Denmark's Harry and Meghan? Prince Joachim and Princess Marie Extend U.S. Stay Following Royal Title Stripping Fallout
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie will continue to live in Washington, D.C.
Like their friends Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark are in no rush to leave the United States—in fact, they'e just confirmed they'll be staying put for the next few years. The couple relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2023 for Joachim to take a post as a defense industry attaché at the Danish Embassy—a move that happened after Joachim's mother, Queen Margrethe, stripped his childrens' royal titles. Now, a new statement from the Danish Ministry of Defense confirms that Prince Joachim and his family will be extending their stay in the USA until 2027.
In 2022, Queen Margrethe—who went on to abdicate the throne in January 2024—shocked the nation by slimming down its monarchy and stripping Joachim's four children of their prince and princess styles. Speaking to Danish media outlet B.T., he said, "I was given five days' notice on this. To tell my children that on New Year's Day their identity will be taken from them. I am very, very sad to see them sad and incomprehensible to what is happening above their heads."
He added, "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?" By early 2023, Joachim and Marie's children Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena were rebranded as Counts and Countess of Monpezat—and the family soon left for Washington, D.C.
Prince Harry invited Marie and Joachim to the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.
Princess Marie, Prince Joachim and their four children posed on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace to celebrate the 83rd birthday of Queen Margrethe in 2023.
A new statement revealed that Joachim's post had been extended to August 2027. "HRH Prince Joachim, together with HRH Princess Marie and their two children, HRH Count Henrik and HRH Countess Athena, will therefore remain living in Washington DC, where the children also have their daily schooling," the statement read.
While the Danish royals have patched things up publicly—appearing alongside Joachim's big brother, King Frederik, and sister-in-law Queen Mary, at select royal events in Denmark—the scars clearly remain. Princess Marie admitted in a 2024 Washington Post interview that the title-stripping incident impacted her children deeply. "We weren't happy about the way it happened," she said. "But it's a family thing. It's complicated. 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."
As for Prince Joachim, he put it simply. "We've moved on."
