New Titles for Queen Margrethe's Descendants: 2008 & 2022, 2024

[Tatiana Maria]

I know this makes no sense to me as well. But I don't know if there's any sense of urgency to strip the Greek royals of their Prince of Denmark title which is pursuant to the Royal Cabinet Order of 1774 as they are agnatic descendants of George I of Greece.

The Royal Cabinet Order of 1774 does not even mention the Prince of Denmark title. It was solely about the predicates Royal Highness and Highness, and was issued when the younger half-brother of King Christian VII married, in order to deny HRH to his future children.

”Da Vi have fundet, at de Verdigheds-Ord, som tillegges og bør tilkomme Personerne af Vores Kongelige-Huus, deels ikke svare, enten til Vort Suveraine Konge Huses Højhed eller andre Konge-Huses brug, deels ikke ere bestemmte nok, efter de Kongl Personers indbyrders Rang: Saa haver Vi allernaadigst villet for den følgende Tiid fastsette dene naturlige og uforanderlige Regel:
/1. Alle een Konges Sønner og Døttre tillegges det Ære Navn: Kongelig Højhed.
/2. Een Kron-Printses Sønner og Døttre fører det Navn: Kongelig Højhed.
/3. Een Arveprintses Sønner og Døttre tilkomer det prædicat: Højhed: hvilket bestandigen skal gives alle en Arve-Printses Mandlige Efterkomere, da disse og i Kirke-bønnerne og ellers skal have den Plads, som dem efter Konge-Loven tilkommer.
/4. Printsernes Gemahler tilkommer same Ære-Navn som deres Gemaler.
Thi haver Vores danske Cancellie at bekientgiøre dene Vores allerhøjeste Villie for alle Collegierne og for alle andre Vedkomende.

Christian R.

Friederichsberg
den 23. Sept: 1774.”
​

Source: https://regeringen.se/4a718f/conten...-av-anslaget-till-hovet-sou-202174-bilaga.pdf

 

[angieuk]

For anyone who is interested in reading further on the story; and other Royal Houses.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11266903/Danish-royal-family-midst-Megxit-expert-says.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...andchildren-titles-inspired-King-Charles.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...im-admitted-struggling-place-family-2021.html

Crown Princess Mary of Denmarks speaks.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...-Princess-Mary-says-childrens-arent-safe.html

 

[Izzie]

I agree that the Royal Court's communication team should be overhauled massively. They really haven't got much right recently and while much of this particular mess is the Queen's fault for her choice of method handling it, the press team could have helped much more than they have e.g. not putting Mary in a position where she had to comment, at least before Fred has.

Honestly...and I am sure I will get pushback on this (but oh well)...the communications department needs to be taken down to the studs and rebuilt...and frankly, IMO....it should be Frederik and Mary to do it. Sorry...they are constantly the ones having to deal with the press, microphones in their faces and then being judged/criticized for anything they say or don't say. Therefore, if they are the face of the DRF...they should call the shots re PR, media relations and communications. They reap the rewards and/or consequences...so they should have control of it.

And I agree...Mary should not have been put in the position she was put in today. She actually looked nervous IMO. I don't blame her. Show knows anything she said, didn't say, how she said it, how she didn't say it would be put under a microscope. And I call a spade a spade....once the fallout of this happened, Frederik should have left St. Tropez and come home to deal with t his. THIS is more important than a boat race. IF he was summoned home from NYC during the very important UNGA trip..then he could have come home now. Like I said, I call a spade a spade. And I feel for Frederik. He is really in between a rock and a hard place. There is zero he can say right now that will not put him in a very delicate and awkward situation/position. But if I were advising M&F...I would have called Frederik home. The first comment from the Crown Prince Couple should have come from Frederik (as the heir and brother) and not from Mary. Not to say she is not capable of making a statement...just that in this case the initial statement should have been from Frederik as the head of the Crown Prince family.

https://www.bt.dk/royale/efter-staerke-udmeldinger-fra-kongehuset-der-er-nu-en-tydelig-opdeling

 

[polyesco]

Except for their name .

