The children of Danish Prince Joachim (53), son of Queen Margrethe II, lose their titles of prince and princess.
The monarch decided that her four grandchildren should only bear the titles of Count or Countess of Monpezat from January 1, 2023, the Danish royal family announced on Wednesday.
Joachim, the younger son of Margrethe II, has four children: sons Nikolai (23) and Felix (20) with his ex-wife Countess Alexandra, and Henrik (13) and Athena (10) with his wife Princess Marie.
"The Queen's decision is consistent with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in different ways over the past few years," the royal house said.
The monarch wants to enable her grandchildren to “shape their own lives to a much greater extent” without being restricted by the obligations that formal membership of the royal family entails.
"All four grandchildren keep their place in the line of succession," it said.
The mother of Prince Joachim's eldest two sons, Countess Alexandra, told Danish media "shocked" by the decision.
"It came out of the blue.
The children feel left out," Countess Alexandra told the Danish newspaper BT.
The children could not understand why their identity was being taken away from them.