King Charles III's decision on whether to give titles to Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor looms as Denmark's queen has been forced to apologize to her own family for stripping them of theirs.
Queen Margrethe II released a statement on Monday, in which she apologized to the family of her second son, Prince Joachim, whose children will not be given prince and princess titles.
The monarch said she was "future-proofing" the royal family, adding that with titles come royal jobs, and these will be done by fewer family members.
British and American publications have reported on hostile comments by Joachim in an interview and the news that he and his wife, Princess Marie, were reduced to tears.
King Charles III may want to keep a careful eye on how the saga plays out as he considers whether to give Archie and Lilibet, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, the titles of prince and princess.
The George V convention says Archie and Lilibet would receive them as grandchildren of the monarch, but Newsweek has been told a number of times that now is not the moment for a ruling on whether to apply the convention.
Margrethe said in a statement on the Danish royal family's website: "Holding a royal title involves a number of commitments and duties that, in the future, will lie with fewer members of the royal family.
"This adjustment, which I view as a necessary future-proofing of the monarchy, I want to take in my own time.
"I have made my decision as Queen, mother and grandmother, but, as a mother and grandmother, I have underestimated the extent to which much my younger son and his family feel affected. That makes a big impression, and for that I am sorry.
"No one should be in doubt that my children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride," Margrethe said.
"I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation."
The four children of Joachim will instead be titled Count and Countess of Monpezat from the beginning of 2023.
Joachim told Danish publication B.T.: "The reality must still be whether you modernize or slim down. It must be done in a proper way. It's about children, orderliness and children. It is a very heavy matter."
Charles' decision will likely be even more charged than the Danish queen's as Meghan has laid the groundwork for any decision to withhold the titles to be interpreted as racism.
Meghan told Oprah Winfrey in March 2021: "So, we have in tandem the conversation of 'He won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title' and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."
Meghan said: "But the idea of our son not being safe, and also the idea of the first member of color in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be . . ."
Harry and Meghan did not say who made the comment about their unborn child's skin tone but ruled out Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
The royals put on a public show of unity during mourning for the queen in September, but there were clear signs of tension bubbling below the surface.
Harry was permitted to wear military uniform only during a single vigil, and even that required charge to bend the existing plans—which would have seen disgraced Prince Andrew allowed at a vigil but not Harry.
On the day the world said goodbye to Elizabeth, Harry was not permitted to join a salute to his grandmother because he is not a working royal.
Family members in uniform around him did salute, even though he had served on the front line in Afghanistan and they had not carried out combat tours.
Against that backdrop, speculation has been rife in the media about why no announcement has been made on Archie and Lilibet's titles, with some reports saying Charles may be holding off until he sees the contents of Harry's memoir.
Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, author of This Is Why I Resist, told Newsweek: "If they were not to get prince and princess titles, that makes no sense to me—they need to provide a reason for that.
"Harry is in the line of succession, and so are his children. So how can he be in the line of succession and not get the titles prince and princess? I think Charles is causing unnecessary confusion."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
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