Well Nikolai has said he prefers just Nikolai to Prince Nikolai.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1575836379078356992

This and in other interviews he has stated that in the modeling world he can be just Nikolai.
On one hand they claim this but in the majority of his covers Prince is stated everywhere. For me part of this is behind Alexandra's fury.

Mary only answered today because she had an event, Benedikte too. No events equals no need to put out a statement.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

What I think is very sad and might not be well accepted by the children and their parents is the fact that other people such as the Greek royal family ( Anne/Marie grand children) hold princely titles even as the country is a republic no longer a monarchy so they will be lesser than Paul’s children who with all respect are merely jet setters and them who are from a country with a monarchy will no longer be princes and Princess it is rather weird.

What does the territorial designation of the former Greek royals have to do with this? The children of Joachim still have legally recognized titles. Bringing up the Greek royals is irrelevant to the issue.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

What I think is very sad and might not be well accepted by the children and their parents is the fact that other people such as the Greek royal family ( Anne/Marie grand children) hold princely titles even as the country is a republic no longer a monarchy so they will be lesser than Paul’s children who with all respect are merely jet setters and them who are from a country with a monarchy will no longer be princes and Princess it is rather weird.

I fully share the sentiment about it being rather weird and inconsistent, as I wrote here:

In general, I do find it unfair that certain deposed European houses which have been lawfully stripped of their titles by the will of the people are able to get away with having their members use pretended ones, while those who have maintained the support of their public and are therefore still reigning are slimming down their validly inherited titles. However, I don't think simply allowing the reigning houses to expand to hundreds of royals in imitation of some of the deposed houses is a good solution, so I am not sure what can be done.

But at the same time (and I wish to emphasize that this is not directed at the comment I quoted from assia), I cannot help but notice that this is hardly ever criticized in relation to others in the same position.

For example, owing to the decree of King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1987, the children of Infantas Elena and Cristina are completely untitled in spite of being grandchildren of a king and in line to the Spanish throne. At the same time, more distant branches of the Spanish royal family are using French or Sicilian royal titles even though they have no right to any throne and, in some cases, are even descended from non-dynastic marriages.

Yet there seem to be no disagreements with Felipe and Victoria de Marichalar being denied the titles of Infante and Infanta of Spain, of the sort we are seeing now regarding the demotion of the Joachim branch (and I am speaking strictly about the demotion itself, not the choice to apply it to living persons or how it was handled behind the scenes).

What does the territorial designation of the former Greek royals have to do with this? The children of Joachim still have legally recognized titles. Bringing up the Greek royals is irrelevant to the issue.

I hope my earlier post, quoted above, answers your question. (And as explained a few posts earlier, they do not use the territorial designation.)

 

[Muhler]

Well, time for another reflection now that more time has passed.

I almost have no hair left on my head pulling it out in annoyance and frustration on how incredibly clumsy this is handled. And the way it went along still makes no sense to me.

I'm also very saddened. I'm not sure this - in my eyes avoidable - rift will be mended in my lifetime.

Having said that, brutally speaking it's not even among the top ten of my general concerns right now.

The electricity bill will go through the roof come January.
As someone who live in rural DK, and as such has to use cars to get to and from work, the transport costs is a concern as well.
Putin is annexing more of Ukraine and going more and more loco.
Gas pipelines are exploding around the DK island of Bornholm. As such our navy may soon face a stand-off with the Russian navy in the Baltic, with everybody and their cousins trying to figure out/cover up what happened.
Strange drones are buzzing our off shore rigs.
The inflation is sky high.
And come Tuesday we are very likely to have a general election - most untimely, mind you! - Politics will regardless be very interesting in DK, even if there is no general election.

- So four DRF members being stripped of their royal status is pretty low on the agenda!

