Controversy in Denmark as Prince Joachim shares his honest thoughts about the Danish royal family

Prince Joachim of Denmark has sparked controversy by making a surprisingly frank admission about his position within the Danish royal family.

The younger brother of King Frederik X made the controversial comment in the newly released documentary film titled Hærvejen, admitting to personally feeling uncertainty around his purpose and place within the royal institution.

The revealing moment in the documentary sees Prince Joachim, 55, questioning: ‘Am I a product? Do I have something to offer others besides…?’

The open-ended admission about his life’s purpose has the potential to cause new upset amongst the Danish royal household, particularly with his brother King Frederik and sister-in-law Queen Mary.

The candid statement made by Prince Joachim, who is nowadays based in the US and has an official role as the defence industry attaché to the Danish Embassy, might not sit well with King Frederik and Queen Mary.

The King, 56, and Queen, 53, only stepped up into the top job a year ago and are looking to put their own stamp on the direction of the Danish royal family and steer it towards the future. The Prince’s comments may give the royal couple pause for thought about his place amongst that vision.

In addition, what the Prince didn’t discuss in the new documentary also hinted at internal tensions within the royal family.

Although Prince Joachim offered up open and honest assessments about his own life in the film, it’s telling that he didn’t at any point speak about his current relationship with his brother King Frederik, or his mother Queen Margrethe II.  

Prince Joachim has made surprisingly frank comments about his position in the Danish royal family, which could give King Frederik and Queen Mary pause for thought.

The omission hints at residual issues within the Danish royal family, most likely stemming from the 2023 removal of the titles of Prince Joachim’s four children.

In recent years, Joachim has had a prickly relationship with his family after former monarch Queen Margrethe made the decision to strip the titles of his four children, Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena.

The Prince’s eldest sons Nikolai and Felix, who were born during his first marriage to Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg, and his younger children Henrik and Athena, whom he shares with current wife Countess of Marie, had their titles ‘discontinued’ in 2023.

The then-Queen’s decision to strip their titles did not sit well with the Prince, who made it explicitly known that the decision had upset his family.

‘I can say that my children are sad,’ Prince Joachim told local Danish publication B.T. following the shock announcement in 2022.

‘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?’

Interestingly, the Prince’s latest statement in the documentary echoes the concerns he’d previously raised about his own children potentially experiencing a crisis of identity as a result of their titles being stripped.

Nevertheless, the new documentary appears to have the support of the Danish royal family, who shared promotional pictures and snippets from the film to their official Instagram account ahead of its premiere last month.

The new documentary follows Prince Joachim along with Danish author Steffen Jacobsen as they hike along Denmark’s oldest road, Hærvejen.

Prince Joachim and his wife Princess Marie of Denmark with their two children Athena and Henrik along with Joachim’s older sons Felix and Nikolai.

The Danish royal family shared these stills of Prince Joachim and Danish author Steffen Jacobsen in the documentary Hærvejen

The Jesper H. Grand directed film sees the two men from starkly different backgrounds undertake the picturesque journey while sharing personal stories along the way.

The documentary includes never-before-heard revelations from the Prince about his upbringing and life behind palace walls.

One of the poignant moments in the documentary sees Prince Joachim recount the feeling of deep ‘loneliness’ that he experienced following his 2005 divorce from first wife, Countess Alexandra.

‘It wasn’t just loneliness. It was a strange loneliness derived from having done something inevitable and necessary,’ he revealed.

Throughout the documentary, the royal speaks openly about his experience as a parent and his interactions with his children.

And in a sign that his eldest son Nikolai is proud of his father, the model shared a sneak peek post about the film ahead of its premiere, writing that it featured ‘the coolest dad in his upcoming documentary’.

The documentary has been airing in select cinemas since its release and will later premiere in June on Danish TV channel DR1.