How Denmark’s Queen Margrethe sparked a royal row by stripping her own grandchildren of their titles

Queen Margrethe of Denmark tonight announced her shock abdication after 52 years on the throne.

The surprise announcement, made live on television during the Queen's traditional New Year's Eve speech, comes 15 months after the 83-year-old stripped four of her grandchildren of their royal titles.

In September 2022, the monarch removed the titles of prince and princess, as well as the titles of 'His/Her Highness' from Nikolai, 24, Felix, 21, Henrik, 14, and Athena, 11, who are the children of her second son, Prince Joachim.

She said she hoped it would help them “shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and obligations” that a formal link with the Danish royal family entails.

Like her abdication, the stripping of her own grandchildren's titles came as a major shock and led to a royal row.

Last year, in the days that followed, Prince Joachim publicly spoke out against his mother's decision – claiming that his children born from Joachim's first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg – and that Henrik and Athena had been 'harmed' in the process.

Months later, the sixth in line to the throne admitted there was a 'lack of communication' within the royal family in the run-up to the shock announcement.

Joachim told local news channel BT: 'There is a lot to work on. Communication was what was missing. Now we have met and we are on the right track.'

Shortly after his children were stripped of his titles, Joachim claimed he was given only five days' notice before the news was made public.

Following the Queen's announcement, Joachim spoke to Danish publication Ekstra Bladet outside the Danish embassy in Paris, where he lives with his French-born wife Princess Marie and his two youngest children, and said his four children were “hurt” by the their grandmother's decision. .

'I was given five days' notice to tell them. In May I was presented with a plan that broadly stated that this would happen when the children each turned 25. Now I only had five days to tell them. Athena will turn eleven years old in January,” he clarified at the time.

Meanwhile, his ex-wife Alexandra said her sons, Nikolai and Felix, felt they had been “left out” of the institution and the decision had come as a bolt from the blue.

The Royal House released a further statement, saying: 'As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming.

'We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen's wish to make the Royal House future-proof will be respected.'

In an interview with local Danish media last February, Queen Margrethe had revealed that she thought it was better for her to take action rather than leave the burden to Crown Prince Frederik as the future king.

“It was important to me that it would never be Frederik's fate to make such a decision,” she said at the time.

'It's better that I did. Because then it is the old lady who made the decision. I don't feel like going into it to be honest.

'I could mention a few things, but you don't have to say everything. But it's still a bit too private to talk about.'

They are now Counts and Countess and are called Their Excellencies – and in January the Danish Royal Family updated their website to reflect the new status.

In last year's New Year's speech, Margrethe admitted: 'It hurts me that the relationship with Prince Joachim and (his wife) Princess Marie has gotten into trouble.

'Difficulties and disagreements can arise in any family, including mine. The whole country has witnessed this.”

She added that she was “confident that the family can enter the new year together with confidence, understanding and new courage.”

Queen Margrethe was proclaimed queen on January 15, 1972, a day after her father, King Frederik IX, died after a short illness.

Queen Margrethe is Europe's longest-serving monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

In February she underwent successful back surgery.

In a bombshell announcement this evening, she said: “The operation naturally gave rise to reflection on the future – whether it was time to leave responsibility to the next generation,” she said in her speech.

“I've decided this is the right time. On January 14, 2024, 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark.

“I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik.”

The Danish royal family has been rocked by rumors in recent weeks – after photos emerged of Crown Prince Frederik enjoying a night out with a Mexican socialite in Madrid in October.

Despite swirling rumors about the alleged 'affair', Crown Prince Frederik, 55, and his Australian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, 51, appeared in love as they entered Aarhus Cathedral on Sunday, December 24.