For as long as I can remember, the British Royal Family has appeared to regard its European counterparts with a faint air of superiority.
European kings and queens have often travelled to Britain for landmark events, including royal weddings, yet the gesture has not always been returned. When a foreign royal family celebrates a wedding, Britain is more likely to send Prince Edward than the monarch or the heir to the throne.
The Scandinavian “bicycle monarchies” have also been treated as objects of amusement when compared with Britain’s more traditional institution, complete with grand palaces, carriage processions and layers of ceremonial pageantry.
However, while researching the latest episode of my YouTube programme, Eden’s Royals, I found myself wondering whether King Charles could learn valuable lessons from some of Europe’s smaller royal houses.
This week’s programme examined Denmark’s royal family, which shares several similarities with the Windsors. Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign was exceptional, but her third cousin, Queen Margrethe II, was also a hugely respected monarch, serving Denmark for 52 years.
Margrethe took a different path from Queen Elizabeth and chose not to remain on the throne until her death. In a televised New Year’s Eve address in 2023, she announced at the age of 83 that she would abdicate. It was the first voluntary resignation by a Danish monarch in almost nine centuries, and the decision stunned the nation because Margrethe had long maintained that royal service was a lifelong commitment.
Before handing the throne to her elder son, the 58-year-old King Frederik X, who is married to the Australian-born Queen Mary, 54, Margrethe had already taken another deeply controversial step.
In September 2022, she revealed that the four children of her younger son, Prince Joachim, would lose their prince and princess titles from the following year. The decision applied to Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena.
Richard Eden argues that King Charles should follow Denmark’s example and make a decision that may upset his younger son but could strengthen the monarchy and serve the country
Harry and Meghan have retained their royal titles, while their children continue to be known as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet
The four grandchildren were still permitted to use the titles Count or Countess of Monpezat, but they would be addressed as “Your Excellencies” rather than “Your Royal Highnesses”.
Margrethe said the change was designed to give the children greater freedom to build independent lives, without the expectations and obligations attached to being formal members of the Danish Royal House.
Prince Joachim, who had not been at the centre of any major public scandal, reacted with anger and hurt.
“We are all very sad,” he said publicly. “It’s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that. They themselves find themselves in a situation they do not understand.” His son Nikolai, then 23, said he was “in shock” and “very confused as to why it has to happen like this”.
Even in the face of that backlash, Margrethe insisted the reform was necessary to protect the future of the institution. “It is my duty and my desire as Queen to ensure that the monarchy always shapes itself in keeping with the times,” she said. “Sometimes, this means that difficult decisions must be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment.”
Margrethe’s willingness to act stands in sharp contrast to King Charles’s apparent reluctance to take comparable measures involving his younger son.
Before stepping down, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II took a controversial decision that caused considerable distress within her family
Unlike Prince Joachim, Prince Harry has stepped away from royal duties, launched repeated public attacks on his family and criticised the institution he was born into. Nevertheless, he and Meghan have retained the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles bestowed on them by Queen Elizabeth II while they were working royals.
Harry has also remained a Counsellor of State, meaning he is technically eligible to deputise for the King. Rather than remove him from the arrangement, Charles expanded the group to include his siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, reducing the likelihood that Harry would ever be called upon to act.
Harry and Meghan have therefore kept their own royal titles, while their children continue to use the titles Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
All this is a huge boost to the Sussexes as they try to claw back the automatic, 24-hour police protection which they lost when they moved overseas. After all, why would the Government want to deny them of something they so desperately want when the King allows them to keep all their perks?
It’s time for the King to follow the example of his Danish counterpart and take action which will undoubtedly upset his younger son but will benefit the monarchy and the country.
