Denmark’s Queen Apologizes for Pissing Off Her Son—but Will Still Strip Grandkids’ Titles

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II acknowledged Monday that she had “underestimated” how her son would react to her bombshell decision to strip her grandkids of their royal titles—but she would nonetheless be standing firm.

Margrethe, who is 82 and the longest-reigning monarch in Europe, announced last week that her son Prince Joachim’s four children would no longer be called prince or princess, or his or her highness. She insisted the decision had been discussed at length, and would allow the grandkids to “shape their own lives to a much greater extent.”

But an enraged Joachim told reporters that he had been blindsided by the move, grousing that his kids were upset at suddenly losing their identities. “Why must they be punished in that way?” he fumed.

He conceded that his relationship with his mother and his older brother Crown Prince Frederik, whose four children will keep their titles, was strained. Even 23-year-old Nikolai, Joachim’s eldest child, spoke out, telling Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet that he was “in shock” and “very confused as to why it has to happen like this.”

On Monday, Margrethe apologized for hurting her son and and his family, and conceded that there had been “strong reactions” to her decision.

“I have made my 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,” she said in a statement. “That makes a big impression, and for that I am sorry.”

But she said she was sticking with her decision, which she characterized as both “a long time coming” and as an attempt to modernize the country’s monarchy.

“With my 50 years on the throne, it is natural both to look back and to look ahead. It is my duty and my desire as Queen to ensure that the monarchy always shapes itself in keeping with the times. Sometimes, this means that difficult decisions must be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment,” she wrote.

“Holding a royal title involves a number of commitments and duties that, in the future, will lie with fewer members of the royal family. This adjustment, which I view as a necessary future-proofing of the monarchy, I want to take in my own time.”

After apologizing to Joachim and his kids, she said, “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.”