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Prince Joachim accuses Queen Margrethe of harming her grandchildren by removing royal titles

By Natalie Oliveri|

Prince Joachim of Denmark has accused his mother the Queen of harming her grandchildren by stripping them of their royal titles.

It's the strongest criticism yet by Queen Margrethe II's youngest son, who claims he was given only ?five days' notice that his children would not be called prince or princess from January 1.

The decision affects four children of the Queen's eight grandchildren and was revealed in a statement on Wednesday, with the monarch saying she hoped it would allow them "to shape their own lives" into the future.

READ MORE: Family 'saddened, in shock' after Danish Queen strips royal titles

Prince Joachim has criticised the decision by his mother the Queen to remove her grandchildren's royal titles. (Getty)

Under the changes, which take effect from next year, the four children of ?Prince Joachim will no longer be able to use their titles of prince and princess. They also won't have the status of His/Her Royal Highness.

Queen Margrethe's move has angered Prince Joachim, 53, who is the brother of Crown Prince Frederik.

READ MORE: Princess Mary's niece, nephews lose royal titles palace shakeup

He issued a statement to Danish magazine Ekstra Bladet hours after the palace.

?"We are all very sad," Prince Joachim said.

"It's never fun to see your children being harmed. They have been put in a situation they do not understand."

Prince Joachim of Denmark with wife Princess Marie and his oldest son Prince Nikolai at Christiansborg Palace on May 26, 2018. (Getty)

Previously, Prince Joachim said he had been presented with a plan for the change in May but the Queen said the titles would remain with his children until they turned 25.

His children are Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13 and Princess Athena, 10.

The children will lose their status as status of His/Her Royal Highness and will be addressed as excellencies instead.

Prince Joachim's four children will no longer be able to use their prince or princess titles. (Princess Marie/Danish Royal Household)

They will ?be allowed to keep their aristocratic titles of count and countess of Monpezat and will be known as His Excellency Count of Monpezat or Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat.?

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Prince Nikolai, who now works as a fashion model, also commented on his grandmother's move.

"My whole family and I are of course very sad. We are, as my parents have also stated, in shock at this decision and at how quickly it has actually gone," he told Ekstra Bladet.

"I am very confused as to why it has to happen like this."

Nikolai and his three siblings will maintain their places in the order of succession, the palace said.?

Prince Joachim is sixth-in-line to the Danish throne.

The decision to slim down the monarchy, which is ?one of Europe's oldest, is in line with changes "other royal houses have made" the palace said.

Queen Margrethe with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie and (L-R) Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix, Princess Athena and Prince Henrik in April. (Getty)

Margrethe is now Europe's longest-serving monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth and celebrated her Golden Jubilee จC 50 years on the throne จC this year.

She said: "It is a consideration I have had for quite a long time and I think it will be good for them in their future."

The four children of Margrethe's heir Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary, are not affected by the changes.

READ MORE: A closer look at Princess Mary's brother-in-law, Prince Joachim

Their eldest son Prince Christian, 16, will acceed the throne after his father and will be the only one of the Queen's grandchildren to receive an appanage from the Crown, following a decision made in 2016.

Within hours of the palace's statement, Joachim's ex-wife and mother to Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, criticised the move.

Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark with their children. (Steen Brogaard)

"We are all confused by the decision. We are saddened and in shock," Alexandra Countess of Frederiksborg, said via her press advisor Helle von Wildenrath L?vgreen, according to Se og H?r.

"This comes like a bolt from the blue. The children feel ostracised. They cannot understand why their identity is being taken away from them."

The statement was also issued on behalf of Prince Joachim and his current wife, Princess Marie, whom he married in 2008.

Prince Joachim and Princess Marie moved away from Denmark with their children several years ago, with Joachim taking up a role at the Danish embassy in Paris.

Crown Princess Mary, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim and his wife Princess Marie, in Paris. (Getty)

But his planned start at the embassy was delayed by two months when he suffered a life-threatening brain aneurism in July 2020?.

He has since recovered.

Danish royal expert Lars Hovbakke S?rensen believes the changes in Prince Joachim's family titles is the latest sign in a wider rift within the monarchy.

He said Prince Joachim's decision to publicly criticise his mother the Queen was 'highly unusual".

READ MORE: Princess Mary celebrates 50 years of Denmark's Queen ?

"We have not seen this kind of public discussion in the royal family since the time when there was trouble about Prince Henrik and his role in the royal household," S?rensen told Ekstra Bladet, referring to the Queen's late husband who refused to be buried alongside his wife because he was never given equal status despite their long marriage.

Countess Alexandra said she and her family were "saddened and in shock" after Queen Margrethe's decision. (Getty)

S?rensen said Joachim's comments have made it "so clear that there are internal problems in the royal family".

"There can be no two opinions about that after seeing this interview," he added.

He said conflicts within the Danish monarchy were rare and likened the situation the British royal family.

"It does not reach the same heights as we have seen in Great Britain, but we have been used to things going fairly smoothly in the Danish royal house, so this is very significant because it affects both the family and the principles of, what role will the royal house play."

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