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

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. While some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of ''Prince(ss) of Denmark'', descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title '' Count(ess) of Monpe ...

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

Princess Marie of Denmark Princess Marie of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (born Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier; 6 February 1976) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of King Frederik X of Denmar ...

. She is the youngest grandchild of

Queen Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 5 ...

and

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 ...

, and the niece of

King Frederik X Frederik X (Frederik André Henrik Christian, ; born 26 May 1968) is King of Denmark. He acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2024. Frederik is the eldest son of Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. He was born during the ...

. Athena is currently ninth in the line of

succession to the Danish throne The Act of Succession (Denmark), Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X of Denmark, Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. By ...

Biography

Athena was born a princess of Denmark on 24 January 2012 at

Rigshospitalet Rigshospitalet (meaning ''the National'', ''State'', ''Kingdom'' or ''Hospital of the Realm'', but not usually translated) is the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen and the most highly specialised hospital in Denmark. The hospital ...

, 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, Nikolai and Felix, and an older brother,

Henrik Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Finland, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estoni ...

. 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. 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 Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-BerleburgIn 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany, hereditary titles were to be legally borne thereafter only as part of the surname, according tArticle 109of the Weimar ...

; 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 was 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 Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' (). The ar ...

alongside her brother.

Titles and styles

Athena was styled as "Her Highness Princess Athena of Denmark,

Countess of Monpezat Count of Monpezat (Danish language, Danish: ''Greve af Monpezat''), or Countess of Monpezat (Danish: ''Grevinde af Monpezat'') when the holder is female, is a hereditary title of Danish nobility. It was granted on 30 April 2008 by Margrethe II ...

" from birth until 1 January 2023. 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.

References

External links

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