Meet Denmark's royal family, from the abdicating Queen Margrethe to US-based Prince Joachim

Queen Margrethe II is the current monarch of Denmark but is abdicating the throne later this month.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Queen Margrethe became the longest-serving current head of state in Europe and the longest-serving current female head of state in the world. She has reigned for over 50 years. 

Margrethe was born on April 16, 1940. She is the daughter of Frederik IX, the former king of Denmark, and Queen Ingrid, born Princess of Sweden. Margrethe became queen on January 14, 1972, after the death of her father due to pneumonia complications.

Like the United Kingdom, Denmark has a constitutional monarchy that disallows monarchs and members of the royal family from taking part in politics or independently performing political acts. However, the queen must sign all acts of parliament after they have already been cosigned by a cabinet minister.

Queen Margrethe, 83, announced in her 2023 New Year's Eve speech that she was abdicating the throne and that her eldest son, Prince Frederik, would succeed her.

"I have decided that now is the right time. On 14th January, 2024 — 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father — I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will hand over the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik," Margrethe said in her annual New Year's speech on December 31, 2023.

"Such a long time does not pass unnoticed for anyone — not even me," she said. "Time wears, and ailments increase."

Earlier this year, Margrethe underwent "extensive" back surgery that "gave cause to thoughts about the future," she said, and "whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation."

Margrethe was married to Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, for 50 years before his death in 2018. He was open about his desire to be called king consort, rather than prince consort.

Before they were married, Henrik held the title of Henri Marie Jean André, Count of Laborde de Monpezat. The couple was married on June 10, 1967, in a 20-minute ceremony that followed Danish traditions.

Margrethe wore a silk wedding dress designed by Danish dressmaker Jorgen Bender. The gown also featured lace that once belonged to her grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, the former Crown Princess of Sweden.

When Margrethe became Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, her husband took on the title of Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark. However, he was open about the fact he preferred to be known as king consort. 

"It is no secret that the prince for many years has been unhappy with his role and the title he has been awarded in the Danish monarchy," the Royal Danish House's director of communications, Lene Balleby, told the newspaper BT in 2017, The New York Times reported. "This discontent has grown more and more in recent years."

Henrik's discontent with his title and, for a period of time, lack of salary, was so great that he requested not to be buried alongside his wife following his death, The New York Times reported.

They were married for 50 years before his death on February 13, 2018, at the age of 83. He was buried on February 20, 2018, at Fredensborg Palace, in Fredensborg, Denmark.

Queen Margrethe's youngest sister is Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

Princess Benedikte of Denmark, 79, is currently 11th in line to the throne of Denmark. She was married to Richard, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, until his death in 2017.

They share three children: Princess Alexandra, Princess Nathalie, and Prince Gustav. 

As the second-eldest child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, Princess Benedikte often attends official royal events in place of her elder sister, Queen Margrethe. She may even act as regent of Denmark when the queen is abroad. 

Queen Margrethe also has another younger sister, Queen Anne Marie of Greece.

Queen Anne Marie, 77, is best known as the last queen of Greece.

She was the consort of King Constantine II from the time of their marriage on September 19, 1964, until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on June 1, 1973.

King Constantine II passed away on January 10, 2023. 

They shared five children: Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece; Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark; Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark; Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark; and Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, an actress who goes by her stage name Theodora Greece. 

Queen Margrethe's eldest son and heir to the crown is Crown Prince Frederik.

Prince Frederik, 55, is expected to take the throne on January 14.

He is the first member of the Danish royal family to earn a master's degree. He also served in all three divisions of the Danish military over three decades: the Royal Danish Army, the Royal Danish Navy, and the Royal Danish Air Force. 

He married Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, in 2004. They share four children — Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Princess Josephine, and Prince Vincent — who are all in line for the throne. 

Frederik voiced support for his mother's decision to change the titles of his brother Joachim's four children from prince and princess to counts and countesses, which caused a rift in the family. 

"My mother has made this decision alone, because it is what she can do and it is what she wants, and she thought now was the time to make a decision that I also support and see as the right thing to do," Frederik said outside of a Copenhagen school where he attended an event in October 2022, People reported.

"I myself am interested in the Danish monarchy staying lean over time, so I, therefore, support my mother's decision, which she has chosen to make," he added.

Last year, Frederik was also the subject of infidelity rumors. In November 2023, the Spanish tabloid Lecturas published photos of Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova and the prince walking alone in El Retiro Park, Madrid, and alleged the pair later spent the evening at Casanova's apartment.

Casanova denied the claims "suggesting a romantic relationship between Prince Frederik and myself," and said that "any such statement is not only completely untrue but also misrepresents the facts in a malicious manner" in a statement published by Hola and translated to English by Business Insider.

"We do not comment on rumors and insinuations," a spokesperson for the royal house of Denmark previously told Business Insider.

Crown Princess Mary will become queen consort of Denmark when her husband ascends the throne.

Princess Mary of Denmark, 51, was born Mary Donaldson in Tasmania, Australia. Her father was a professor, and her mother worked as the executive assistant to the vice-chancellor of the University of Tasmania. 

