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Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark are moving with their family to the US six months after their children were stripped of their royal titles in a saga reminiscent of Megxit.
The 53-year-old royal, who is sixth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, will become defence industry attaché at the Embassy of Denmark in Washington DC.
Prince Joachim is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II, who last September removed the Princely titles from his four children Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena.
His move to the US has parallels to when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals in Britain in 2020 to begin their new life in North America.
Prince Joachim said: ‘I am proud that I still get the opportunity to represent Denmark internationally in the area of security and defence. Transatlantic cooperation is a high-priority area, and I am honoured that they have found me qualified for the task.’
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark are moving to Washington DC this summer
(From left) Felix, Princess Marie, Prince Joachim, Athena, Henrik and Nikolai last September
Last year, a split arose between Prince Joachim and the Danish royal house when Queen Margrethe decided that his four children should lose their titles as prince and princess.
Denmark’s popular long-serving monarch later apologised for upsetting members of her family with the decision – with Prince Joachim publicly expressing his frustration – but she has refused to change her mind.
The official reason was to allow the children to live more normal lives, and follows similar moves by other royal families in Europe, including the Windsors, to slim down their monarchies, the palace said.
But Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg, Prince Joachim’s first wife and mother of his two older children, said at the time: ‘We are all confused by the decision.
‘We are saddened and in shock. This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracized.
‘They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them.’
And Prince Joachim himself added in an interview with Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet that: ‘We are all very sad. It’s never fun to see your children being harmed. They are been put in a situation they do not understand.’
Joachim and Marie pictured with their children Henrik and Athena in December 2022
Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and their children Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena in 2019
It had been reported that Prince Joachim was first informed of the decision in May, however he said this was not the case – adding that he had been given only five days’ notice.
Also at the time, a resurfaced interview revealed Prince Joachim had admitted he struggled to find his place in Denmark’s royal family – while his wife Princess Marie said she had ‘no choice’ but to leave Copenhagen for Paris amid an ‘internal power struggle’.
The queen’s four other grandchildren were born to Crown Prince Frederik, 54, who is Joachim’s older brother.
These four will retain their titles but when they come of age only the future king, Prince Christian, will receive an appanage, a decision taken in 2016.
As for Prince Joachim, he will join the Danish Embassy in Washington on September 1, where he will cover the US and Canada as an attaché.
He will be in the position for three years but has the possibility of extending this.
Prince Joachim has an extensive military background with the Danish Armed Forces and elsewhere starting from 1987.
He completed his military training at the École Militaire in Paris in 2020.
Queen Margrethe II, pictured at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen last October
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals in 2020 and left the UK
The prince held a similar position at the Danish embassy in Paris since 2020 but announced in November that he would leave that role this summer.
Denmark’s parliament will now have to give its blessing for the prince, who is not salaried by the embassy, to receive his royal appanage or maintenance money while abroad.
Queen Margrethe, 82, is Europe’s only reigning queen and the continent’s longest serving monarch.
Last year she tested positive for Covid, just days after attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London.
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