Queen Margrethe of Denmark strips grandchildren of royal titles

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The reign of King Charles III will bring change within the Royal Family similar to the one already witnessed in other European monarchies, according to a royal historian. Commentator Marlene Koenig believes the new sovereign, who has been widely rumoured for years to be planning a slimmed-down Firm, is set to “further limit titles”, continuing the major change on British royal titles launched by King George V with his Letters Patent issued in 1917.

Among those affected by these possible changes, Ms Koenig added, could be the daughters of Prince Andrew and beloved granddaughters of the late Queen – Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

While they hold HRH styles and the title of Princess, Beatrice and Eugenie never joined the Royal Family as working members and have carved out their own careers and paths independently from the Firm.

The royal historian told Express.co.uk: “Yes, there will be a change, and it could include downgrading Beatrice and Eugenie to the style of daughters of a Duke.

“This was done in the 1917 Letters Patent for the great-grandchildren in the male line, which is why the present Duke of Gloucester and the present Duke of Kent (who are grandsons in the male line) are the last to have the HRH and Prince as their children are not royal.

“The earls are styled as the Earl of Ulster and Earl of St. Andrews.

“The daughters are [styled as] ‘Lady Christian name’, younger sons are [styled as] ‘Lord Christian name’.

“Prince Michael’s children are styled as the younger son of a Duke and daughter of a Duke.

“So George V started this, Charles will indeed make it more restrictive but it will have to do first and foremost with the gender equal succession – which most people forget about.”

The Letters Patent issued by King George V limited the HRH styling and titles of Prince and Princess only to the children of the sovereign, the grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.

This meant that, had Queen Elizabeth II not slightly modified this convention in 2012, Prince George would have been the only child of Prince William and Kate to be entitled to an HRH style and title of prince.

The late Queen’s move, however, extended the honours to all the children of the now Prince and Princess of Wales, but stopped short of granting titles to the children of Charles’s younger son, Prince Harry.

Archie Harrison and Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana became eligible for their HRH and titles when King Charles acceded to the throne on September 8.

However, no announcement on whether this will be formalised has been made yet.

Speculation on whether the new King will cull the number of title holders in the Royal Family or will cut the number of working royals started swirling after Queen Margrethe II, the Danish head of state, announced on Wednesday she was stripping four of her grandchildren of their titles.

Those affected are the three sons and one daughter of the Queen’s younger son, Prince Joachim, who on Thursday said in an interview with Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet: “It’s never fun to see your children being harmed.

“They are been put in a situation they do not understand.”

Other members of his family, including his eldest son Prince Nikolai and ex-wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, expressed their “shock” at the decision, which appears to have driven a wedge between the seemingly united Danish Royal Family.

While Prince Joachim claimed he and his children, whose age ranges from 10 to 23, were only given a five-day notice regarding the decision to strip them of their HRH styles and titles, the Danish Royal Court said the move had been a “long time coming” and was designed to “future-proof” the monarchy.

Similarly, Queen Margrethe herself defended the decision, saying: “It is a consideration I have had for quite a long time and I think it will be good for them in their future. That is the reason.”

From January 1, Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik 13 and Princess Athena, 10, will cease to use their HRH and titles and instead will need to be addressed as His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat.

They will maintain their positions in the order of succession.

Ms Koenig noted sovereigns across Europe have been taking similar decisions over the past years.

She said: “In 1987, Spain limited the HRH and title Infant of Spain to the children of the sovereign and the children of the Prince or Princess of Asturias (the title for the heir).

“In 2015, King Philippe of Belgium did this with a decree that will have only the children of the sovereign and children of the heir or heiress apparent have royal titles.

“Others – the children of his sister and brother did not lose their titles – but the royal titles cannot be inherited.

“King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden removed the HRH from the children of his son, Carl Philip, and daughter Princess Madeleine.

“The children are also no longer members of the Royal House although remain in succession.

“I will not be surprised if the King in the not too distant future downgrades these children to Counts Bernadotte, or something similar, as none will have royal roles. Madeleine’s kids live in the US.”

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