Prince Joachim has given his first interview since he underwent surgery on a blood clot on his brain in July. The prince remained in intensive care for several days following the procedure. In the interview with the Danish TV-channel, DR, the prince talks about how the blood clot has affected his life.
Asked how he now feels, the second son of the Danish Queen says: “My health and mood is good, but I must say that it is still something I work with and it will be so for a long time to come. It is not only me and my physical health that were affected. My wife, my children and the immediate family, we have all been affected by it. That is why the family is also a part of this healing, and we thank our Creator for every single day.”
The prince continues: “We are together here in our little life in Paris, which on top of that, with the coronavirus, has become even less physically and we enjoy being able to be together. We enjoy every moment we have. And it’s right down to the slightest detail, like helping the kids with homework. Just the fact that we are together.”
Prince Joachim, his wife Princess Marie and the couple’s two children moved to France just over a year and a half ago when Prince Joachim was admitted to the internationally recognized defense academy, Ecole Militaire. Since mid-September this year, the prince has worked as Denmark’s defence attaché to France. About the current lockdown in France, due the coronavirus pandemic, the prince says: “These are really strange times, of course, I obey the command to wear a mask. We owe it to each other, but we also owe it to ourselves. It is too silly to walk around thinking that you cannot be affected by coronavirus. Everyone can be affected.”
Son of a Queen and brother of the future King, Prince Joachim will fill the position as defence attaché for the next three years with the possibility of an extension for up to one more year. Any further into the future, the prince doesn’t want to look , he says to DR. Despite a year that has seen him go through surgery for a blood clot as well as face the challenges of the coronavirus epidemics and terrorist attacks, Prince Joachim enjoys the Parisian everyday life with his family. The prince says: “Remember that I am half-French, and here I can cultivate the French side of my personality and blend into the French everyday life whenever I want. Similarly, within the four walls of the home we can be Danish, we can be French, we can be Danish-French, we can mix it as crazy as we want.”
