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Queen Margrethe of Denmark has sailed off on her summer holiday in what is likely to be a much-needed break for the 83-year-old monarch.
The Danish Queen was pretty in pink with a dress, jacket and hat as she arrived in Sonderborg and stepped off the royal ship, Dannebrog, to be greeted by Sonderborg mayor Erik Lauritzen.
She will be spending the summer holiday in the royal residence of Graasten Castle in the south of the country.
The Queen’s summer break, which began yesterday, comes after a difficult year for her family, which was at loggerheads when the monarch announced she was stripping her youngest son Prince Joachim’s children of their princely titles.
The family has since resolved its dispute, however Prince Joachim has announced he will be moving to Washington, US, in August to take up a post at the Danish Embassy to the USA.
Goodbye for the summer! Queen Margrethe began her summer holiday as she arrived in Sonderborg yesterday afternoon
Last September, the Danish Royal Palace announced that Prince Joachim’s four children Nikolai and Felix – born from his first marriage – and Henrik and Athena, would no longer be princes and princess, and instead would be counts and countess.
Explaining her decision, the Queen said the new titles would allow her four grandchildren from her second son to live more normal lives.
At the time, Prince Joachim publicly spoke out against his mother’s decision – claiming that his children had been ‘harmed’ in the process.
The Queen, 83, was welcomed by mayor of Sonderborg Erik Lauritzen after the royal ship docked at the harbour
The Queen’s much-needed vacation comes after a difficult year for her family in which she was involved in a conflict with her youngest son Prince Joachim (right) over his four children and their princely titles
He told Danish publication B.T: ‘I can say that my children are sad. My kids don’t know which leg to stand on. What they should believe. Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in that way?’
He also claimed that he had only been told the news five days before it was made public – despite the Royal Household insisting the decision ‘has been a long time coming’.
‘I don’t want to engage in speculation and mudslinging,’ said Joachim. ‘I am telling the truth… I was given five days notice… I was given five days’ notice of this. To tell my children that on New Year’s their identity will be taken from them.’
He added that in May 2022, he was presented with a plan that his ‘children’s identity should be taken from them when each of them turned 25’, to which he asked ‘to be allowed to come back with my proposal’.
But he said he was given just five days notice that the decision was to be accelerated, adding: ‘I am so sorry for my children. I just demand the truth.’
The Prince’s candid comments led to the Danish Royal Household issuing an unprecedented statement in which Queen Margrethe apologised for any hurt caused by the announcement.
It read: ‘In recent days, there have been strong reactions to my decision on the future use of titles for Prince Joachim’s four children. It obviously affects me.
‘My decision has been a long time coming. With my 50 years on the throne, it is natural both to look back and to look forward.
‘It is my duty and my wish as Queen to ensure that the monarchy continues to shape itself in keeping with the times.
‘It sometimes requires difficult decisions to be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment.
After conducting crisis talks, the Danish royals reunited on the balcony of the Palace to celebrate the Queen’s 83rd birthday
‘Carrying a royal title entails a number of obligations and duties, which will in future be the responsibility of fewer members of the royal family.
‘This adaptation, which I see as a necessary safeguard for the future of the monarchy, I want to make in my time.’
She continued: ‘I have made my decision as Queen, mother and grandmother, but as a mother and grandmother I have underestimated how much my youngest son and his family feel affected. It makes a big impression, and I’m sorry for that.
‘No one should be in doubt that my children, children-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 ourselves.’
After the conflict was played out in public, the family got together for behind-the-scenes crisis talks to resolve their differences.
The Palace later told B.T: ‘The Queen and Prince Joachim have spoken together at Fredensborg. 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.’
Since then, the family has put on a united front, with the Queen and Prince Joachim having worked out their differences.
In April, Prince Joachim and his children joined with his brother and heir apparent, Crown Prince Frederik and his family to appear with their mother on the balcony of the Royal Palace to celebrate her 83rd birthday.
The Prince has also announced in recent months that he is heading to the US with his family to take up a post in the Danish Embassy in Washington DC – which is expected to begin later this summer.
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