Princess Mary’s handsome nephew Count Nikolai of Denmark is moving to Sydney to study at university

Princess Mary’s cousin, Count Nikolai of Denmark, moves to Australia.

The news was confirmed to the Danish publication BT by press advisor Helle von Wildenrath Løvgreen.

Handsome model Nikolai, 23, is going to study for a semester at the University of Technology (UTS) with his glamorous design girlfriend, Benedicht Thoustrup.

The couple now live together in Copenhagen and will move to Sydney from August 1 to November 30 to study.

Nikolai, whose father is Prince Joachim of Denmark, is seventh in line to the Danish throne.

Princess Mary’s cousin, Count Nikolai of Denmark, moves to Australia. Handsome model Nikolai, 23, is going to study for a semester at the University of Technology (UTS) with his glamorous design girlfriend, Benedicht Thoustrup (pictured)

BT reports that the pair are currently looking for an apartment in Sydney to live in and both have studied at Copenhagen Business School and in Paris on exchange.

In March, Count Nikolai of Denmark launched a new Instagram account to promote his modeling career after being stripped of his ‘HRH’ status by his grandmother, Queen Margrethe.

It has been a tumultuous year for the Danish royal family after the monarch stripped Prince Joachim’s son Nikolai, 23, as well as his children Athena, 11, Prince Felix, 20, and Prince Henrik, 13, of their prince and princess titles.

Pictured is Tasmanian-born Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, who is married to Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark

Pictured is Tasmanian-born Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, who is married to Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark

The model and student lives in Denmark, but has flown around the world to walk for designers in Paris and London.  He also appeared on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia

The model and student lives in Denmark, but has flown around the world to walk for designers in Paris and London. He also appeared on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia

Count Nikolai of Denmark walks the Burberry show during London Fashion Week in 2018.  In March, he launched a new Instagram account to promote his modeling career after being stripped of his 'HRH' status by his grandmother, Queen Margrethe.

Count Nikolai of Denmark walks the Burberry show during London Fashion Week in 2018. In March, he launched a new Instagram account to promote his modeling career after being stripped of his ‘HRH’ status by his grandmother, Queen Margrethe.

They are now count and countess and are referred to as their excellencies – and in January this year, the Danish royal family updated their website to show the new status.

In September, the Danish monarch announced that her grandchildren Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, will no longer hold the title “His Highness.”

At the time, the monarch stressed that the move “will be good for them in their future” and will allow the children – who have retained their position in the line of succession – to “shape their own lives without being constrained by the special considerations and duties’ that entails a formal connection to the Danish royal family.

It has been a tumultuous year for the Danish royal family after the monarch stripped Prince Joachim's son Nikolai, 23, as well as his children Athena, 11, Prince Felix, 20, and Prince Henrik, 13, of their prince and princess titles.  All pictured

It has been a tumultuous year for the Danish royal family after the monarch stripped Prince Joachim’s son Nikolai, 23, as well as his children Athena, 11, Prince Felix, 20, and Prince Henrik, 13, of their prince and princess titles. All pictured

After his grandmother’s move to strip him and his siblings of their titles “for their own good,” Nikolai said he was sad, shocked and confused.

“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 actually happened,” Prince Nikolai, Prince Joachim’s eldest son, told the Danish newspaper Extrabladet.

“I’m very confused as to why it has to happen this way,” he told reporters outside the Copenhagen apartment where he lives with his girlfriend.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark imagined attending the annual New Year's Eve dinner earlier this year

After his grandmother’s move to strip him and his siblings of their titles “for their own good,” Nikolai said he was sad, shocked and confused.

Countess Alexandra, mother of Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, was also “deeply saddened” and “shocked” by the decision.

“She can’t believe why and why now, because there’s no good reason.” Helle von Wildenrath Løvgreen, press secretary to Countess Alexandra, told CNN.

“They would lose their title anyway if they got married one day.

“Her sons are young men, so maybe they’ll get married in the near future, so why not wait until that day, so the titles would disappear one lucky day?”

Prince Joachim told Ekstra Bladet his children were ‘hurt’ by the decision – claiming he was only given a few days to break the news to them before the announcement was made public.

Prince Joachim, the brother of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, is now married to Princess Marie of Denmark.

Prince Joachim told Ekstra Bladet his children were 'hurt' by the decision - claiming he was only given a few days to break the news to them before the announcement was made public.  The picture shows the Danish royal family

Prince Joachim told Ekstra Bladet his children were ‘hurt’ by the decision – claiming he was only given a few days to break the news to them before the announcement was made public. The picture shows the Danish royal family