The new generation of heirs to the throne.
When Prince Christian turned 18 and came of age in October, they stood together:
- Princess Estelle of Sweden (11)
- Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (19)
- Prince Christian of Denmark (18)
- Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (20)
- Princess Elisabeth of Belgium (22)
Europe’s future queens and kings.
Princess Leonor turned 18 in October and then took the oath in Spain.
Photo: JUAN MEDINA / Reuters
Spanish Princess Leonor (18) did not attend the celebrations in Copenhagen and is therefore not in the picture.
But as the eldest daughter of the Spanish royal couple, she is Europe’s youngest crown princess and Spain’s next monarch.
– I will give everything
– I take pride in serving my country, said Prince Christian.
It was his first official speech. He giggled a little and cleared his throat. Admitted that he was nervous.
He turned 18 and was celebrated with a gala dinner in Copenhagen.
– Of course I would like to be the best possible heir to the throne, but I will certainly make mistakes. I can’t promise perfection, because what is it? But I can promise dedication. I want to give everything I have and learn everything I can, he said, pointing towards the job he was born to do:
– I will find my way, even if it leads to a familiar place.
Christian is now stepping forward as Denmark’s new crown prince. Here he is when his 18th birthday was celebrated with a gala dinner at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen.
Photo: MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN / AFP
His lady of the table that evening was Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Another young person born into the same fate.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Christian will both become monarchs one day.
Photo: RITZAU SCANPIX / Reuters
One day they will each inherit their own kingdom.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra will become Queen of Norway, and Prince Christian King of Denmark.
For the Danish prince, the great task has already moved one step closer.
Prince Christian went out onto the balcony at Amalienborg Castle and accepted the tribute from the many present when he turned 18.
Photo: RITZAU SCANPIX / Reuters
Signed the oath – but must first and foremost be a school student
When grandmother Queen Margrethe now abdicates, and father Crown Prince Frederik becomes king, Christian will simultaneously become Denmark’s new crown prince.
Number one in the line of succession to the Danish throne. Denmark’s next king.
Now Christian is stepping into a new royal role when he becomes crown prince. Here he is on his 18th birthday in October.
Photo: Dennis Stenild, The Danish Royal House
The responsibility of ruling the kingdom can already be placed on his shoulders. For the oath – or “a solemn declaration that he will abide by the constitution” – he signed in the cabinet shortly after his 18th birthday.
But even if he now becomes crown prince, Christian, who is in the second year of high school, will first and foremost be a school student in the time to come.
He wants to be sheltered to give him room to be young and shape his own identity. This is confirmed by the Danish court.
Photo: Dennis Stenild, The Danish Royal House Photo: Dennis Stenild, The Danish Royal House Photo: Keld Navntoft / NTB
From kings to queens
When Queen Margrethe now abdicates, and Frederik becomes king of the Danes, only men are the reigning monarchs in Europe’s kingdoms.
But with the next generation, the picture looks quite different:
Five of the European kingdoms will eventually have female regents: Norway, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.
In Norway, it is true that Princess Ingrid Alexandra is not the first in the line of succession. Her father, Crown Prince Haakon, is our next monarch, before it is she who will take over the throne after him.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra is the first female heir to the throne to be born in Norway.
Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes / NRK
– I am very grateful for the opportunity I have, and think that I can do a lot with it, said Princess Ingrid Alexandra to NRK when she came of age.
– You can of course dream away and wonder what a completely different life would have been like. I do that too. But that’s not the life I live, so it’s hard to imagine not being in the role I’m in.
After Princess Ingrid Alexandra finished high school last summer, she worked as a school assistant and environmental worker at a primary and secondary school in Oslo.
Now she is ready for the Armed Forces and has just started twelve months of initial service at Skjold camp in Indre Troms.
Gave up millions of dollars in salary
Both Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (20) and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium (22) are number one in the line of succession in their home countries and are thus what we in Norway would have called crown princesses.
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium joined the celebration of Prince Christian.
Photo: MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN / AFP
When Princess Catharina-Amalia turned 18 in December 2021, she said that she is not ready to be queen yet, but that she will be and is determined to dedicate her life to the service of the country.
She becomes Queen of the Netherlands after her father King Willem-Alexander.
King Willem-Alexander has been King of the Netherlands since 2013. He is followed by his daughter Catharina-Amalia.
Photo: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW / Reuters
The Dutch princess should actually have received an appanage, a royal salary, of several million kroner from the time she turned 18, but sent a letter to the prime minister and wrote that she did not want the money.
The reason was that she should have a rest year after upper secondary school, before studying. She therefore believed it was wrong to receive a royal salary, as long as she could not work fully as crown princess.
“I find it uncomfortable as long as I don’t do anything for the money, and while other students have it much more difficult, especially in this period of the coronavirus,” she wrote.
Photo: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW / Reuters Photo: KOEN VAN WEEL / AFP Photo: DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK / AFP
First female heir to the throne
Princess Elisabeth was only eleven years old when she became Crown Princess of Belgium, as the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
Princess Elisabeth is the first female heir to the throne in Belgium and will one day take over the throne from her father.
Photo: Olivier Hoslet / AP
In Belgium, just like in Norway, only princes could inherit the throne, but that law was changed in 1991. Elisabeth will thus become the first reigning queen in Belgium when she one day takes over the throne from her father.
When she turned 18 in 2019, she stated:
– Belgium can trust me.
Elisabeth has attended the Belgian military school and has studied history and politics.
Photo: Frederic Sierakowski / AP Photo: DIRK WAEM / AFP Photo: LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ / AFP
In apprenticeship
Princess Estelle of Sweden is, like Princess Ingrid Alexandra, number two in the line of succession in her home country.
Princess Estelle is the eldest child of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and will inherit the throne after her.
But despite her young age, 5th grader Estelle has already taken part in a number of official assignments.
Spanish Princess Leonor (18), who previously went to school in Wales, started three years of military training in Spain in August last year.
When she turned 18 and came of age at the end of October, she took the oath and swore to uphold the Spanish constitution, respect the rights of citizens and regions and be faithful to the king.
– On this important day, I ask you to put your trust in me, as I have put my trust in the future of our nation, said Princess Leonor in her speech.
– I will always take with me what is best for our country, into everything I do in all areas of life. I shall earn the citizens’ trust, and I shall carry out my obligations with total dedication.
Photo: Manu Fernandez / AP Photo: OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP
2024-01-13 07:30:20
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