Just as it seemed a long-running rift within the Danish royal household was finally easing, hopes of a reconciliation have been abruptly dashed.
Despite earlier signs of a thaw, Queen Mary’s brother-in-law has confirmed his family will remain in Washington, D.C., for at least another two years – prolonging the distance, both literal and symbolic, between the two branches of the royal family.
The announcement stunned royal watchers, as Prince Joachim and Princess Marie’s recent comments and actions had all pointed to an imminent return to Denmark.
But on September 28, a post shared to the Danish royal family’s official Instagram account confirmed: ‘His Royal Highness Prince Joachim and family extend their stay in Washington, D.C.’
It means Prince Joachim, 56, and Princess Marie, 49, along with their teenage children Count Henrik, 16, and Countess Athena, 13, will continue living in the U.S. capital, where the children have attended school for the past two years.
Joachim, the younger brother of Denmark’s King Frederik X, later explained the decision to remain overseas was to ensure his teenage son’s schooling continued uninterrupted.
‘We’re staying here so Henrik can finish high school,’ Prince Joachim told Danish outlet Berlingske.
Pressed in the same interview about a possible return to Denmark, neither Marie nor Joachim gave a clear answer.
The Danish royal family’s Instagram shared this image alongside a brief announcement confirming that Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and their family would extend their stay in Washington D.C. by another two years
King Frederik and Queen Mary were pictured in Copenhagen on October 1 – just days after the latest royal announcement
Asked directly about their future plans, the couple replied vaguely: ‘They can change continuously.’
Royal watchers were taken aback by the latest update from the Danish expats.
‘Our beautiful and missed prince couple,’ one fan commented. Another added, ‘Oh, I had hoped they [would] come home.’
‘I’m looking forward to times getting back to normal and we’ll get the lovely family home again,’ a third wrote.
But some Danes sensed something was amiss, with conspiracy theories quickly surfacing in the comments.
One intriguing response read, ‘There’s probably a reason for Prince Joachim,’ accompanied by king and snake emojis.
‘Wouldn’t the family like to go back to DK? Is he allowed to choose for himself?’ another queried.
King Frederik, Queen Mary, Princess Marie and Prince Joachim, pictured in 2022, used to regularly attend official royal engagements together. These appearances have become far less frequent since Joachim and Marie’s family relocated to the U.S. in 2023
Although they’ve spoken openly about wanting to return to Denmark one day, Prince Joachim has now extended his work contract in the U.S. He and Princess Marie are pictured at a reception held in September at the Danish Embassy in Washington
Until this announcement, all signs suggested the King’s brother was preparing to return to Denmark with his family.
Prince Joachim hinted at it himself in a TV2 interview in June, admitting he and his wife had ‘a desire to come home’ and confirming they had ‘plans’ to do so.
Although settled in the U.S., he admitted family life there just wasn’t the same as being in Denmark.
‘Overall, we can all feel it, and we can also feel it in the children, that it is at home in Denmark that we have our largest social base,’ he said.
‘We can’t travel back and forth, after all, there is a six-hour time difference and an entire ocean in between. We take our time when we are home and enjoy it to the fullest. Perhaps that is the Band-Aid for being far away from home.’
When the interview aired, many expected an announcement was imminent – especially as Joachim’s contract as Denmark’s Defence Industry Attaché and Deputy Defence Attaché in Washington D.C. was originally set to end in 2026.
There were other signs Joachim, Marie and their children were being welcomed back into the royal fold, following an earlier rift sparked by former monarch Queen Margrethe II’s decision to slim down the royal family.
Most notably, King Frederik, 57, and Queen Mary, 53, recently granted honorary titles to Prince Joachim’s eldest sons, Count Felix and Count Nikolai, from his first marriage to Countess Alexandra.
During a return visit to Copenhagen in August, Princess Marie (centre), along with her teenage children Countess Athena (far left) and Count Henrik (far right), attended a food festival
During the same visit, Prince Joachim gave an address at a celebratory dinner in Copenhagen – again highlighted by the royal family’s Instagram account
The prestigious honour, bestowed in May 2025, was widely seen by royal commentators as an olive branch after previous tensions between Joachim’s family and the senior royals.
Another hint at a homecoming was the sudden prominence of Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and their children, Countess Athena and Count Henrik, on the royal family’s official social media channels.
During their late August visit to Denmark, Joachim and Marie featured prominently in a series of Instagram posts – including one of Joachim delivering a keynote speech at a Copenhagen awards ceremony.
Another light-hearted post showed Marie with the children attending a food festival.
‘Lovely to see Princess Marie and the children at home in Denmark,’ one fan wrote.
Despite the warm welcome, the family’s return to Denmark was brief.
Pundits also noted that Marie and Joachim were absent from joint public appearances with senior royals, including King Frederik and Queen Mary.
Back in 2017, Mary and Frederik (far left) and Joachim and Marie (far right) were regulars at official Danish royal engagements. They are pictured here with (from centre, L-R) the late Prince Philippe, Queen Margrethe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Royal family tensions date back three years to Queen Margrethe’s reign.
In one of her final acts as monarch, the now 85-year-old unexpectedly stripped four of her eight grandchildren of their royal titles – aiming to ‘future-proof’ the family and slim down the court.
All of Joachim’s children were affected – his elder sons Nikolai, 26, and Felix, 23, as well as his younger children with Marie, Henrik and Athena.
As a result – and unsurprisingly – Prince Joachim was far from pleased.
In the aftermath, Joachim, Princess Marie and his ex-wife Countess Alexandra publicly criticised the decision – with the prince angrily declaring his children had been ‘mistreated’.
‘Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in this way?’ he asked.
As news of the royal demotion made international headlines, Queen Margrethe eventually conceded she had ‘underestimated the extent to which my younger son and his family feel affected… and for that I am sorry.’
Despite the apology, the damage was done – and it deepened a simmering rift between Prince Joachim and the core members of the royal family.
With his children’s titles downgraded, Joachim soon took up a role as Defence Industry Attaché at the Danish Embassy in the United States – relocating with Princess Marie and their two youngest children to Washington D.C. in mid-2023.
King Frederik bestowed honorary titles on Prince Joachim’s eldest sons, Count Felix and Count Nikolai, at a ceremony on May. In recent years, both Felix and Nikolai have spent more time living outside Denmark
Princess Marie and Prince Joachim, for the time, being have committed to staying in the U.S. The Princess is pictured left during a visit to the Danish Home of Chicago. Prince Joachim is seen right at a reception held at the Danish Embassy in Washington
They have remained abroad ever since – seemingly to keep their distance from the rest of the royal family after the titles controversy.
More recently, even Joachim’s adult sons have left Denmark – with his second eldest, Count Felix, confirming this week he was heading to Mexico on exchange.
His older brother, Count Nikolai, has also spent extended periods living in Sydney and Paris.
The latest announcement confirms the royal rift remains – with a 6,500km gulf between the two factions.
They say time heals all wounds – perhaps another two years will tell.
