Countess Athena of Monpezat

Last updated
Countess Athena of Monpezat
The Danish Royal Family at Amalienborg - Countess Athena.jpg
Countess Athena in 2023
BornPrincess Athena of Denmark
(2012-01-24) 24 January 2012 (age 12)
Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Names
Athena Marguerite Françoise Marie
Father Prince Joachim of Denmark
Mother Marie Cavallier

Countess Athena of Monpezat (born Princess Athena of Denmark; 24 January 2012) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the younger child and only daughter of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark. She is the youngest grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the niece of King Frederik X. Athena is currently ninth in the line of succession to the Danish throne.

Contents

Biography

Athena was born a princess of Denmark on 24 January 2012 at Rigshospitalet, the Copenhagen University Hospital. [1] When her father met the press following her birth, he joked that the name selected for her could be anything from Jo to Scheherazade. [2] She has two older half-brothers from her father's first marriage, Nikolai and Felix, and an older brother, Henrik.

In accordance with Danish royal traditions, her names were not revealed until her christening, which took place on 20 May 2012 at the Møgeltønder Church, where her older brothers Felix and Henrik were also christened. [3] She was named Athena Marguerite Françoise Marie for both of her grandmothers as well as for her mother. Her godparents are her maternal uncles, Gregory Grandet and Edouard Cavallier; Carina Axelsson, the long-term girlfriend of her father's cousin Gustav, Hereditary Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg; and friends of her parents, Julie Mirabaud, Diego de Lavandeyra and Henriette Steenstrup. [4]

On 11 August 2017, she started school at Sct. Joseph Søstrenes Skole – the same Catholic private school in Ordrup as her brother Henrik. [5] In 2019, when Athena and her family moved to France, she was enrolled at the private school EIB Monceau in the 8th arrondissement of Paris alongside her brother. [6]

Titles and styles

Athena was styled as "Her Highness Princess Athena of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat" from birth until 1 January 2023. [7] In September 2022, Queen Margrethe II decided to strip the descendants of her son Joachim of their princely titles. Since 1 January 2023, she has been known as "Her Excellency Countess Athena of Monpezat". She and her father's three other children maintain their places in the order of succession. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margrethe II</span> Queen of Denmark from 1972 to 2024

Margrethe II is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she was the second-longest reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Henrik of Denmark</span> Consort of Margrethe II from 1972 to 2018

Prince Henrik of Denmark was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 until his death in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Joachim of Denmark</span> Danish prince (born 1969)

Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. The younger son of Queen Margrethe II, he is fifth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, following the four children of his elder brother King Frederik X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the Danish throne</span>

The Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. By a change in the law in 2009, succession is governed by absolute primogeniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg</span> Ex-wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark

Alexandra Emiliah, Countess of Frederiksborg,, formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark, is the former wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of King Frederik X of Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish royal family</span> Family of the Danish monarch

The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. While some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of Prince(ss) of Denmark, descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title Count(ess) of Monpezat. Children of the monarch are accorded the style of His/Her Royal Highness. The King and Queen are styled Majesty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Nikolai of Monpezat</span> Member of the Danish royal family (born 1999)

Count Nikolai of Monpezat is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the eldest son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, the eldest grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the eldest nephew of King Frederik X. He is currently sixth in the line of succession to the Danish throne. At the time of his birth, he was third, after his uncle and father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Felix of Monpezat</span> Member of the Danish royal family (born 2002)

Count Felix of Monpezat is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the younger son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. He is a grandson of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and a nephew of King Frederik X. Felix is currently seventh in the line of succession to the Danish throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark</span> Heir to the Danish throne (born 2005)

Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the eldest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Margrethe II. He became Crown Prince of Denmark following his grandmother's abdication and his father's subsequent ascension to the Danish throne on 14 January 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Marie of Denmark</span> Danish princess (born 1976)

Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of King Frederik X of Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Isabella of Denmark</span> Danish princess (born 2007)

Princess Isabella of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second child and elder daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Ingolf of Rosenborg</span> Relative of the Danish monarchy

Count Ingolf of Rosenborg is a Danish count and former prince. Born Prince Ingolf of Denmark, he appeared likely to some day become king until the constitution was changed in 1953 to allow females to inherit the crown, placing his branch of the dynasty behind that of his first cousin Princess Margrethe and her two younger sisters. He later gave up his princely rank and his rights to the throne in order to marry a commoner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy of Denmark</span> Monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark

The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was already consolidated in the 8th century, whose rulers are consistently referred to in Frankish sources as "kings". Under the rule of King Gudfred in 804 the Kingdom may have included all the major provinces of medieval Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Monpezat</span> French family

The House of Monpezat, also known as Laborde de Monpezat, is a French family from the province of Béarn that has been associated with the Danish royal family by marriage since 1967, when Henri de Laborde de Monpezat wed Princess Margrethe of Denmark. At that time, she was the heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark, and she subsequently became Queen of Denmark as Margrethe II. The current Danish monarch, King Frederik X, is agnatically a member of the Laborde de Monpezat family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Henrik of Monpezat</span> Member of the Danish royal family (born 2009)

Count Henrik of Monpezat is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the third and youngest son of Prince Joachim and the only son of his second wife, Princess Marie. He is a grandson of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik and a nephew of King Frederik X. Henrik is eighth in the line of succession to the Danish throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Vincent of Denmark</span> Danish prince (born 2011)

Prince Vincent of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the third child and younger son of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, the sixth grandchild and youngest grandson of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the older twin brother of Princess Josephine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Josephine of Denmark</span> Danish princess (born 2011)

Princess Josephine of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the fourth and youngest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, and the seventh grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. She is the twin sister of Prince Vincent. Josephine is fourth in line to the Danish throne, after her older siblings, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, and her elder twin brother, Prince Vincent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson</span> 2004 Danish royal wedding

The wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson took place on 14 May 2004 in the Copenhagen Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count of Monpezat</span> Danish title of nobility

Count of Monpezat, or Countess of Monpezat when the holder is female, is a hereditary title of Danish nobility. It was granted on 30 April 2008 by Queen Margrethe II to her two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, and their legitimate patrilineal (male-line) descendants. The title is derived from the French title of "comte de Laborde de Monpezat", which was used as by Frederik and Joachim's father, Prince Henrik. His family started using this title as a title of pretence in republican France in the late 19th century.

References

  1. ↑ "A Princess Is Born". Website of the Danish Royal House. 24 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Alt mellem Jo og Scheherazade" (in Danish). TV2.dk. 24 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Date set for christening of Danish prince". Archived from the original on 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  4. ↑ "De er faddere til Schackenborg-prinsessen". Billed Bladet. 20 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Skolestart". Danish royal family. 7 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Joachims nye liv i Paris: Prinsesse Marie fulgte børnene i skole". BT. 7 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Her Highness Countess Athena". Website of the Danish Royal House. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Changes in titles and forms of address in the Royal Family". www.kongehuset.dk. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
Countess Athena of Monpezat
Born: 24 January 2012
Lines of succession
Preceded by Succession to the Danish throne
9th position		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.