Explosive feud engulfing Danish royal family

Two princes at loggerheads, one fleeing to the US. Frosty relations between sisters-in-law. Public barbs. It’s not just the British royals engulfed in drama.

The once-close heir to the throne and the “spare”, reportedly often barely on speaking terms. A high-profile falling out, involving furious complaints via the media and rumoured tension between their wives, and an abrupt relocation to the United States.

We could easily be talking about the ongoing, highly-publicised feud involving Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle – but there’s been an eerily similar drama unfolding within the Danish royal family in recent years.

So reportedly strained is the relationship between Crown Prince Frederik and his younger brother, Prince Joachim, that – like Harry with his decision to briefly show up solo for his father’s coronation last year – it’s understood Denmark’s former “spare” has also chosen to quietly attend the event alone.

In fact, just as Meghan was at home in California with Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lili, 2, Joachim’s wife, Princess Marie, will also stay behind in the US with their four royal children.

Harry made a solo – and brief – appearance at his father’s coronation last May. Picture: Ben Stansall/Pool/AFP

Princess Marie – pictured here with Prince Joachim – will follow Meghan’s lead in staying home in the US with their kids. Picture: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

While early details and causes in William and Harry’s rift have been openly discussed at length by the Duke of Sussex himself in his explosive memoir – including rivalries and perceived betrayals involving the media – the root cause of Frederik and Joachim’s alleged issues haven’t been delivered in such a clear-cut manner.

There had been suggestions of tension prior to 2022, but that came to a head publicly amid the fallout from Queen Margrethe’s controversial decision to strip Joachim’s four children – her grandchildren – of their titles as part of a “necessary futureproofing of the monarchy”.

The Queen also claimed at the time that it was done to allow them to “shape their own lives, without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation to the Royal House of Denmark entails.”

They are now known as the counts and countess of Monpezat.

It was a fairly pragmatic statement from the Queen – but one that apparently was taken as the final straw for her seemingly increasingly resentful son and his wife, Princess Marie, who reportedly were already unhappy at regularly finding their diaries empty of official engagements.

Joachim issued a stunning, emotional statement of his own shortly afterwards, describing his mother’s decree as a “punishment”.

“My kids don’t know which leg to stand on. What they should believe. Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in that way?”

Joachim – pictured here in 2016 with his family – publicly declared his kids were being “punished”. Picture: Luca Teuchmann/Getty Images

According to reports, it was around then that Joachim and Marie stopped speaking to the

Queen altogether, although it’s understood she later managed to smooth things over.

But to a certain extent, damage to the popular Queen’s reputation as a steady, calm matriarch had already been done.

“It actually is a very real crisis. It has shattered people’s image of the queen, and of the family,” royal author Trine Villemann said at the time.

Just a few months later, the Queen addressed the drama in an extraordinarily candid New Year’s Eve address to the country.

“I always feel great love for my entire family,” she explained.

“Difficulties and misunderstandings may arise in any family, also in mine. The whole country has witnessed that. That the relationship with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie has run into difficulties makes me sad.

“We have now had a quieter period and time for reflection, and I am sure that our family can embark on the new year together with confidence, understanding, and new courage.”

The couple has made their dissatisfaction with the situation fairly clear in the past. Picture: Ole Jensen/Getty Images

Joachim and Harry, seen here in Copenhagen in 2017, have more than a bit in common. Picture: Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The controversial title decision came after Joachim and Marie had previously complained that they had been “forced” to relocate to Paris in 2019 as the prince took on a role within the highest-ranking military educational program at École Militaire.

Marie bluntly told Danish journalist Jacob Heineljust months later that staying in France after her husband had completed his studies was not their choice.

Lifting the lid on the unexpected exchange in an interview with The Daily Beast, Heinel explained that the princess had “cut in” while her husband was speaking about the move, declaring: “You know, it wasn’t our choice’.”

“I said, ‘Excuse me your royal highness, you have to elaborate what you mean by saying it wasn’t your choice to move to France,’ and she said, ‘Well, I’m not going to elaborate but it wasn’t our choice. I want people to know that it wasn’t our choice.’”

She reportedly added: “I think that’s important to know. I loved living in Denmark. Denmark is just such a wonderful county to be in. Everything works well and there are not many problems.”

The journalist then elaborated on the reasons for their move, revealing that “it became apparent that the town was not big enough for both families”, in an apparent reference to Frederik, his wife, Australian-born Princess Mary, and their four children.

Yikes.

Mary and Frederik are reportedly not close with Joachim and Marie. Picture: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

But after the decision was made to strip their own kids of their royal titles, Joachim and Marie went one – gigantic – step further, and left Europe altogether, setting up their family home in Washington D.C, where the prince serves as the defence industry attache at the Danish Embassy.

In 2021, Joachim spoke openly about his struggles as a “spare” for the first time in an interview with French magazine, Point de Vue.

“Between us, it is more complicated. The Crown Prince simply has to follow the course of events,” he said.

“However, nothing is defined for the second born son and the person’s wife, neither in writing nor in speech. My father became acquainted with the same dissatisfaction and never managed to get his place in the royal family pinned down.”

Joachim continued: “But it is not always easy. I experience the same dissatisfaction as my father. We have to find out for ourselves, while staying within the role of number two in the row.”

It may be an Oprah short of a global tell-all, but was still a remarkably candid statement from a high-profile senior royal.

(He and Harry should consider forming a particularly niche support group).

And it’s not only Frederik and Joachim who have struggled with their relationship.

Just like Kate and Meghan, it’s been widely reported that Mary has never really bonded with her sister-in-law, who married into the family in 2008, four years after her own royal entry.

According to Danish media, the two women – like their English counterparts – “live very different lives” and have markedly different personalities.

“We never see them together, we never see them do things together, neither ‘in private’ or ‘on duty’,” royal commentator Anna Thygesen told New Idea in early 2021.

Rumours have even circulated for years that an incident involving a reported attempt by Joachim to kiss his sister-in-law at a royal function in 2008 had fuelled the rift between the couples, but the allegation has since been quashed by the Royal Household.

Without some Spare-esque Danish memoirs, we may never know the full story behind this royal feud – but as Joachim cuts a solitary figure at his family’s big event, it’s sure to conjure more than a few similarities to another dissatisfied royal’s recent coronation cameo.