The Danish Royal House has announced changes in titles for the children of Queen Margarethe II’s youngest son Prince Joachim.

The monarch’s grandchildren Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and ten-year-old Princess Athena’s titles of Prince and Princess will be “discontinued” starting next year.

“In April 2008, Her Majesty The Queen bestowed upon her sons, their spouses and their descendants the titles of count and countess of Monpezat. In May 2016, it was also announced that His Royal Highness Prince Christian, as the only one of The Queen’s grandchildren, is expected to receive an annuity from the state as an adult,” the Royal House said in a statement.

“As a natural extension of this, Her Majesty has decided that, as of 1 January 2023, His Royal Highness Prince Joachim’s descendants can only use their titles as counts and countess of Monpezat, as the titles of prince and princess that they have held up until now will be discontinued. Prince Joachim’s descendants will thus have to be addressed as excellencies in the future. The Queen’s decision is in line with similar adjustments that other royal houses have made in various ways in recent years,” the statement continued.

The Royal House noted that with the decision, the Danish Queen “wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves.”

Although Nikolai, Felix, Henrik, and Athena’s titles of Prince and Princess are being removed, they will maintain their places in the order of succession. Prince Joachim shares his eldest sons Nikolai and Felix with his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, and Henrik and Athena with Princess Marie, whom he married in 2008.