Prince Joachim, like Prince Harry: Hard being the spare to the heir

Prince Joachim, brother-in-law to Princess Mary and younger brother to Prince Frederik, isn’t happy with his royal lot – just like his mate Prince Harry, writes Julie Cross.

OPINION

Prince Harry isn’t the only spare unhappy with his royal lot.

It appears that Prince Joachim – the younger brother of Prince Frederik who will be crowned King of Denmark on Monday – is also royally unimpressed with his family too.

In fact, the similarities with Harry’s ‘plight’ are quite striking: A bitter royal family falling out, frosty relations between brothers, sister-in-law rivalry, accusations of being sidelined, a fight about the kids’ titles, a wife that complains about her lot in the media and an escape to the US for a fresh start.

It all sounds rather familiar doesn’t it?

It appears being born the spare and not the heir is an unenviable situation.

Prince Harry and Prince Joachim have similar complaints about their lot. Picture: WireImage

As Harry so succinctly put it in his tell all memoir pointedly titled Spare, coming second to his brother Prince William, was tough, “I was the shadow, the supporting actor, the plan B”, he moaned to his ghostwriter while sitting in his $A20m Montecito mansion in the Californian hills.

Joachim, who is by the way reportedly worth a cool $A60m due to some smart investments, told a French journalist he hadn’t managed to find his role in the royal family, complaining “nothing is defined for the second born son and the person’s wife”.

While the Danish spare and his second wife French born Princess Marie have not done the Oprah Winfrey sit down bombshell interview, the Netflix docuseries, podcasts, or written a tell-all memoir – yet, by all accounts they’re having a torrid time.

Marie, who apparently has a frosty relationship with her sister-in-law Mary, suggested Copenhagen was too small for the two royal houses, and they found there were never any engagements for them in the diary.

Left to right: Prince Felix, Princess Marie, Prince Joachim, Princess Athena, Prince Henrik and Prince Nikolai arrive for a luncheon on the Dannebrog Royal Yacht. Pictured in 2022 before their kids’ titles were stripped. Picture: AFP

Life was so bad that in 2019 they were “forced” to move to Paris.

Marie told Danish magazine See and Hear: “No. It is not always us who decide. I think that’s important to know. I loved living in Denmark. Denmark is just such a wonderful country to be in. Everything works well and there are not many problems.”

Prince Joachim and wife Princess Marie in the shadow of Crown Prince Frederik and wife Princess Mary. Picture: AFP

The crack in the family turned into a sizeable crater in 2022 when Joachim’s mum, Queen Margrethe, announced Joachim’s four children would be stripped of their royal titles of Prince and Princess, as part of strategy to slim down the monarchy.

He was far from happy, publicly asking why his kids were being punished.

Even the exceedingly cautious Princess Mary couldn’t avoid being drawn into the controversy, siding with the decision, “Change can be extremely difficult and can really hurt … But this does not mean that the decision is not the right one,” she told a journalist.

The Danish Fab Four, which has not worked out well either. Picture: Getty Images

Prince William and Princess Catherine with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Picture: Getty Images

Christmas 2022 was spent apart from his mother and family, with the Queen acknowledging in her New Year’s Eve address to the country, there had been difficulties and misunderstandings in the family. “That the relationship with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie has run into difficulties makes me sad,” she said.

Last year Joachim and his family moved to Washington, in the US, with the prince taking the job of Defense Industry Attaché for the Danish Embassy, and while he is not paid for that role, the Danish Parliament agreed that he will continue with his royal stipend of 300,000 Danish Krone (around $A65,000 month).

While the two brothers have not come to fisticuffs – that we know of, we may have to wait for Joachim’s memoir if he ever writes one for those details – the younger brother will attend the crowning of Frederik and Mary on his own, just like Harry did for his dad’s coronation.

Perhaps Marie has a children’s birthday party to organise?

Expect a Netflix announcement soon.

Originally published as Prince Joachim, like Prince Harry: Hard being the spare to the heir