COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) \u2014 Denmark\u2019s popular monarch, Queen Margrethe II, has apologized for upsetting members of her family with a decision to strip the royal titles from four of her grandchildren, but has refused to change her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, the royal palace of Europe\u2019s oldest royal monarchy announced that as of Jan. 1, the four children of Margrethe\u2019s youngest son, Prince Joachim, would no longer be called prince or princess but instead count or countess of Monpezat \u2014 the birth title of her late husband, French-born Prince Henrik. They should be addressed as \u201cexcellencies\u201d and would maintain their places in the Danish order of succession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is my duty and my desire as queen to ensure that the monarchy always shapes itself in keeping with the times. Sometimes, this means that difficult decisions must be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment,\u201d Margrethe, 82, said in a statement released Monday by the royal household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis adjustment … I view as a necessary future-proofing of the monarchy,\u201d Europe longest reigning monarch said. She has not altered her decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have made my decision as queen, mother and grandmother. But, as a mother and grandmother, I have underestimated the extent to which much my younger son and his family feel affected. That makes a big impression, and for that I am sorry,\u201d Margrethe said in the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commenting hours after the announcement had been made by the palace on Sept. 28, a visibly moved Joachim told the Ekstra Bladet daily in Paris where he lives and works, that \u201care all very sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that. They themselves find themselves in a situation they do not understand,\u201d Joachim, 53, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The change affects his four children: Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix, Prince Henrik, and Princess Athena. Asked how the decision had affected the relationship with his mother, Joachim replied: \u201cI don\u2019t think I need to elaborate here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joachim\u2019s first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, who is the mother of Nikolai and Felix, said they were confused, saddened and in shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe children feel ostracized. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them,\u201d Alexandra said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joachim has been married to Princess Marie since 2008 and she is the mother of the two younger children, Henrik and Athena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Margrethe\u2019s younger son, who since September 2020 has been defense attach\u00e9 at the Danish Embassy in Paris, said he received a five-day warning of the change. He said he was originally presented with a plan in May that would have removed the children\u2019s titles when they reached age 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Margrethe\u2019s decision was in line with moves that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years. In 2019, Sweden\u2019s King Carl XVI Gustaf announced that the children of his younger children, Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip, would lose their royal titles. His oldest daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, is heir to the throne, followed by her children. They will retain their titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Denmark which has a constitutional monarchy, the heir to the throne is Crown Prince Frederik. His oldest son, Prince Christian, is next in line, followed by Frederik\u2019s three younger children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Margrethe was proclaimed queen on Jan. 15, 1972, a day after the death of her father, King Frederik IX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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