I do not know how I manage to do this, but another major royal announcement was made just days after my September Musings on Monarchy post. And it is not the first time it happened… Needless to say, it has been a busy month for royals across the world. We have a new monarch in Britain who is setting the tone for his reign. And of course, this is a busy time of year for engagements in all royal houses. So without any further bowing and scraping, let’s get to Musings on Monarchy: October 2022!
Favourite Royal Post on An Historian About Town
I wanted to start focusing on my own favourite royal-themed blog post from the past month. And of course I need to highlight my Devonshire House Ball post. I covered the event for Style File Friday- several members of the British Royal Family attended a massive costume party in honour of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. And of course, the photographs are incredible. Find it here!
Queen Margrethe to Strip Royal Titles from Grandchildren
On 28 September 2022, Queen Margarethe of Denmark announced that on 1 January 2023, four of her grandchildren would be losing the titles of Prince/ Princess. (Of course this happened two days after my September post…) Prince Joachim, The Queen’s second son, has four children. Princes Nikolai and Felix are from Joachim’s first marriage, and Prince Henrik and Princess Josephine are from his second (current) marriage. They will be using a lesser title going forward. The official statement reads:
Her Majesty has decided that, as of 1 January 2023, His Royal Highness Prince Joachim’s descendants can only use their titles as counts and countess of Monpezat, as the titles of prince and princess that they have held up until now will be discontinued. Prince Joachim’s descendants will thus have to be addressed as excellencies in the future. The Queen’s decision is in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years.
With her decision, Her Majesty The Queen wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves.
Joachim and his wife Marie were publicly upset about this and claimed that they were not told that this announcement would be made and that things were still at the discussion stage. They also shared that they were supposed to lose their titles at 25, not now.
I believe that Margrethe has made a smart decision. Royal families across Europe and slimming down and moving towards a model where only those few royals working retain an HRH/HH designation. And I do not think that it makes sense to put an end date on the title- it will cease to have any sort of meaning immediately if you know it will be gone on X date. At this point, rip the band-aid off.
There is a second issue at hand here. The argument with the Sussexes has always been that they should not be able to monetise being a royal. Nikolai has already done that, as his royal title is closely intertwined with his modelling career. The Danish Royal Family do not have quite the same popularity that the British do, but the royal title would still give them quite a bit of clout to make funds with.
Princess Amalia Has to Leave Her Dorm
Princess Amalia of the Netherlands had a fairly big September and October, as she started her first year of university and opened Parliament for the first time with her parents. However, it has taken a bit of a scary turn for her. She has been forced to move out of her University of Amsterdam dorm and back to the palace due to threats on her life. She spends most of her time at Huis ten Bosch palace, and only leaves to go to class and come straight back. Most young royals are able to experience the closest thing to a “normal life” during their university years, and it is incredibly unfortunate that she has been limited so quickly.
King Charles III Appoints His First New Prime Minister
Well, the lettuce outlasted Liz. Liz Truss who was appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth only two days before she died has already resigned her post. After a baffling but short leadership race in the Tory party (yet again…) where Boris Johnson apparently thought he could run again even though he so recently was ousted due to a vote of no confidence, Rishi Sunak was voted in.
The King met with Sunak at Buckingham Palace on 25 October to formally appoint Sunak. While I’m not going to dive into the political side of this, there was a shift with this appointment. The late Queen tended to hold her meetings with Prime Ministers in her private apartments at Buckingham Palace. However, Charles chose to meet with him in the 1844 Room. (It is so named in honour an 1844 visit from Tsar Alexander I of Russia.) The Queen also kept her ministerial meetings to a brief 20 minutes, while The King spoke with the new Prime Minister for approximately 45 minutes. A new start for a new reign, indeed!
Prince Harry’s Memoir Gets Title and Release Date
This week we finally received an update on Prince Harry’s memoir, meant to be out in late 2022. Well, late 2022 really means 10 Janaury 2023. It is titled Spare, which is an interesting choice. He (and Joachim) continually fight against this unofficial title of “spare” but then Harry seems to be holding onto it quite closely.
I will be honest, I do not think I will be reading it. (Or at least not any time soon.) After reading The Palace Papers, I don’t feel like I need to continually re-hash the same “drama” over and over again. I personally am more interested in the history and traditions of the monarchy. I wish them peace and happiness as individuals and as a family, but I don’t particularly care about personal squabbles.
What are your thoughts on Musings on Monarchy: October 2022? What royal news stood out to you this month?
Cheers,
The Historian
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