Who is Prince Joachim of Denmark?

Today is the birthday of Prince Joachim of Denmark, and to mark the celebration, we are taking a look at his life so far. 

Prince Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian was born on 7 June 1969 in Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet as the younger son of the current Queen Margrethe II and her late husband, Prince Henrik. The Prince is sixth in line to the throne after his older brother, Crown Prince Frederik and his nieces and nephews: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine.

The Prince was christened at Aarhus Cathedral on 15 July 1969 with his maternal aunt, Princess Benedikte; paternal uncle, Jean Baptiste de Laborde de Monpezat; King (then Crown Prince) Harald of Norway; and Princess Christina of Sweden serving as godparents. The christening was a break in tradition as he was the first Danish royal baby to be baptised outside the capital of Copenhagen.

His Royal Highness was later confirmed into the Church of Denmark on 10 June 1982 at Fredensborg Palace Church.

Joachim currently lives with his second wife, Princess Marie in Klampenborg. The pair met by chance at a dinner party when Joachim was still married to his previous wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg but did not start dating until much later. Despite Marie being hesitant to settle down and give up her independence, she loved the Prince, and they married on 24 May 2008 at Møgeltønder Church.

The couple have two young children, Prince Henrik (b. 2009) and Princess Athena (b. 2012) and try to raise them to have as normal a life as is possible for royal grandchildren of a monarch. The Prince also has two other children; Prince Nikolai (b. 1999) and Prince Felix (b. 2002) from his first marriage.

Despite Joachim being unlikely to succeed to the throne, he received a similar education to his older brother, Crown Prince Frederik. The brothers were educated in Denmark and France in a number of institutions and both received military education and training. Prince Joachim went on to study agrarian economics at Den Classenske Agerbrugskole Næsgaard before continuing into military roles.

Currently, the Prince is active in the defence reserve; he also serves as the chief of the Liaison Officers Group in Total Defence Region Fyn, Syd and Sønderjylland. Additionally, he serves as a special advisor to the Danish Defence. He and his family will move to Paris, France, (his wife’s hometown) in September 2019 where Joachim will undertake military training. They will remain in France until the summer of 2020.

On top of this, Joachim has an interest in business and runs his own forestry and farming enterprises with the experience he gained working in Paris and Hong Kong. Due to his status as sixth in line for the throne, Joachim has had more opportunities to pursue his personal interests.

The Prince is also involved in many charitable organisations and societies. Some of his patronages include CARE Denmark, Danish Rugby Union, Aalborg Zoo, Danish Veterans, and the Danish Society for Education and Business (DSEB). He is an honorary member of several other organisations. 

His Royal Highness speaks his native Danish, his father’s native French, English and German. He also holds several Danish honours, as well as foreign honours.