Mary was working as an advertising executive in Australia when she met Prince Frederik at a bar in Sydney in 2000. At the time, she did not know who he was, since he introduced himself simply as "Fred," People reported.

"Something clicked," Princess Mary said in a 2005 interview. "It wasn't the fireworks in the sky or anything like that, but there was a sense of excitement."

Mary and Frederik continued to date long-distance, going under the radar of the world press, while Mary moved to Copenhagen, converted to the Lutheran Church, and began learning Danish. In 2003, the couple announced their engagement. 

The pair were married on May 14, 2004, at Copenhagen Cathedral. 

Prince Christian of Denmark is Mary and Frederik's oldest child.

At 18 years old, Christian will become first in line to the throne of Denmark when his father assumes the throne this month.

In Denmark, each king alternates between the names Frederik and Christian — a tradition that's been around since 1513. If he ever has a son of his own, Prince Christian would likely follow the royal tradition of naming his son Frederik.

In 2020, Christian began a 12-week program at the Lemania-Verbier International School in Switzerland. However, after the pandemic hit, Christian and his siblings returned to Denmark. He began attending Herlufsholm Boarding School in Næstved, a town in Denmark, in August 2021.

Princess Isabella is the couple's second oldest child.

Princess Isabella, 16, will be second in line to the throne.

Mary and Frederik also have twins: Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent.

Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine turned 12 years old on January 8, 2023. Prince Vincent, who was born 26 minutes before his sister, will be third in line to the throne. Princess Josephine is fourth in line to the throne.

Prince Joachim, Queen Margrethe's second son, publicly called out his mother's decision to change his children's titles.

Prince Joachim, 54, will become fifth in line to the throne, after his brother and his brother's children, when Prince Frederik ascends to the throne.

He was previously married to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, in 1995, before their divorce in 2005. They share two children: Count Nikolai and Count Felix. He then married French-born Marie Cavallier in 2008. They share Count Henrik and Countess Athena.

In September 2022, Queen Margrethe announced that four of her grandchildren would have their prince and princess titles changed to count and countess, starting in January 2023.

According to a statement from the Danish royal household, the decision, which it said was similar to recent decisions made by other royal families, was made so the children could "shape their own lives to a much greater extent."

His mother's decision apparently came as a surprise to Joachim, who claimed he was only given notice of the change five days before it was made public.

"My kids don't know which leg to stand on. What they should believe," he said in a 2022 press statement, Town & Country reported. "Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in that way?"

For her part, the queen has said it was something she had been considering for a while. The queen later apologized but did not reverse her decision.

In October 2022, Joachim met with his mother to discuss the issue, Danish newspaper BT reported, according to People.

"It is correct that the Queen and Prince Joachim have spoken together at Fredensborg," a spokesperson for the royal household told BT. "Everyone agrees to look forward, and as the Queen herself has expressed, she and Prince Joachim want calm to find their way through this situation."

At the time, Joachim lived in Paris with his family, but in 2023, they moved to the US ahead of his new role at the Danish Embassy.

On September 1, 2023, the Danish royal palace shared an Instagram photo of Joachim, writing, "First working day at the Danish Embassy in Washington D.C. His Royal Highness Prince Joachim took office today as Defense Industry Attaché at the Danish Embassy in Washington D.C. Here, the Prince will help strengthen Denmark's defence industrial cooperation with the USA and Canada in the coming years."

The Danish royal household did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Princess Marie of Denmark is Joachim's second wife and the mother of his two youngest children.

Prince Joachim married Princess Marie on May 24, 2008, after dating for several years. Unlike many other royal weddings, it was not considered a state occasion but nevertheless had a formal white-tie dress code. 

During the summer of 2019, Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, and their two children moved to Paris, France. Nikolai and his brother Felix continued to live in Copenhagen. 

In the aftermath of her children losing their prince and princess titles, the Daily Mail reported that Marie told a Danish news outlet that their daughter Athena, 11, is being bullied at school by kids ridiculing her because she is "no longer a princess."

Count Nikolai, Prince Joachim's oldest son, has a blossoming career as a model.

Count Nikolai, 24, is the eldest son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. He is also the eldest grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and is sixth in line to the throne of Denmark. 

Nikolai is signed with Scoop Models, a modeling agency based out of Copenhagen. He has walked the runway for Dior and has had spreads in Vogue Czechoslovakia and Vogue Scandinavia.

In regards to the decision to strip him and his siblings of their prince and princess titles, Nikolai said in an interview with Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet that he was "in shock" and "very confused as to why it has to happen like this," according to an English translation shared by the New York Post.

In August 2023, Count Nikolai moved to Australia for an exchange semester at the University of Technology in Ultimo, Sydney.

Prince Joachim's four children are still in line for the throne despite being stripped of their prince and princess titles.

Count Felix, Joachim's second-eldest son at 21 years old, is seventh in the line to the Danish throne. Count Henrik, 14, is eighth in line, and Countess Athena, 11, is ninth in line. 

It is unlikely that Joachim or any of his children will ever ascend the throne.