Okay, the way this was handled truly perplexes me!

Let's look at from two angles: Joachim and QMII.

In May Joachim was presented with a proposal to remove the royal titles of his four children - eventually - to reflect upon.
Okay, presumably that topic has been discussed within the family prior to that. Or at least mentioned.
Then this week Joachim was presented with a message saying: Your children have been sacked from the DRF from New Year.
- Was there no communication between May and now?
Didn't Joachim discuss this with his children, wife ex-wife?
Didn't he call QMII to discuss details?
Didn't he call Frederik to discuss this?
Didn't he answer the phone? Open his mail?
Was he really silent all the time?!?

- I simply don't get it.

Then QMII's perspective.
Okay, if she didn't hear from Joachim why didn't she call, write a letter, send an e-mail, text-message, a carrier-pigeon?
Why didn't she ask Frederik to go see Joachim and talk to him?
Why didn't she discuss this with Joachim when they met when he was in DK?
Why didn't she call a family-meeting?
Why didn't she ask the Danish ambassador in France to tell Joachim to phone home?
Why didn't she call Marie to talk some sense into her husband if he was unresponsive?
Why didn't she call in the two adult sons for a chat, telling them personally about the plans? Especially if their dad was unresponsive.
Why change the decision from a perfectly sensible proposal to a de facto sacking of Joachim's children, with three months notice?
Why not tell Joachim in person of her decision? He was after all right next to her at her jubilee! So were Marie, Alexandra, Nikolai and Felix!
- Did Joachim, Marie, Alexandra, Nikolai and Felix paint her dachshund pink, film it and leave the video for her to watch after they left?!?

- I still don't get it!

And to what extent was Frederik involved?
I'm pretty sure he was in on the DRF being slimmed down. Vis a vis his own children, where only Christian is sure to get an apanage.
I'm also pretty sure Frederik would have been in over the first proposal.
But when he heard nothing more from QMII or Joachim, why didn't he ask questions?
Wasn't this a topic when he called, messaged or mailed his brother? Surely they do talk from time to time. Especially when they are rubbing shoulders.
If he knew Joachim was unresponsive or had rejected the proposal, didn't he try to find a compromise? Or if that was not possible, talk some sense into his brother?
Talk to his nephews with whom he has always had a good relationship?
Didn't QMII tell Frederik she had scrapped the first proposal and decided to sack the kids instead?

So many questions!

For anyone who is interested in reading further on the story; and other Royal Houses.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11266903/Danish-royal-family-midst-Megxit-expert-says.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...andchildren-titles-inspired-King-Charles.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...im-admitted-struggling-place-family-2021.html

Crown Princess Mary of Denmarks speaks.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...-Princess-Mary-says-childrens-arent-safe.html

No surprise that is high on the news in UK, considering the discussions about slimming down the BRF.

Well, whatever solution King Charles comes up with, I hope he has learned from the Danish approach and avoids that - where possible...

 

[Erin9]

What was Mary supposed to do? Run away from the rabid press outside her event waiting for a pound of flesh? That would have looked worse. The shoddy way the Queen handled this has put Mary and Frederik in a very awkward position and right in the middle of this mess. Obviously Mary cannot go against QMII (at least publicly) but she cannot NOT show sympathy for those affected by this decision. She is just caught in the fallout through NO fault of her own. I am sure she wishes the press had asked about her ACTUAL important event. She looked tired and drained when talking to the press. Like I said, I feel bad for Mary to have to be the first to face the gauntlet.

And apparently QMII sees ZERO wrong and doesn't understand why anyone could possibly be upset so she goes on her merry way and in the end of this M&F will be left holding the bag. Frederik has not even been caught by the press yet. Maybe something like this SHOULD have been left to Frederik. He probably would have handled it much better tbh.

I lean towards the idea this should have been left for Frederick too. Because it seems like it couldn’t have been handled much worse by TQ herself.

