Princess Benedikte, the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II, spoke today about the queen's decision to remove the princely titles from Prince Joachim's four children.
She stopped to answer a few questions for reporters who were waiting for her arrival at the OK Fonden nursing home in Hornbæk.
"I think that of course, it is difficult for them at the beginning, that is absolutely clear, but my sister makes wise decisions, also as queen, and thinks ahead to the future and not right here and now, and I think that is the most important thing, said Princess Benedikte to the press present.
The 78-year-old Princess is 11th (and last) in the line of succession to the Danish throne. Her children were excluded from the succession because they were educated in Germany and not in Denmark
Crown Princess Mary, the wife of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Frederik, also answered questions from the press when she arrived at an International youth conference in Øksnehallen.
She said: "I can understand that it is a difficult decision to make and a very difficult decision to receive. Change can be difficult and can really hurt. But this does not mean that the decision is not the right one. We will also look at our children's titles when the time comes. Today we do not know what the royal house will look like in Christian's time, or when Christian's time begins to approach."
16 comments:
I love Princess Benedikte's response- the voice of reason!
Interesting that Joachim's younger children aren't excluded from the succession though educated in France not Denmark, unlike his cousins.
Did mean to say that Princess Benedikte’s were educated in Germany and that is the reason for their exclusion from the line of succession?
Yes, it was decided by the king that if her children were educated in Germany they would not have succession rights ... different times - and Henrik and Athena further down the line of succession now
Both CP Mary and Princess Benedikte have given very measured and thoughtful responses. Hopefully the situation will begin to calm down and Joachim will work to help his children move forward as members of the family.
Why didn't the Queen promulgate a general new rule about who's born and who's not born a Prince of Denmark? "Just the children of the monarch and of the heir apparent".
Instead, she has stripped her grandchildren of their titles not as the result of a rule but as an arbitrary act fueled by personal reasons.
What would we think if Charles III, for the sake of "slimming the monarchy" (as they say now) demoted Princesses Alexandra, Beatrice and Eugenie? And the Kent and Gloucester cousins?
Rules must be general, not personal, and never retroactive when they restrict rights.
I think it would feel like a kick in the teeth if it were my children or me. I don’t think the Queen has handled it very well if what the parents of the children are saying is accurate.
Princess Benediktes children grown up in Germany, not in Denmark.
Princess Anne Marie is related to her husband Konstantin of Greece and their children grown up there.
Its a typing mistake below about Germany.
You weite the children dont grew up in Germany, but the DID.
thanks fixed Anne Marie lost her right when she married another Sovereign. She and her descendants do not have rights to the Danish throne
I still don’t see a justification for this decision. If she didn’t want them to get money from the civil list then just stop payment. There must be some reason we’re not getting. Maybe the queen is starting to get a little gaga as her late husband acted. But, he got really weird toward the end.(Sorry, don’t want to sound cruel.)
Marlene,
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the strangely public way this has played out. I remember all of the fuss created a decade ago (more?) when the late Prince Henrik "retired" temporarily to France and complained about his treatment at home. I would have thought the Danish royals, who've always struck me as pretty down-to-earth (as royalty goes) would have kept the recriminations private.
Caroline
(P.S. This is my first comment, but I am a longtime reader, going back to the old Royalty Monthly days. Thank you for putting your vast knowledge out there and for providing such thoughtful commentary over the years.
You write...typing mistake by myself.
Thank you for your answer.
Do you know, that a Prince of Denmark was King of Greece and changed his Name?
He was related to the british and the russian Kingdom, about two of his sisters.
Cu
Andrea
Yes, Andrew Wilhelm of Denmark was elected King of the Hellenes, took the name George.
Paintbrush. none of Joachim's kids get annuities from the Danish government. Titles are not a birthright.
Marlene,
I think you are right with your comments…many say that Princess Anne was right to decline titles for her children giving them a freedom they otherwise wouldn’t have and perhaps, observing the fuss across the channel created by a second son and his wife fretting and fussing over titles, Queen Margrethe decided to take decisive action now! Her grandchildren are STILL ‘counts’ and ‘countess’ but removing ‘prince’ and ‘princess’ puts them a little at arm’s length from the monarchy and I think that’s not a bad thing for all concerned.
Nanette
Bunty, Anne never declined titles for her children. In their pre=wedding tv interview. Mark Philiips stated that he was not offered an earldom and did not want one. Angus Ogilvy said years later in an interview that he regretted declining an earldom from the queen when he married Alexandra because he thought it set a terrible precedent for Anne's children
Ah- well, thank you for informing me - I wonder how they all feel about it now so many years later.
Post a Comment