https://www.seoghoer.dk/kongelige/kong-frederik-samler-holdet-ingen-forsoning-i-hoejtiden

Since many royal-watchers were speculating about the relationship between King Frederik and Prince Joachim during the posts on the egyptian state visit, I thought I might share that the danish press is also speculating on it too!!

Translated Article below:

Prince Joachim's part of the family has been pushed to the periphery of the royal house, a royal house expert assesses to SE og HØR

It's the royal A-team that gathers around the Christmas table in Aarhus. And it's been a long time since Prince Joachim has been part of that team – and he won't be this year either.

Because when Christmas peace descends upon the royal family, the king's little brother will be far away from the central part of the royal house.

Queen Margrethe will have to make do with singing Christmas with the royal couple and their four children, while Joachim and his family will once again be absent.

Together with Frederik, Mary, Christian, Isabella, Josephine and Vincent, Margrethe will celebrate the traditional Christmas at Marselisborg Castle in Aarhus.

And at the same time, Joachim, Marie, Henrik, Athena, Nikolai and Felix are spending Christmas with Princess Marie's family in France, the royal house confirms.

With the decision to celebrate Christmas separately, it is clear that Prince Joachim's role in the Danish monarchy is becoming more and more diluted and that the former royal star today lives on the periphery of the royal house, which he and Alexandra helped to lift to new heights at the time.

– You immediately think about the relationship between the different parts of the family, says royal expert Lars Hovbakke Sørensen to SE og HØR about the announcement about the Christmas plans.

He points out that the conflicts between the brothers have made it difficult for Joachim to find a foothold in the royal house that his older brother now heads.

– There is no doubt that that part of the family has been pushed to the periphery. If they were considered an important part of the royal family, they would probably make sure that they were present at Christmas. And since Joachim is in Europe, it would not be an insurmountable task to go to Denmark, Hovbakke insists.

And although Princess Marie naturally wants to celebrate Christmas with her own family, being a member of a royal family is something else.

– The Royal House would always be able to override the decision that they should be with Marie's family if they had considered it important that they were in Denmark, the royal house expert believes.

A natural phase-out

Since Frederik became king, there have not been many meetings between the two brothers, who grew up as pseudo-twins and were each other's best friends in childhood.

– No, they haven't seen each other much, so many people will immediately think that their conflict has not yet been resolved, says Lars Hovbakke.

He points out that Joachim's role in the royal family today is almost non-existent. He is rarely in Denmark, and there are few tasks for the monarchy today, whereas he was previously very active.

– It is a process where Joachim and his family are given a smaller and smaller role in the royal house.

Hovbakke believes that part of the explanation is that the royal couple have children who can take on more duties, and that a regent's siblings naturally slip more and more out of the picture.

The conflict still haunts

However, this was not the case with Princess Benedikte, who has always had many tasks for the royal house over the years.

– But it was also a smaller royal house at the time. There weren't that many members. So when Frederik and Joachim were children, she was given that role, points out Hovbakke, who also believes that there is much evidence that not enough oil has been poured on the troubled waters from the time when Joachim's children were stripped of their royal titles.

– It was a violent conflict they had a few years ago with the titles, says the royal expert, who believes that Christmas would have been perfect for trying to give the impression that everything today is peace and idyll.

– You would expect that those you consider important in the family would also be there. And it would be a great opportunity to show that everything is fine between them. So you don't do that, says Lars Hovbakke.

Although Joachim and Marie celebrated Christmas with Frederik, Mary and Margrethe last year, it was a lonely night in a long line of Christmas Eves where the brothers were not together during the holiday.

Because with King Frederik at the helm, Joachim has been demoted and has become part of the B team.