Prince Joachim of Denmark

Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, RE, SKmd ([pʰʁæns ˈjoæˌkʰimˀ]; Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian; born 7 June 1969 at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen) is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. Joachim is sixth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, following his elder brother, Crown Prince Frederik, and Frederik's four children.

Prince Joachim was born on7 June 1969 at Rigshospitalet, part of the Copenhagen University Hospital in Copenhagen, and was christened on 15 July 1969 in Aarhus Cathedral, the first member of the royal family to have been christened outside of Copenhagen. His godparents were his maternal aunt, Princess Benedikte of Denmark; his paternal uncle, Jean Baptiste de Laborde de Monpezat; the Crown Prince of Norway (later King Harald V); and Princess Christina of Sweden.

Prince Joachim attended school as a private pupil from 1974 until 1976 at Amalienborg Palace and then from 1976 until 1982 at Krebs' Skole in Copenhagen. In the period 1982–1983 the Prince studied as a boarder at École des Roches in Normandy, France. In 1986, Prince Joachim graduated from the Øregaard Gymnasium. In 1991–1993, he completed his studies in agrarian economics at Den Classenske Agerbrugskole Næsgaard. The Prince's first language is Danish, but he also speaks French, English and German.

In 1993, Prince Joachim took over the estate of Schackenborg Castle in the town of Møgeltønder, in Southern Jutland, having been granted the estate in the will of Count Hans Schack in 1978.

The Prince and his first wife, now Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, received 13 million Danish kroner collected by the people of Denmark as a national gift, reserved for restoration of the estate. The restoration was completed in 1999.

In 2014, the estate was handed over to the Schackenborg Foundation, which consists of Prince Joachim, Bitten and Mads Clausens foundation, Ole Kirks Foundation, and Ecco Holding. Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and their children moved from the castle to Klampenborg north of Copenhagen, but the couple still remain patrons of the Schackenborg foundation.

• 1987 Prince Joachim began his military education as a recruit in Regiment Queen's Own Regiment
• 1988 Sergeant
• 1989 Second lieutenant of the reserve
• 1989-90 Platoon commander in a tank squadron (3/I/PLR) Prince's Own Regiment.
• 1990 First lieutenant of the reserve
• 1992 Captain of the reserve
• 1996-2004 Commander of a tank squadron (3/II/PLR) Prince's Own Regiment.
• 2005 Major of the reserve, as staff officer in the staff of Danske Division .
• 2011 Lieutenant-Colonel of the reserve, Liaison Officer
• 2015 Colonel of the reserve

First marriage

On 18 November 1995, at Frederiksborg Palace Church in Hillerød, near Copenhagen, Joachim married Alexandra Christina Manley, now Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg, a Hong Kong-born former sales and marketing deputy chief executive of British, Chinese, Czech and Austrian ancestry.They had two sons:

• Prince Nikolai William Alexander Frederik, born 28 August 1999 at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen
• Prince Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, born 22 July 2002 at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen

On 16 September 2004 the couple announced their separation, and divorced on 8 April 2005. Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg subsequently married again and lost the title Princess of Denmark. She continues to live and work in Denmark and the couple share joint custody of their sons.

Second marriage

On 3 October 2007 the Danish Royal Court announced that Prince Joachim had become engaged to Marie Cavallier, now Princess Marie of Denmark. The wedding took place on 24 May 2008 in Møgeltønder Church – in which the christening of Prince Felix had taken place – near Schackenborg Manor. The wedding date marked the 73rd anniversary of the wedding of Joachim's grandparents, King Frederick IX and Ingrid of Sweden. The couple have two children:

• Prince Henrik Carl Joachim Alain of Denmark, born 4 May 2009 at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen
• Princess Athena Marguerite Françoise Marie of Denmark, born 24 January 2012 at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen

None of his children are styled as a Royal Highness but as Highness per the Danish Royal Court. Since 30 April 2008 all children hold the additional Danish style of their father as Count/Countess of Monpezat as legitimate patrilineal descendants of their late grandfather prince Henrik.

Titles and styles

• 7 June 1969 – 29 April 2008: His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark
• 29 April 2008 – present: His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat

His official title in Danish is Hans Kongelige Højhed Prins Joachim af Danmark, Greve af Monpezat (His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat). He has been Prince of Denmark since birth and Count of Monpezat since 29 April 2008, when Queen Margrethe granted the title to her male-line descendants.

Honours

National

• Knight of the Order of the Elephant (R.E.)
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (S.Kmd.)
• 10 June 1992: Silver Anniversary Medal of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik
• 14 January 1997: The Silver Jubilee Medal of Her Majesty The Queen
• 11 June 2009: Commemorative 75th Birthday Medal of His Royal Highness The Prince Consort
• 16 April 2010: Commemorative 70th Birthday Medal of Her Majesty The Queen
• 14 January 2012: Commemorative Ruby Jubilee Medal of Her Majesty The Queen
• 16 April 2015: Commemorative 75th Birthday Medal of Her Majesty The Queen
• 10 June 2017: Golden Anniversary Medal of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik
• 11 June 2018: Prince Henrik's Commemorative Medal

Foreign

He was honoured with:

•  Belgium: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
•  Brazil: Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
•  Bulgaria: 1st Class of the Order of Stara Planina (2006)
•  Finland: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
•  France: Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour
•  Germany: Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
•  Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix
•  Iceland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon
•  Japan: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
•  Jordan: Knight Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance
•  Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
•  Mexico: Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
•    Nepal: Member Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Divine Powers (13 October 1989)
•  Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (17 March 2015)
•  Norway: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Olav
•  Romania: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania
•  Sweden: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star

The Dansk Rugby Union (DRU) website names Prince Joachim as the patron of the DRU. He participated in a classic-car race, part of the GTC-TC championship: he drove a BMW 2002, sharing the ride with Derek Bell.