It is no secret that Queen Margrethe’s deceased husband, Prince Henrik, struggled to find his role in the Danish royal set up during his lifetime. Like his father, Prince Joachim also struggles to live in the shadow of a close family member, his older brother Crown Prince Frederik. This is clear in a new interview that Prince Joachim has given to the French magazine Point de Vue.
Here, Prince Joachim puts words to being in the shadow of his brother, Crown Prince Frederik. When the prince is asked about his role, he answers in an unprecedentedly honest way: “Between us, it is more complicated. The Crown Prince simply has to follow the course of events. However, nothing is defined for the second born son and the person’s wife, neither in writing nor in speech. My father became acquainted with the same dissatisfaction and never managed to get his place in the royal family pinned down.”
The prince continues: “But it is not always easy. I experience the same dissatisfaction as my father. We have to find out for ourselves, while staying within the role of number two in the row.”
Prince Joachim, who now lives in Paris with his second wife, Princess Marie, and their two children, continued ”It is true that I feel a little freer. This may allow us to find our place, always with the mission of representing the family and our country well.”
It is the first time that Prince Joachim has spoken about finding his place although his father spoke many times about his own role in the royal family and not being of equal standing with his wife, Queen Margrethe.
In 2019, the Royal House announced that Prince Joachim and Princess Marie would move with their children, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena, to France so that Prince Joachim could take military training at the Ecole Militaire in Paris. Since then, the royal family has lived in the French capital, where Prince Joachim has subsequently been employed as the defence attaché at the Danish embassy in Paris.
In July 2020, the prince suffered a brain haemorrhage for which he had to undergo surgery in Toulouse. Prince Joachim has no permanent injuries after the life-threatening experience, and in September 2020, he resumed work as defence attaché.