If nothing else- WAIT before issuing a press release on this until you know you have done everything possible to get the kind of public agreement the Swedes did. That did not happen.

Maybe I'm in a minority, but I think that losing the title of Prince/Princess is quite a big deal. I'm not saying that the decision was wrong, but an agreement should have been reached with those affected before a public announcement was made. The way it's been handled has obviously caused a lot of upset: surely it could have been dealt with in a better manner.

I think it is. I can call it rich people problems- but I get how it would be hurtful just the same. It’s part of who you are, how you think of yourself, how you literally introduce yourself. I am x…and that’s gone.

It is a literal name change. I wouldn’t be thrilled if I was informed I had to change my name. Just the thought of the paperwork alone is annoying.

It undoubtedly could have been handled better imo.

In fact they lose more than their titles.



They also lose a few privileges as well.

Not being "full" royals, they longer enjoy immunity. (It's up to the monarch what to do with members of the DRF if they are caught speeding or killing their cook.)

The diplomatic passport is probably gone as well. - So no longer walking past the queues at the airport. And that also means they can't use their diplomatic immunity abroad either, if say speeding.

More or less automatic upgrades to first class is probably gone as well.

And as for invitations to major galas, well, that remains to be seen.

Countess Alexandra is automatically invited to the New Year Courts (Day two IIRC) due to her having the Order of the Elephant. (Which means she belongs in the category Rangklasse 1 = Those with the highest titles and highest orders.)

Their off hand credit assessment is no doubt also about to change, when buying or lending something in the future. No longer the impressive title of prince/ss - no longer the guarantee of the DRF in their backs.



So welcome in the ranks of commoners.

Thanks for the explanation of what else comes with this.

 

[assia]

I fully share the sentiment about it being rather weird and inconsistent, as I wrote here:







But at the same time (and I wish to emphasize that this is not directed at the comment I quoted from assia), I cannot help but notice that this is hardly ever criticized in relation to others in the same position.



For example, owing to the decree of King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1987, the children of Infantas Elena and Cristina are completely untitled in spite of being grandchildren of a king and in line to the Spanish throne. At the same time, more distant branches of the Spanish royal family are using French or Sicilian royal titles even though they have no right to any throne and, in some cases, are even descended from non-dynastic marriages.



Yet there seem to be no disagreements with Felipe and Victoria de Marichalar being denied the titles of Infante and Infanta of Spain, of the sort we are seeing now regarding the demotion of the Joachim branch (and I am speaking strictly about the demotion itself, not the choice to apply it to living persons or how it was handled behind the scenes).









I hope my earlier post, quoted above, answers your question. (And as explained a few posts earlier, they do not use the territorial designation.)

Sorry if you don’t agree I was just pointing that former royals still style themselves as princes even here in France and that I can understand the Joachim family to be kind of bitter at being stripped of their titles. That’s all.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I fully share the sentiment about it being rather weird and inconsistent, as I wrote here:



But at the same time (and I wish to emphasize that this is not directed at the comment I quoted from assia), I cannot help but notice that this is hardly ever criticized in relation to others in the same position.

For example, owing to the decree of King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1987, the children of Infantas Elena and Cristina are completely untitled in spite of being grandchildren of a king and in line to the Spanish throne. At the same time, more distant branches of the Spanish royal family are using French or Sicilian royal titles even though they have no right to any throne and, in some cases, are even descended from non-dynastic marriages.

Yet there seem to be no disagreements with Felipe and Victoria de Marichalar being denied the titles of Infante and Infanta of Spain, of the sort we are seeing now regarding the demotion of the Joachim branch (and I am speaking strictly about the demotion itself, not the choice to apply it to living persons or how it was handled behind the scenes).




I hope my earlier post, quoted above, answers your question. (And as explained a few posts earlier, they do not use the territorial designation.)

The poster you were addressing brought it up about the Greeks having the Denmark added to their titles or whatever.

 

[Kataryn]

That is pretty much how it works.

