In 2022, casual royal gossips received a crash course in Danish royal drama. It all started in September 2022, when then-Queen Margrethe decided to remove some of her grandchildren’s royal titles. The grandchildren in question were Prince Joachim’s four children (two kids with each of his wives). Joachim and his second wife, Princess Marie, had already been halfway exiled to Paris, where Joachim worked as a high-level military attaché. The title issue blew up into a major controversy and Joachim and Marie made it clear that they were very hurt by Margrethe’s high-handed decision. Within a few months, things settled down – Margrethe met with her second son and she publicly apologized for her decision, but maintained that the family needed some streamlining. Then, last summer, Joachim and Marie were transferred to Washington DC, with Joachim once again given a pretty high-level attaché position (befitting a prince). Now that they’ve been in DC for about eight months, Joachim and Marie granted an interview to the Washington Post. It was a good read, if a bit condescending to those unfamiliar with Danish royal dramas. Some highlights:
Joachim still considers himself a representative of Denmark’s royal family: “You reach back in time — in the Danish case, more than a thousand years,” he said last month, “and you are — it may sound odd to say — the living legacy of that national identity.”
Americans aren’t paying attention to him: He’s instantly recognizable in Copenhagen but can walk around Washington unnoticed. The nation’s capital plays hosts to royals from all over the world — usually when they are students — thanks to a huge international community and the anonymity it affords those born into these dynasties. This is his best shot at a drama-free life away from royal reporters who obsess over the comings and goings of even minor European nobles.
Wait, THAT is how you pronounce his name?? So it’s a good time for a fresh start, a chance for Joachim (pronounced Yo-ahh-cheem) and his family to have some fun away from the spotlight. He’s come to the United States to serve as defense attaché for the Danish Embassy — working with the Pentagon and other NATO allies — and, in a broader sense, teach Americans about Denmark.
His job in America: “It’s about defense industrial cooperation,” Joachim explained. “My main task here is to pave the way — boost, help, inspire — for Danish defense industries, large and small, to enter the U.S.: Either provide or sub-supply, get into that big chain of regenerating and resupplying our armed forces.” In short: One of the thousands of diplomats in this town (who happens to be a member of the royal family).
Princess Marie on her marriage to a Danish prince: “I had high expectations. I wanted to speak Danish perfectly. I wanted people to be proud of me. I wanted to fit in. So I think I put a lot of pressure on myself. But Denmark is actually an easy country to live in. Why? Because people respect each other a lot. I don’t feel there’s a lot of conflicts. Things work well.”
How much money Joachim gets in public funds: The royal budget is public information: The 2023 financial report lists a total of $13 million in public funds; as a full-time working royal, Prince Joachim receives about $575,000 a year. “There are some who say that if you look at it in a tribal way, everybody has to contribute, right?” said the prince. “And what you contribute is what you will be measured by. That means thanked for or blamed for.”
Marie on their children’s royal titles being removed: “We weren’t happy about the way it happened,” Marie said. “But it’s a family thing. It’s complicated.” What some people might see as frivolous is something more, she said: “It’s also their name. It’s their identity since they were born. So it’s more than just what people see as a title.” But what’s done is done: The queen always gets the last word in any argument. “We’ve moved on,” Joachim said. (He was all smiles at his brother’s coronation.)
Their new life in Washington: “We’ve lived here for seven months now, and very few people know who we are, Danes apart,” said the prince. The prince and princess can fly under the radar or use their titles to leverage attention for causes they care about. He’s a patron to 60 organizations; she’s been working on the issue of hunger and food waste for years, and since arriving in Washington has partnered with Veteran Coalition International, a Danish American nonprofit that focuses on long-term care for international/NATO veterans and their families.
Joachim actually came across as happy, like he’s enjoying his new life and new sense of freedom in America. Marie… I don’t know. Washington is a company town (the company being the American government), and the era of the Washington socialite/power-wife is kind of over. Still, tons of charities and organizations would love a titled prince or princess on their board or at their fundraiser. Which is why I think Joachim and Marie did this interview. They want to announce themselves and tell Washington that they’re ready to be seen out and about, that they want those invitations and calls from charities. They wanted to fly under the radar, and then they were astonished to learn that they weren’t on anyone’s radar in America. Pay attention to meeeee!
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.