,type=downsize)
Princess Athena is being bullied at school following Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s decision to remove her Princess title, according to the ten-year-old’s mom Princess Marie. Prince Joachim’s wife—whom he shares daughter Athena and 13-year-old son Prince Henrik with—revealed to B.T. (translated to English), “Athena is bullied at school. They come and say: Is it you who is no longer a princess?”
Marie also shared that her daughter has asked: “What shall I be called now? Why don’t we have the same name, mother and father?”
The mom of two, who is also a stepmother to Joachim’s eldest sons, Prince Nikolai, 23, and Prince Felix, 20, believes she has to defend their children. She told B.T., “I think I have to defend our children now. We think there are two serious things in this case. The first is to take a name from a child. Our children. It’s about their name, it’s not about titles at all. Athena and Henry of Denmark. Those are their names.”
The Princess added, “The second is: The children were publicly exhibited. At very short notice. This means that we, as parents, have not had time to prepare them for the change and people’s reactions.”
Joachim has previously said that he was given just five days’ notice. The Danish Royal House announced the Queen’s decision to change the titles of Joachim’s children on Sept. 28.
“We wished we had had time for it. I think that is unreasonable. This case is about children’s conditions. It’s not so much about anything else. It’s strange to suddenly think that you can take a name from a child. After all, children don’t think like we do. They have difficulty understanding it,” Marie said.
Starting January 1, 2023, Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena’s titles of Prince and Princess will be discontinued and they can only use their Count and Countess of Monpezat titles. They will also be addressed as excellencies.
“The Queen’s decision is in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years,” the Royal House said in a press release about the changes in titles. “With her decision, Her Majesty The Queen wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves.”