Prince Christian of Denmark ‘has one more year of freedom’ before he turns 18, expert claims

Prince Christian of Denmark’s life will change ‘significantly’ from next year when he turns 18, a Danish royal expert has said.

The eldest son of Crown Prince Frederik and third in line to the throne today celebrates his 17th birthday, after an extraordinary month for the Danish royal family.

After Queen Margrethe’s decision to strip Christian’s cousins, Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10 of their royal titles, the family became embroiled in a row between Prince Joachim and the rest of the family .

While the dust seems to have settled on the row, royal historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen told the Danish publication BT that Prince Christian has only one year left to enjoy the ‘freedom’ he now has before he turns 18.

Lars said: ‘This is the last year where he has his freedom to do what he wants. He will be fairly protected from day to day. There is an important distinction when he turns 18.”

The publication explains that the Danish royal family has an ‘unwritten agreement’ with the press to ‘let children be children’ within the family – meaning the royal children can live their lives behind closed doors for the most part.

But when they are adults, they can give interviews to the press much more freely.

Lars further explained that when Christian reaches the age of 18, he will join the Council of State and will be given more responsibilities in his role, including carrying out royal assignments.

Crucially, he said that if Christian’s parents, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, are out of the country for whatever reason, the young Christian will act as regent.

In recent years, teenage Prince Christian has made headlines in Denmark after he was caught mischief with his friends.

Last month, he was caught on video sprinkling champagne on his friends and peers during a ski trip at school.

Earlier in September, he was also criticized during the silver jubilee celebrations of his grandmother, Queen Margrethe, when he appeared to make controversial hand gestures as he posed for photos on the red carpet.

BT reported that the teenage prince had made an inverted “OK” sign, causing a stir as the sign has come to be known as “white power” in some far-right circles of the internet.

While it was widely believed that the act was a dumb joke rather than a political statement, royal experts in Denmark warned the prince should think more carefully about his behavior in public appearances.

At the time, royal correspondent Jacob Heinel Jensen told the publication, “Most likely it’s just a prank he plays on his friends, but it’s certainly not an appropriate event.”

Prince Christian’s 17th birthday comes after a turbulent few weeks for the Danish royal family after Queen Margrethe, 82, announced that his cousins ​​would lose their princely titles from January 1, 2023.

The Queen said Prince Joachim’s four children would be known as His/Her Excellencies from next year and will instead have the titles of Earl/Countess.

In response, Prince Joachim told Ekstra Bladet that 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.

He later admitted that his relationship with his brother, Crown Prince Frederik, whose children were not affected by the change, was “complicated.”

In an extraordinary statement, Queen Margrethe responded with a public statement apologizing for the way her decision was announced, but insisting it was the right thing to do.

She added that her decision was made to give her grandchildren a more normal life.

After nearly two weeks of reported tensions within the family, Prince Joachim and Queen Margrethe are reported to have held talks to smooth things over.