Prince Christian of Denmark's 18th Birthday Celebrated with Royals from Around the World (and Tiaras!)

Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th birthday was marked with a gala dinner fit for a future king.

Royals from around the world traveled to Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on Sunday for the celebration of the milestone event. The eldest son of Crown Prince Frederik and  Crown Princess Mary is currently second in line to the Danish throne — while his grandmother Queen Margrethe is monarch, his father is the current heir.

The guest list for the event included some fellow future monarchs from around Europe. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 21, attended, while 19-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway joined her parents, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Princess Estelle of Sweden, 11, was also part of the celebration alongside her parents, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, who is the 19-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, joined the event as well.

The Scandinavian royal families are extremely close in both their royal duties and their personal connections. It's not rare to see the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish royal families vacationing together or attending significant events like weddings, funerals and christenings. They also often act as godparents to each other's children — in fact, Princess Victoria, Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit are all godparents to Prince Christian!

Such royal gatherings often call for epic group portraits. When Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway turned 18 last year, four future queens of Europe and a future grand duke gathered for a photo. In addition to the portrait of the heirs and a family portrait, a big group picture was released. Featured in the group are a number of royals including Denmark's Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, Belgium's Queen Mathilde, Spain's King Felipe, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, the Netherlands' King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima and Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume and Grand Duchess Stephanie.

Earlier this year, many royals traveled to Jordan for the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa. The Royal Hashemite Court released an instantly iconic shot from the June 1 nuptials, taken at the evening banquet at Al Husseiniya Palace in Amman. Kate Middleton and Prince William posed alongside royals from around the world, including the King and Queen of Malaysia, the Sultan of Brunei and even William's cousin, Princess Beatrice.

Prince Christian's birthday gala also welcomed representatives from some of Denmark’s youth organizations plus young people “who have distinguished themselves in the world of sport, art and culture.” Extending the guest list, the palace invited around 200 young people from the Danish Commonwealth, allowing each of Denmark’s municipalities, Greenland and the Faroe Islands to invite two 18-year-old guests to the party.

Last month, the Danish royal house revealed the invitations to the palace party — which also shared the formal dress code. Blog Gert's Royals noted on X that the dress code called for ballgowns, uniforms, white tie and honors to be worn — and tiaras were also appropriate attire.

In addition to the gala dinner, Prince Christian's milestone birthday will again be marked on Nov. 14, when he attends a meeting of the Council of State (which is comprised of government ministers) and declares that he wishes to comply with the Danish constitution.

“Prince Christian will then be able to be appointed as head of state. Prince Christian will not get a seat in the Council of State until a change of throne has taken place,” the Danish Royal House said of the important step.

In June, the Danish Royal House announced that Prince Christian won't take the government funding he is entitled to by law when he turns 18. Instead, he will continue to focus on his studies, and the issue will be revisited when he turns 21 or if there is a change of throne.

“His Royal Highness Prince Christian turns 18 on 15 October 2023,” courtiers said in a statement on Instagram, posting the prince’s cypher. “Prince Christian's main priority in the coming year will be the completion of the Prince's upper secondary education. In continuation of this, the Royal Palace will provide information on Prince Christian's further youth and education courses when the time is right.”

The decision for Christian to delay his annual allowance follows in the footsteps of Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands. In June 2021, the heir to the Dutch throne wrote to Prime Minister Mark Rutte explaining that she would be turning down the nearly $2 million government-funded allowance she was entitled to on her 18th birthday. The Princess of Orange said she would not accept the allowance until she took up a full-time royal role.