Princess Marie will not travel to Denmark to attend Prince Frederik’s proclamation as king. An expert now thinks he knows why Prince Joachim’s wife is foregoing the historic event.
On January 14, 2024, Queen Margrethe, 83, abdicates and Prince Frederik, 55, becomes King of Denmark. Princess Mary, 51, Prince Christian, 18, and of course Margrethe will be at Frederik’s side at the change of throne, which will officially take place at the meeting in the State Council at Christiansborg Palace. The palace recently confirmed to the Danish newspaper Billed Bladet that Prince Joachim, 54, would also be present at the proclamation. However, he should then immediately return to Washington DC, where he has been working as a defense attaché for several months. However, his wife Princess Marie, 47, is staying away from what is probably the most important event in her brother-in-law’s life. A royal expert now thinks he knows the reason for her cancellation.
Princess Marie: Is her absence a retaliation for the title scandal?
Nobility expert Sebastian Olden-Jørgensen believes that the fact that Princess Marie and her children Countess Athena, 11, and Count Henrik, 14, are staying in the USA is by no means a coincidence. “If you want to be a little rough, you could say that Joachim and Marie chose the minimal solution for the celebration,” he tells “Ekstra Bladet” and adds: “Staying away completely would be too demonstrative. But now the family will at least represented by Prince Joachim.”
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Olden-Jørgensen attributes Marie’s rejection to the title scandal: At the end of September 2022, Queen Margrethe caused a sensation when she announced that she would withdraw the prince and princess titles from her second-born’s children. The change came into effect in January 2023. Joachim vented his anger about this several times in the following weeks. Therefore, the 47-year-old’s absence from the throne could now be understood as a retaliation. If her children aren’t princes and princesses and weren’t invited, she doesn’t think that’s okay, according to the historian. For practical reasons it is certainly easier for Joachim to travel alone, but: “But it is a unique situation, so it should be possible to come.”
This scenario is also possible
Expert Kim Bach also believes it is possible that Marie has not yet fully come to terms with the title scandal. It is conceivable that Marie “can’t bear to sit with the family. However, they spent Christmas together, which suggests that this is not the case. Unless Christmas was so terrible,” said Bach the publication. So there’s probably a simpler reason behind it, maybe she just has to take care of the children. “The most likely scenario is that she is unable to attend. They won’t be on the balcony anyway, so it’s all about the Council of State. Besides, it’s a very long journey to see her brother-in-law on the throne.”
Sources used: billedbladet.dk, ekstrabladet.dk