Princess Marie will be accompanied by her eldest children Henrik and Athena at the music festival
Princess Marie’s children made a rare public appearance as they accompanied their mother to a music festival in Denmark on Wednesday – and they look so grown up!
14-year-old Count Henrik and 12-year-old Countess Athena performed at the Tønder Festival, of which Princess Marie has been patron since 2009.
Marie, 48, a native of France, officially opened the four-day event with an opening speech on stage before she and her children were led around the festival grounds, where they met several musicians and artists along the way.
The Danish royals were dressed in smart casual style: Marie wore a beige raincoat and black trousers, while her daughter Athena wore a cream puffer coat over grey knitwear and wide-leg trousers.
Henrik wore a grey zip-up jacket over a blue-green collared shirt and grey pants. The teenager now towers over his mother, while Athena is almost as tall as her mother.
Marie and her husband Prince Joachim, who currently live with their family in Washington DC in the USA, spent some time at the Danish royal family’s holiday home, the Château de Cayx in France, earlier this summer before traveling on to Denmark.
They were joined by Joachim’s sons from his previous marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg – Count Nikolai, 24, and Count Felix, 22.
The couple were also reunited with Joachim’s brother, King Frederik, and his wife, Queen Mary, at the funeral of Per Thornit, former President of the Danish Royal Family, on 9 August.
Joachim and Marie lived in Paris before moving to the United States last year, where Joachim works as a defense industry attaché at the Danish Embassy.
In a surprise move, Queen Margrethe stripped four children of their royal titles in 2022. The former Danish monarch, who abdicated in January, claimed she wanted Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena “to lead their own lives without being constrained by the special considerations and obligations that come with formal membership of the Danish royal family.”
This means that the four young people now bear the title of Count or Countess of Monpezat, instead of Prince or Princess. Queen Margrethe later publicly apologized to her family.
Henrik and Athena continue their education in the USA, while Nikolai and Felix both have modeling contracts.
In June, Nikolai also graduated from Copenhagen Business School with a Master of Science in Merchandising.
Source: Getty, EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, Instagram/@detdanskekongehus