If Nikolai pulls a DUI next year, it will indeed be all over the news and the court will naturally be approached and the various DRF members asked to comment - but they can all say: Sad, terrible, sympathy etc - but it ain't our responsibility.
Which is one reason why the DRF continually has been and needs to be slimmed down. The more princess and princess running around all over the place, the bigger the likelihood of one of them doing something seriously bad.

In theory we could end up in a situation where one of M&F's children does something really bad, say killing someone while DUI. Okay that child is almost certain to face trial and get some jail-time. - But also being stripped of the royal title upon being sentenced.
There is no precedence for it, but I'm willing to bet quite a lot on that being the outcome.
The dynasty and monarchy takes priority.

It is okay that it happens that way and I believe noone in Denmark would put it against queen and CP when it should happen that way in case of a real bad criminal offense.


But I believe as well that Joachim's children know that as well and simply won't kill someone cold-blooded or drive so recklessly, even when DUI. It's like putting them under a general suspicion of doing something which will put their Royal family in the shadows, too and I don't see them doing that. They were raised as princes/ess of the Royal House after all and I don't think it's the Danish way to go overboard.



I personally think it really has something to do with Joachim that it all happened the way it did. That the children are just Joachim's children and the Royal family needs to slim anyway. Just IMHO, but the way it was done hints at something personally. And I doubt QMII would mind if a grandchild became an artist and would make an artistic spectacle. Or would she? But if something about Schackenborg went wrong and the DRF feared it would come 0ut? But okay, speculations like that never help.



So let's wait how the story continues.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I fully share the sentiment about it being rather weird and inconsistent, as I wrote here:



But at the same time (and I wish to emphasize that this is not directed at the comment I quoted from assia), I cannot help but notice that this is hardly ever criticized in relation to others in the same position.

For example, owing to the decree of King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1987, the children of Infantas Elena and Cristina are completely untitled in spite of being grandchildren of a king and in line to the Spanish throne. At the same time, more distant branches of the Spanish royal family are using French or Sicilian royal titles even though they have no right to any throne and, in some cases, are even descended from non-dynastic marriages.

Yet there seem to be no disagreements with Felipe and Victoria de Marichalar being denied the titles of Infante and Infanta of Spain, of the sort we are seeing now regarding the demotion of the Joachim branch (and I am speaking strictly about the demotion itself, not the choice to apply it to living persons or how it was handled behind the scenes).




I hope my earlier post, quoted above, answers your question. (And as explained a few posts earlier, they do not use the territorial designation.)

Not all European royals were stripped of their titles by the “people”. Also in some European countries royal and noble titles are simply part of last names like in Germany. Some people call them by their titles, other people don’t refer to their titles or simply don’t care. For others the titles are courtesy and it’s neither here or there. I don’t think many care about the Greek royals in comparison to the core Danish royals. The Greek royals are a separate family, in spite of the close ties to the DRF. Plus the Greek royals don’t have succession rights to the Danish throne so it’s of no consequence.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Not all European royals were stripped of their titles by the “people”.

If you read my post, it said "certain" deposed European houses, not "all" deposed European houses.

The Greek royals are a separate family, in spite of the close ties to the DRF. Plus the Greek royals don’t have succession rights to the Danish throne so it’s of no consequence.

From my point of view, those two factors militate against, not in favor of, them remaining Princes/Princesses of Denmark. We will have to agree to disagree.

Sorry if you don’t agree I was just pointing that former royals still style themselves as princes even here in France and that I can understand the Joachim family to be kind of bitter at being stripped of their titles. That’s all.

As the post stated, I do agree, but (not directed towards you) wonder why the same issue is not pointed out when it occurs in other European royal families.

 

[tihkon2]

Before 01/01/2023: HH prince(ess)
After 01/01/2023: HE count(ess)
So why all this drama?

You know exactly why the drama, as dozens of posts have mentioned. It was the WAY it was done . Not even communicated by the Queen, but by an employee. And without any tact.

