all be downgraded to Counts and Countesses, Frederik and Mary’s own four children Prince Christian, Princess Isabella and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine – would all keep theirs.
In the immediate aftermath, Prince Joachim, his current wife, his ex-wife and his adult children all publicly lambasted the decision, with the Prince angrily declaring that his children had been ‘mistreated’.
‘Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in this way?’ he questioned.
Count Nikolai said in a later interview: ‘My whole family and I are, of course, very sad.
‘We are, as my parents have also stated, in shock at this decision and at how quickly it has actually gone. I don’t understand why it had to happen this way.’
The core members of the Danish royal family appeared on the palace balcony on May 26 to greet crowds of well-wishers. In attendance were King Frederik (centre), his wife Queen Mary (centre left) and former monarch Queen Margrethe (centre right). Also present were three of Frederik’s children (left to right) Princess Isabelle, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent
Hours before this balcony appearance, Frederik and Mary’s decision to bestow titles on the sons of the King’s brother was viewed by royal insiders as an astute decision to preserve the legacy of their reign and prevent future family rifts
Mary and Frederik, who were Crown Prince and Crown Princess at the time, dutifully supported the Queen’s decision – but Mary managed to simultaneously toe the line between loyalty and compassion.
The Aussie-born royal said soon after the announcement: ‘Change can be difficult and can really hurt. But this doesn’t mean that the decision is not the right one.’
As news of the royal family demotion generated international headlines, Margrethe herself eventually conceded that she had ‘underestimated the extent to which my younger son and his family feel affected… and for that I am sorry.’
Despite the apology, the damage was done, and it widened a pre-existing rift simmering between Prince Joachim and the core royal family members.
With his children’s titles downgraded, Prince Joachim took up a role as defence industry attaché at the Danish Embassy in the United States and relocated with his wife Princess Marie and their two youngest children to Washington, D.C.
It appeared to be a clear effort to distance themselves in the aftermath of the stripped-titles fiasco.
But hurt feelings continued to ache, evidenced by an interview given just last year when Prince Joachim and Princess Marie admitted to The Washington Post they had ‘complicated’ feelings about the Queen’s decision to remove their children’s titles.
At the start of 2024, Margrethe handed over the reins of the monarchy to her son Frederik, who assumed the throne alongside wife Mary.
Prince Joachim and his wife Princess Marie, pictured here in 2023 attending a palace event, admitted to harbouring ‘complicated’ feelings after their children’s royal titles were stripped
Joachim and Marie were stunned by the abrupt decision to remove the royal titles of the Prince’s four children, pictured here in 2019. They are now referred to as (from left to right) Countess Athena, Count Felix, Count Henrik and Count Nikolai
Prince Joachim attended his brother’s ascension ceremony in January 2024, but tellingly, he came alone and without his family.
But with the passing of time and the establishment of a new reign, the King and Queen’s latest decision to award prestigious titles to Joachim’s eldest children is being seen as a deliberate move to thaw frosty relations within the family.
Perhaps observing how a similar unresolved family rift unfolded in the UK has served as a warning sign for what can happen when royal issues are left to fester.
At various intervals, Prince Harry continues to come forward to provide private details about his icy relationship with the British monarchy, including that his father the King ‘won’t speak to him’ amid legal battles over the Sussexes’ revoked security privileges in the UK.
Perhaps the Danish royals have observed this tussle from afar and decided it may be worthwhile taking a different path.
Slowly but gently making reparative steps within their own household is surely a wry attempt to prevent potential future public attacks from disgruntled extended royal family members.
Furthermore, it’s perhaps a signal of the future direction King Frederik and Queen Mary intend to take as they strive to create a reign with an unblemished legacy.
