With the announcement that Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark are moving to the United States with their family, they join a list of other royals who have moved across the pond. So who are the royals who have relocated, and what appeals to the European royals about living in the U.S.?
Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, Count Henrik, and Countess Athena will move to Washington D.C. in September while Joachim works as a defence industry attaché in the Danish Embassy. They haven’t lived in Denmark in several years due to Prince Joachim’s role as an attaché in Paris.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden is married to an American-British financier, and they have lived in New York and Florida with their family.
Madeleine first travelled to the United States in 2010 after she ended her engagement with Jonas Bergström after he was unfaithful. She moved to New York, where she met Chris O’Neill. After their 2013 wedding, the family remained in New York, where their first child, Princess Leonore, was born (making her the closest American to any throne). They later moved to London before returning to the U.S. to live in Miami, Florida.
They will move to Sweden this autumn after five years in the Sunshine State.
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece married American heiress Marie-Chantal Miller in 1995. They have lived in Connecticut, New York and California. All but one of their five children were born in the States (Prince Odysseus-Kimon was born in London while the family resided there). The family once again lives in New York; there were rumours after the death of Pavlos’s father, King Constantine, that the family would move to Greece, but that has been proven false.
The most famous relocation to America is the Sussexes. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and their son Prince Archie, moved to California after stepping back from royal duties in 2020. The couple’s second child, Princess Lilibet (Lili), was born in California in 2021; the family remains in the United States. They have had a Netflix documentary, podcasts and a memoir released since arriving in the U.S.
Looking back several decades, the Shah of Iran and his family eventually settled in America after the Iranian Revolution. They came to America for medical treatment for the Shah and have mostly stayed since. His son, Crown Prince Reza, and his family reside in the States to this day. The Crown Prince has been especially vocal against the Iranian regime, but even more so since protests against the government have begun taking place all across Iran after the unjustified death of a young woman.
Why did all these royals choose America?
Well, for one, America doesn’t have a royal family, and the vast majority of Americans couldn’t care less about the royals across the pond. The U.S. was founded on the idea of not needing or wanting a monarchy, so kings, queens, princes and princesses are not a high priority to the public. Residing in America can provide anonymity that royals can’t get anywhere else. This is especially true if you are a non-British royal; many Americans don’t know they are shopping beside a Princess of Sweden in Florida and won’t know they are eating near a Prince of Denmark in D.C.
The American people have more to worry about than royals in their midst. Constant political bickering and social issues are at the forefront – not a foreign head of state’s child.
In addition, America has Hollywood that provides the drama and celebrity fix. While the news in Britain will cover the Prince and Princess of Wales going on holiday, in America, the drama between Hailey Bieber and her comments on Selena Gomez will get much more attention. And currently, many Americans are focused on one thing – March Madness. They are completing brackets and are invested in who will win the college basketball national championships. That, plus the ongoing Trump investigation and potential indictment, are all front-page news.
Royals from Europe (or elsewhere) can have a more private life and freedom in the United States than in their home country. There is less stress and focus on protocol. In America, they are surrounded by other immigrants from all over the world with a mix of various cultures.
In the U.S., they aren’t “royal” but rather more “commoner;” it’s the land of opportunity, and it gives them peace of mind not available anywhere else.
