Countess Athena of Monpezat

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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
House Monpezat
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.

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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]

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<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.

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<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.

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

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<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 of both sexes. The title is derived from the French title of "comte de Laborde de Monpezat", which was used by Frederik and Joachim's father, Prince Henrik.

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