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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark won’t be celebrating Christmas with her children and grandchildren this year. In keeping with tradition, the Danish monarch will be staying at Marselisborg Palace for the holiday. The Queen, 82, will celebrate Christmas Eve with her sister Princess Benedikte and “private friends in Djursland,” according to the Danish Royal House. Her Majesty will remain at Marselisborg Palace from Dec. 21 until Dec. 30, and on Dec. 31 will deliver her annual New Year’s Address from Christian IX’s Palace at Amalienborg.
While the Queen is staying in Denmark for Christmas, her firstborn Crown Prince Frederik and his wife Crown Princess Mary have traveled to Australia for a “private Christmas vacation.” The Crown Prince Couple and their four children, Prince Christian, 17, Princess Isabella, 15, Prince Vincent, 11, and Princess Josephine, 11, will celebrate Christmas with the Crown Princess’ family. The Royal House noted that it has been five years since Mary and Frederik have visited the Crown Princess’ native country with their four kids.
Prince Joachim of Denmark will also be celebrating Christmas away from home. The Queen’s youngest son and his wife Princess Marie, who reside in Paris, will be going on “a long-planned trip abroad over Christmas” with their children. The Prince and Princess are parents to son Prince Henrik, 13, and ten-year-old daughter Princess Athena.Joachim is also a father to Prince Nikolai, 23, and Prince Felix, 20, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.
B.T. reported last month that Joachim has landed a new job in the “defense industry” in Washington, D.C. and will be moving to the United States next year. According to the outlet (translated to English), “Prince Joachim will start after the 2023 summer holidays, and this probably means that the family will move to the US federal capital during the summer.”
The report came two months after the Danish Royal House announced Queen Margrethe’s decision to change the titles of Prince Joachim’s children. Starting next year, the Prince’s four kids “can only use their titles as counts and countess of Monpezat, as the titles of prince and princess that they have held up until now will be discontinued.”
Following “strong reactions” to her decision, Her Majesty released a statement explaining that she had made her “decision as Queen, mother and grandmother, but, as a mother and grandmother, I have underestimated the extent to which much my younger son and his family feel affected. That makes a big impression, and for that I am sorry. No one should be in doubt that my children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride. I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation.”