These days, there is an intense sense of nostalgia. In the middle of a cold snap, we remember this recent stay in Copenhagen, during which we took refuge in warm cafes and restaurants, after having admired, cold, the changing of the guard. Since then, our obsession with Denmark has never left us. And our passion for the country's royal family has only grown. We were therefore stunned to learn of the abdication of Queen Margrethe II, announced on Sunday, December 31. And that wasn't all...
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Children 'upset'
In the course of our research, we discover, stunned, the internal struggles that agitate the sovereign's clan. It is revealed that she renounced the throne to save the marriage of her eldest son Frederik and Princess Mary, who was threatened by rumors of adultery. Margrethe II's abdication is said to be aimed at reuniting the heir to the throne, who is accused of having an affair with Mexican actress Genoveva Casanova, and his wife, in the hope that they will "work together as the new king and queen". A gesture that seems a bit desperate to us.
Read alsoDid Queen Margrethe of Denmark abdicate to save the marriage of her son, Prince Frederik?
We also read that Joachim, the queen's youngest son, developed romantic feelings for his sister-in-law for a time. That this forbidden love would have led Margrethe II to deprive the children of her second son of their titles of nobility. And that neither the latter, "upset" by this decision, nor their mother, citizens of Washington, will attend the enthronement of King Frederik and the official abdication of the sovereign, scheduled for Sunday, January 14.
'Déjà vu'
Prince Harry attends the coronation of Charles III. (London, 6 May 2023) Abaca
"It's like a feeling of déjà vu," joked a user on X (formerly Twitter), upon discovering this information. Suddenly, an image comes to mind. That of Prince Harry, relegated to the third row in Westminster Abbey, during the coronation of his father Charles III. An event he attended without Meghan Markle and their children Archie and Lilibet, who remained in the United States.
Harry and Joachim definitely have a lot in common. Rebellious sons, they both publicly opposed their illustrious families. Masters in the art of explosive revelations, the cadets have respectively become the thorn in the side of their clan. The former left his royal duties with a bang in January 2020, before accusing his family of neglect, his brother William of physical abuse, and two anonymous relatives of making a racist remark about his son. All of this, distilled into an Oprah Winfrey show, a Netflix documentary and her memoirs (no less)...
Hotheads
The latter was outraged in the media to see his children deprived of certain titles of nobility - like Archie and Lilibet, the son and daughter of Prince Harry, who were denied the distinction of Royal Highnesses. "Why should their identity be taken away from them? Prince Joachim exclaimed in the B.T. newspaper about his children in September 2022. Why do they need to be punished in this way?" Media storms in the face of which the royal families have proved helpless. Queen Margrethe II has thus formulated a mea culpa with regard to her grandchildren, we learn - without retracting it.
King Charles III, meanwhile, is said to be in a bind. Caught between his resentment of Prince Harry and the Windsors' annoyance over it, the monarch has remained silent. In short, chaos reigns. Especially since the rumor that Prince Joachim tried to kiss his sister-in-law Mary during a drunken evening in 2008 has recently resurfaced. Admittedly, we can't help but follow these twists and turns with avidity. After all, what would a good soap opera be without one or two hotheads (and crowned)?
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