Photo: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty
Queen Margrethe IIandPrince Joachimof Denmark are finding a way forward.
The Danish Queen, 82, met with her 53-year-old son for the first time since she stripped his four children of theirprince and princess titles. Last week,B.T.reported that Prince Joachim traveled to meet the Queen to discuss the sensitive subject, and flew home to Paris on Thursday night.
“It is correct that the Queen and Prince Joachim have spoken together at Fredensborg,” a spokesperson for the Royal Household confirmed to the Danish paper. “Everyone agrees to look forward, and as the Queen herself has expressed, she and Prince Joachim want calm to find their way through this situation.”
In a second story,B.T.added thatCrown Prince Frederik, the Queen’s eldest son and successor, was not present for the meeting at Fredensborg Palace, the monarch’s royal residence in the autumn months.
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Opening up toB.T.in a joint interview with his wife Princess Marie on Oct. 1, Prince Joachim said relations remain strained within the royal family after the announcement.
When the reporter asked if the dynamic felt difficult, Marie, 46, replied, “It’s complicated, namely. That’s it.”
The prince added that Queen Margrethe “unfortunately” had not connected with them since releasing the title change news.
“It’s also family. Or whatever we want to call it,” Joachim said.
Princess Marie and Prince Joachim of Denmark.BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty
Princess Marie added that she and her husband “would have liked to have had time to talk about it” with their family. Joachim shares sons Nikolai and Felix with his first wife,Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. He got remarried to Marie in 2008, and they went on to welcome Henrik and Athena.
“The reality must still be: whether you modernize or slim down, it must be done in a proper way,” Joachim toldB.T. “It’s about children. Orderliness and children. It is a very heavy matter.”
Queen Margrethemaintainedthat the plans had been in motion for a while, and that the decision was made in the best interest of her grandchildren.
Queen Margrethe.JOHN SIBLEY/POOL/AFP via Getty
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Offering comment on the day the news was announced, the Queen told reporters, “It is a consideration I have had for quite a long time and I think it will be good for them in their future. That is the reason,“Hello!reported.
Later, sheissued an apologyfor how the situation unfolded, saying she “underestimated” how the news would affect Joachim and his family.
“I 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,” Margrethe said in part.
“No one should be in doubt that my children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride,” she concluded. “I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation.”
IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty
The Queenwent on to attendthe state opening of Parliament with Prince Frederik and Princess Mary on Oct. 4, though avoided questions from the press about herdecision to stripsome of her grandchildren’s titles.
While their first cousins prepare to navigate a new future, things remain the same for Frederik and Mary’s kids. As the children of the Crown Prince couple,Prince Christian, 16,Princess Isabella, 15, and 11-year-old twinsPrince VincentandPrincess Josephinewill remain in the royal house for the foreseeable future.
source: people.com