 

[akina21]

Well Nikolai has said he prefers just Nikolai to Prince Nikolai.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1575836379078356992

This and in other interviews he has stated that in the modeling world he can be just Nikolai.
On one hand they claim this but in the majority of his covers Prince is stated everywhere. For me part of this is behind Alexandra's fury.

Mary only answered today because she had an event, Benedikte too. No events equals no need to put out a statement.

I also prefer being adressed only by one of my two names , doesn't mean that the second silent one isn't part of my name .

 

[Moran]

You know exactly why the drama, as dozens of posts have mentioned. It was the WAY it was done . Not even communicated by the Queen, but by an employee. And without any tact.

Plus, if it's exactly the same, why bother and cause drama? If it doesn't really change a thing?

For the record, I dislike the way it was done. QMII's assurances that of course it was done for her grandchildren's own good sounded particularly out of touch when an adult one of these said it had caused sadness.

 

[Izzie]

You know exactly why the drama, as dozens of posts have mentioned. It was the WAY it was done . Not even communicated by the Queen, but by an employee. And without any tact.

I think that is what some are missing. How it was done AND obviously the hurt feelings of how what was done was done. If that makes sense. It is the equivalent of breaking up with someone via text message.

It is obvious to me that they are coming from a place of actual hurt feelings and disappointment. And when people are hurt and feel slighted and they are human..well the lash out. I mean to send your staff to notify them? Really?

Sounds to me like since QMII did not see an issue with it she is shocked at their reaction to it. In effect she is being dismissive of their feelings. That shows a lack of empathy and a disconnect about the potential consequences of her actions at a just personal level within the family dynamic. And that is cause for pause.

 

[ppetrica]

I personally think it really has something to do with Joachim that it all happened the way it did. That the children are just Joachim's children and the Royal family needs to slim anyway. Just IMHO, but the way it was done hints at something personally. And I doubt QMII would mind if a grandchild became an artist and would make an artistic spectacle. Or would she? But if something about Schackenborg went wrong and the DRF feared it would come 0ut? But okay, speculations like that never help.

You got me thinking with this comment of yours. And since being a person who hates conspiracy theories and search for hidden meaning in everything, it seems like I'm spending way too much time on the internet these days.
Oh well ,here I go.

I agree, there's something going on for quite some time now within the royal family and it's connected to Joachim somehow.
Is it simply that as he gets older, he gets more and more jealous of Frederik, and no longer likes his own role as a spare, so that's why every now and then he (and sometimes Marie) makes a little weird comment in the public?
No, I think it's more complicated.

I agree with the Queen's decision, it's very painful (a bit humiliating perhaps), but in long term wise and necessary.

But then again, what if the Queen has another reason to act like this?
What if because of that reason she finds it safer for future kings Frederik X and Christian XI to be distanced from Joachim and wants it to happen as soon as possible, so she's doing what she can to help them while she's still alive?
Will something be revealed in the future regarding Joachim that can damage Frederik, Christian and the monarchy itself?
She is an incredibly intelligent and wise woman, with 50 year long experience as head of state so I don't see how did she not anticipate this kind of reaction from Joachim and his family?
Or did she anticipate it?
And anticipation of this exact reaction is the reason why she did it the way she did it, even if it means destroying her own reputation for the sake of the future?
Only time will tell.

 

[Prinsara]

On the one hand, I don't blame Frederik for getting the hell out of Dodge at the moment. Sometimes it's smarter to keep your head down.

On the other hand...wouldn't the adult thing be to go home at the moment and support Mary, at least?

And if you had to hide, Fred, was sailing in St-Tropez while the rest of your family implodes really the most serious excuse you could come up with? (What was wrong with finding something urgent in Greenland?) The media are still going to be camping at the airport for you.

TL;DR, he is not looking that great or PR-savvy EITHER at the moment.

