Royal Couple Set to Join Prince Harry at Invictus Games in Canada in Surprise Move

Mar. 15, 2025

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Prince Joachim, 55, is the younger brother ofKing Frederikof Denmark, who recently celebrated the first anniversary of his accession to the throne on Jan. 14.

Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, 48, moved to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2023 for the prince to start a new job at the Danish Embassy under the Ministry of Defense. The couple made the transatlantic move one year after Prince Joachim’s mother,Queen Margrethe,stripped his kidsof the prince and princess titles they had inherited at birth in a shock step she later described as “necessary future-proofing of the monarchy.”

Princess Athena of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark and Prince Joachim of Denmark attend the gala diner to celebrate the 18th birthday of H.K.H. Prince Christian’s at Christiansborg Palace on October 15, 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark.Patrick van Katwijk/Getty

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty

Prince Joachim is a father of four, and shares sons Count Nikolai, 25, and Count Felix, 22, with his first wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, and younger children Count Henrik, 16, and Countess Athena, 13, with his wife Princess Marie.

Queen Margrethe announced the move to remove her grandchildren’s titles in September 2022 in a change made effective on Jan. 1, 2023, andannounced that Decemberthat she would abdicate in January 2024.

Princess Marie, Count Henrik, Countess Athena, Count Felix, Count Nikolai and Prince Joachim on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace for Queen Margrethe’s birthday, April 16, 2023.Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

Queen Margrethe later apologized for the fallout around the decision to remove Joachim’s children’s titles (as Joachim said he and Marie received just five days' notice of the huge move) but stuck to her “difficult” commitment.

Princess Isabella, Crown Prince Christian, King Frederik, Queen Mary, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent on King Frederik’s accession day, Jan. 14, 2024.BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty

BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty

Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, Henrik and Athena are now based in Washington, D.C., and travel back to Denmark for banner events like the heir to the throne Crown Prince Christian’s18th birthday bash. Joachim attended the accession celebrations for his brother Frederik solo, and toldThe Washington Postin an interview last spring that “We’ve moved on” from the title strip shock.

“We weren’t happy about the way it happened,” Princess Marie said in the joint interview with her husband. “But it’s a family thing. It’s complicated.”

Princess Marie and Prince Joachim at the Embassy of Denmark in Washington, D.C. on March 19, 2024.Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty

Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty

Prince Joachim and Prince Harry at the Danish Veteran Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark on Oct. 26, 2017.Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

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There, they watched a training session and chatted with athletes has a reception after.

Denmark joined the Invictus movement in 2014, the inception of the competition, with a focus on healing the mental health of service members, theteam’s websitesays.

source: people.com