I believe one long term issue in the DRF is the clash between totally irreconcilable mindsets. HM The Queen is very much an artist, and a somewhat eccentric one at that. So it should be no wonder if she's fascinated by men who make no effort to conceal their emotions. Perhaps that's exactly that made her fall in love with Henri de Monpezat aka. HRH Prince Henrik. Unfortunately, she herself is the exact opposite, the last bastion of the mindset of Danish aristocracy of the past. Stiff upper lip and all that.
If my analysis is correct, then this clash was inevitable. If Joachim and his two wives, people very much seem to share his attitudes, weren't sulking now, they would be at a later point for some other reason. Make no mistake, even though this is the most public fallout between mother and son + daughter-in-law + former daughter-in-law, but there is ample evidence of past baggage as well.
It's obvious there are massive problems in the functioning of the court. Communications and PR strategy? Do they have one? I'm not so sure. In an ideal situation, The Queen would have softened the blow by wording the press release more carefully, and also by presenting the change more as a generic change that applies to future generations as well. Because that's exactly what it is. Similarly, the massive overhaul of the line of succession back in 1953 affected the whole DRF as it was then, and there was nothing that could have been seen as targeted action against a single group of princes as opposed to all of them.
But no, a differently worded press release wouldn't have prevented the fallout. I'm absolutely sure The Queen did absolutely everything, not just in May but during a longer period of time beginning perhaps already in 2008 with the creation of the Danish af Monpezat title, but Joachim, being his father's image, didn't really hear any other message than the one he absolutely wanted to hear. Now the DRF is in the horrible situation of having to deal with a public intrigue, caused by the irreconcilably different personalities of the Queen and her second son. Once again the comparison to 1953 is there: at that time, the change of the succession laws was a legal process, ratified by a referendum, and many other princes (unlike Prince Knud and his sons) actually lost their succession rights and "prins til Danmark" status altogether. Yet Princes Knud and Ingolf, the ones who had expected to become King, appeared to take the process as a personal insult against them. "A change like this can't be done retroactively" was the line that was repeated in their defence at the time, as if they were kings already.
I'm sorry, but monarchies do have to change. And when they change, there is always someone who would have another status without the change.
Taking away titles that were previously seen as birthright is never an ideal solution. In that point, and in that point only, do I genuinely sympathise with Joachim and his family. But a princely title with legal force always comes with obligations. That means a sense of duty, even when not actually carrying out royal duties. That means a sense of modesty, as a prince or princess always needs to serve the institution, not just the other way around. I'm not sure Joachim's family ever genuinely understood those considerations. Henrik and Athena are too young to understand, perhaps, but the two older brothers aren't. And Joachim, his wife and his ex-wife certainly aren't.
That outrageously imbecile Raffles commercial is out of step with the obligations of any member of a modern, responsible monarchy. If the soon to be former HH Prince Nikolai failed to see the commercial as the ultimate advert for stripping him and his siblings of their titles, something in their upbringing is very horribly wrong. And: Either the commercial was not okayed by the palace in the first place, and The Queen got to know about it first after it had already been published, or the palace only agreed with the understanding that the prince would exit the Royal House anyway sooner rather than later, because of marriage if not else.
The Queen has never, even for her own sons, allowed marriages with Danish commoners. Only foreigners, or (possibly) Danish nobles would do for a marriage to get permitted. The new policy allows for the first time ever people to be in the order of succession without the title "prins/prinsesse til Danmark". So, for Nikolai, this might turn out to be a win-win: he loses his princely status somewhat sooner than expected, but he and his offspring will have their places in the order of succession for years to come, instead of that status getting annihilated at a wedding ceremony.
I never thought my first post, after more than ten years as a passive reader would be about a soap opera like this. I think these same thoughts have been voiced here by many already, but even so, this is how I conclude my thoughts about this.