 

[FigTree]

It takes a special person to be a sibling to a monarch or an incumbent monarch. I am sure it’s difficult when you also come below in official standings and really they should be encouraged to have their own careers. They certainly have the money for a grand A education. Unfortunately hubris seems to get in the way. This was the hard but right decision. Why the children should have such titles when their is 0 change of them working for Denmark is beyond me. Mary was right.

On the one hand, I don't blame Frederik for getting the hell out of Dodge at the moment. Sometimes it's smarter to keep your head down.

On the other hand...wouldn't the adult thing be to go home at the moment and support Mary, at least?

And if you had to hide, Fred, was sailing in St-Tropez while the rest of your family implodes really the most serious excuse you could come up with? (What was wrong with finding something urgent in Greenland?) The media are still going to be camping at the airport for you.

TL;DR, he is not looking that great or PR-savvy EITHER at the moment.

Why would he come back? Make it look like a crisis. It isn’t a crisis. Some people are throwing extravagant diamonds out of the pram. It will calm down. The media are going to hype this, best to underplay it.

 

[Prinsara]

Why would he come back? Make it look like a crisis. It isn’t a crisis. Some people are throwing extravagant diamonds out of the pram. It will calm down. The media are going to hype this, best to underplay it.

Makes him look like he could care less about any member of his family, including his wife. Like I said, if he "had" to be gone, he could have tried to make the excuse seem even fractionally more serious.

The reactions are rather typical of both Margrethe's children, actually. Joachim is taking this either justifiably badly or way too seriously, or both (but we all know there is a problem and there will be a problem for the next decade). Fred is either trying to act like there is no problem or not taking this seriously enough. Or both.

 

[Izzie]

On the one hand, I don't blame Frederik for getting the hell out of Dodge at the moment. Sometimes it's smarter to keep your head down.

On the other hand...wouldn't the adult thing be to go home at the moment and support Mary, at least?

And if you had to hide, Fred, was sailing in St-Tropez while the rest of your family implodes really the most serious excuse you could come up with? (What was wrong with finding something urgent in Greenland?) The media are still going to be camping at the airport for you.

TL;DR, he is not looking that great or PR-savvy EITHER at the moment.

The sailing competition is really a case of unfortunate timing. He was already in St. Tropez and committed to it and has been there since 9/25. So it is not a case of this happened and he made a beeline for St. Tropez. With that said, I love ya Frederik, but maybe you should have come home. If at all possible he could have left for home, I think he should have. Maybe he can't leave because it forfeits his entire team and they don't deserve to be collateral damage as well due to this hot mess of a situation's handling. I mean we also have no proof that he isn't at least talking to the parties involved via Zoom or phone either...so I won't ding him totally. But still...I won't be surprised if one of these royal "analysts" or "experts" call him out. Maybe in the next day or 2 he is planning to make a detour trip to Paris who knows. But I do not think that Mary should have had to be the one to speak first out of the two of them. It is not that she is not 100% capable of addressing the press. She most certainly is. But Frederik is the heir and Joachim's brother.

 

[maria-olivia]

What is the Reaction of the Family de Montpezat in France

 

[polyesco]

Why would he come back? Make it look like a crisis. It isn’t a crisis. Some people are throwing extravagant diamonds out of the pram. It will calm down. The media are going to hype this, best to underplay it.

Agree. The only reason Mary and Benedikte made statements were because they were at events today. Not because they have their own spokespeople and needed to make their voices heard. I believe he would say exactly the same as Benedikte and Mary. He is not going to go against the Queen publicly.

He had a sailing commitment with his team and he kept it. If the Queen needed him here sooner he would have cut any trip short like he did last Wednesday.

