Princess Athena of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat (Athena Marguerite Françoise Marie; born 24 January 2012) is a member of the

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...

. She is the younger child and only daughter of Prince Joachim and

Princess Marie of Denmark Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (''née'' Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier, born 6 February 1976) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger son of Queen Margrethe I ...

. Princess Athena is currently tenth in the

line of succession to the Danish throne The Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. Succession is by a change in the law in 2009 governed by ...

Biography

Princess Athena was born on 24 January 2012 at Rigshospitalet, the Copenhagen University Hospital. When her father met the press following her birth, he joked that the name selected for her could be anything from Jo to Scheherazade. She has two older half-brothers from her father's first marriage, Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, and an older brother,

Prince Henrik Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...

. As per 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. 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 Carina, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born Carina Axelsson; August 5, 1968) is an American author and former model, best known for the teen fashion detective series ''Model Undercover''. Her other series are the ''Nigel of Hyde Park'' ...

, the long-term girlfriend of her father's cousin Prince Gustav; and friends of her parents, Julie Mirabaud, Diego de Lavandeyra and Henriette Steenstrup. On 11 August 2017, she started school at Sct. Joseph Søstrenes Skole – the same Catholic private school in

Ordrup Ordrup is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located circa north of the city centre. History Ordrup was originally a small village which only consisted of eight farms and a forge. The area ...

as her brother Henrik. In 2019, when Athena and her family moved to France, she enrolled at the private school EIB Monceau in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth"). The arrondissement, ...

alongside her brother.

Titles and styles

Athena is styled as "Her Highness Princess Athena of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat". In September 2022, Queen Margrethe II decided to strip the descendants of her son Joachim of their princely titles. From 1 January 2023, she will be known as "Her Excellency Countess Athena of Monpezat". All four grandchildren maintain their places in the order of succession.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athena Of Denmark, Princess Danish princesses House of Monpezat Royal children 2012 births Living people Countesses of Monpezat Danish people of French descent de:Joachim von Dänemark#Ehen und Kinder