On Sunday, January 14, 2024, Prince Frederik will become King of Denmark. Prince Joachim will attend his brother’s proclamation – however, following the historic event, Queen Margrethe’s second-born will leave immediately.
Queen Margrethe, 83, abdicates, on January 14, 2024, Prince Frederik, 55, will follow her to the throne. The change of throne will take place at the meeting in the State Council at Christiansborg Palace. Margrethe, Princess Mary, 51, and Prince Christian, 18, will of course be there at the historic event. Frederik’s younger brother Prince Joachim, 54, was also present – but he did not want to stay in his homeland for long.
Prince Joachim leaves immediately after the change of throne
The palace has confirmed that Prince Joachim will attend his brother’s proclamation on Sunday, the newspaper Billed Bladet reports. On Monday, January 15th, there will also be another reception to mark the change of throne in the Danish Parliament (Folketing) at 10:00 a.m. “The Royal Family takes part in the celebrations of the Danish Parliament on the occasion of the change of throne. During the meeting in the Folketing Hall, the President of the Folketing and the Prime Minister speak, and afterwards the Prime Minister delivers an oral message from the King to the Folketing. Afterwards “The royal family will attend a reception in the Hall of Parliament,” according to the Danish palace’s official website.
Joachim will still take part in this ceremony, but will then immediately return to Washington DC, where he has been working as a defense attaché since September last year. His activity could be a reason for his rapid departure. In addition, however, his wife Princess Marie, 47, and their children Countess Athena, 11, and Count Henrik, 14, are staying in the USA and will be away from the royal celebrations, the palace tells the Danish publication.
Count Nikolai and Count Felix were apparently not invited
Prince Joachim’s sons Count Nikolai, 24, and Count Felix, 21, whom he has with his ex-wife Alexandra von Frederiksborg, 59, are said to have not received an invitation to change the throne, according to “Ekstra Bladet”. This means that the grandchildren of the current monarch are probably missing out on what is probably the most memorable event in Denmark since Margrethe’s accession to the throne 52 years ago.
Sources used: billedbladet.dk, ekstrabladet.dk, kongehuset.dk