 

[Muhler]

The sailing competition is really a case of unfortunate timing. He was already in St. Tropez and committed to it and has been there since 9/25. So it is not a case of this happened and he made a beeline for St. Tropez. With that said, I love ya Frederik, but maybe you should have come home. If at all possible he could have left for home, I think he should have. Maybe he can't leave because it forfeits his entire team and they don't deserve to be collateral damage as well due to this hot mess of a situation's handling. I mean we also have no proof that he isn't at least talking to the parties involved via Zoom or phone either...so I won't ding him totally. But still...I won't be surprised if one of these royal "analysts" or "experts" call him out. Maybe in the next day or 2 he is planning to make a detour trip to Paris who knows. But I do not think that Mary should have had to be the one to speak first out of the two of them. It is not that she is not 100% capable of addressing the press. She most certainly is. But Frederik is the heir and Joachim's brother.

That is what I would advise him to do. Go see Joachim.
See if they can mend things - just somewhat. Or at least listen sympathetically to Joachim. Smooth things out, even if he personally believes Joachim is at fault here.
But Frederik hasn't got long this time around. He has to be back in DK by Tuesday and the opening of the Parliament.

It's in the (PR) interest of the DRF not to push Joachim way out in the cold. - And I would miss them. I like to follow J&M and it would be a pity if we only saw them at major family events - if even that... And at the occasional interview.
Alexandra is secondary in this context. If she continues to complain, the public sentiment will turn against her. - She is after all "only" furious and she got a good deal from the DRF when she divorced Joachim. Little reason for her to complain too loudly.
While Joachim in contrast appeared deeply sad and hurt. And he is QMII's son. I think the public sympathy for him will last a little longer.

Unfortunately the DRF has a habit of trying to keep a lid on things by not saying anything. - Well, it sure didn't work with Herlufsholm!
It won't work this time either, because at some point someone will ask him about this mess.

 

[Prinsara]

Frederik knew this was going down. If Nikolai knew for 5 or 6 days as of yesterday, Fred knew. Before he left. So he chose to be the guy on the Riviera with his head buried at sea, instead.

I am only impressed with him for self-preservation. Which also looks an awful lot like self-serving.

 

[Alisa]

You know exactly why the drama, as dozens of posts have mentioned. It was the WAY it was done . Not even communicated by the Queen, but by an employee. And without any tact.

Actually, it the bystanders that are complaining about the WAY it was done. Joachim, Alexandra, and Nikolai are upset about losing the titles all together.

So even if it was presented in a most loving, kind, and diplomatic way they would still be very upset!

 

[Muhler]

Frederik knew this was going down. If Nikolai knew for 5 or 6 days as of yesterday, Fred knew. Before he left. So he chose to be the guy on the Riviera with his head buried at sea, instead.

I am only impressed with him for self-preservation. Which also looks an awful lot like self-serving.

If that's the case, then Frederik probably thought everything was - at least reasonably - fine. But had not counted on Alexandra opening the lid on this particular can of worms.
And the reason he returned from New York was either to talk to Joachim about the news or just because of the gala.

A bit odd though that he didn't know to what extent his brother felt hurt. Surely he must have known about Joachim's opinion?
If not, then why didn't he?!?

Oh, my head!!

 

[Prinsara]

Actually, it the bystanders that are complaining about the WAY it was done. Joachim, Alexandra, and Nikolai are upset about losing the titles all together.

So even if it was presented in a most loving, kind, and diplomatic way they would still be very upset!

That's a stretch. What's far more certain is that they'd be a hell of a lot less upset than this.

In addition, they'd be yelling into the wind with no support.

It's also a far longer debate about whether the titles needed to go or not, versus the fact that the way it has been done is a dumpster fire, for reasons no one can seem to yet ascertain.

 

[Somebody]

I don't really understand the call for Frederik to come home. He is not involved formally. The queen made a decision that his brother and family are not happy about and for some reason decided to air to the media.

Because his aunt and wife had activities they were confronted with journalists and had to say something. As he surely will be expected to do when he has an official activity, however, that's no reason to hurry back to Denmark and sit at home (as releasing a statement wouldn't be appropriate either and searching out the media himself to talk to a journalist would be even worse).