Photo: Getty (4)
Prince Harry’s sweeping memoirSparemay have cast his family onto front pages around the world, but the British royals aren’t the only ones whose tensions have made recent headlines.
As monarchies modernize to survive, the royal families of Denmark, Norway, Spain and Japan all have made changes to meet the times. Read on for a royal roundup of all the latest court intrigue.
Denmark
The start of 2023 began with great change for the Royal House of Denmark, as four ofQueen Margrethe II’s grandchildren wereofficially strippedof the prince and princess titles they inherited at birth. As of Jan. 1, the children of Prince Joachim — sons Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, and Henrik, 13, and daughter Athena, 11 — are now styled as His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat.
Queen Margrethe with Prince Joachim and his family.Patrick van Katwijk/Getty
Queen Margrethesoon issuedan apology stating she “underestimated” how the shock of the news would affect her second son and his family. The monarchmaintained, however, that the plans had been in motion for a while and argued that the decision was made in the best interests of her grandchildren.
Patrick van Katwijk/Getty
Norway
The Royal House of Norway began the new year a bit smaller afterPrincess Märtha Louiserelinquished her royal rolein November 2022. Courtiers said Märtha Louise stepped back in order to more freely pursue other interests, and the decision came five months after her engagement toShaman Durekwas announced. The only daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja retains her princess title, and she and her fiancé will continue to be included in family events, thestatementsaid.
In a heartfeltInstagrampost on Jan. 1, Märtha Louise acknowledged that “2022 was a challenging year for me in many ways. It was also a year filled with joy, happiness and love.”
Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Martha Louise, King Harald and Queen Sonja.LISE AASERUD/AFP via Getty
“Life has its challenges. No one can escape them, but it is up to each and everyone of us how to meet those challenges,” she wrote, voicing her hopes for a bright 2023.
The royal is perhaps looking forward to an upcoming wedding, though she and Durek, a Los Angeles-based “spiritual guide and gifted healer,” have yet to announce a date.
LISE ASERUD/NTB/AFP via Getty
Spain
The funeral ofKing Constantine IIof Greece was somewhat of a royal reunion, andJuan Carlos, the former King of Spain, came to pay his respects. Juan Carlos, 85, and his wife, Queen Sofia, attended the somber service, as did their sonKing Felipeand daughter-in-lawQueen Letizia.
The two couples were notably not photographed together during the funerary events, thoughHello!reports the father and son embraced at the cemetery.
Raul Terrel/Europa Press via Getty; Raul Terrel/Europa Press via Getty
The funeral was only one of a few times Juan Carlos has appeared at the same event as Felipe and Letizia since leaving Spain under a cloud of scandal amidallegations of tax fraud and money laundering. The former Spanish monarch, who was once revered for his role in his country’s transition to democracy, abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son, who has since strategically distanced himself from his father.
Today, Juan Carlos lives in Abu Dhabi.
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Japan
Kei Komuro and Princess Mako.SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP via Getty Images
The year 2022 was a time of transition for the Imperial House of Japan after the formerPrincess Makoleft the royal family to marry a commoner. Because Japanese law requires a princess to “leave the imperial family upon marriage to a commoner,” Makogave up her royal titlesto marry her boyfriend, Kei Komuro, in October 2021. She alsoturned down a $1.3 million payoutfrom the Japanese government that is traditionally paid to royal women who lose their royal status when they marry.
As the niece of Emperor Naruhito and her husband make a new life for themselves inNew York City, her younger sisterPrincess Kakohas stepped up and embraced a heavier royal workload.
Imperial Household Agency of Jap/AFP via Getty
The Imperial Household Agency releasedspecial birthday portraitsof Princess Kako for her 28th birthday in December, andThe Japan Timespublished a rundown of her many engagements and new patronages, picking up key causes in her sister’s stead.
source: people.com
