It has been a whirlwind few months for Count Nikolai of Monpezat (formerly Prince Nikolai of Denmark). In autumn 2022, his grandmother Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced he would be stripped of his princely title; the move came into effect in January; then his father, Prince Joachim, announced he was moving to the US with his wife and two youngest children.
Affectionately known as ‘Aunt Daisy’ in European royal circles, Queen Margrethe is a Cambridge graduate who has worked extensively within the arts
Now, more change is on the horizon for Count Nikolai, 23, the eldest of Joachim's four children. He is set to move to Australia with his glamorous girlfriend, Benedikte Thoustrup, on a semester abroad from Copenhagen Business School. The couple will study at the University of Technology (UTS) in Sydney from 1 August to 30 November and are reportedly looking for an apartment in the city. The news was confirmed to the Danish news outlet, B.T. by a spokesperson for his mother, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.
Nikolai is seventh in line to the Danish throne, and the eldest grandchild of Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who recently recovered from back surgery she underwent at the start of the year. He and Count Felix, 20, are the children of Prince Joachim of Denmark (Queen Margrethe’s younger son) and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. Their younger half-siblings, Count Henrik and Countess Athena, are from Joachim’s second marriage to his present wife, Princess Marie of Denmark.
Count Henrik of Monpezat is the eldest child of Prince Joachim of Denmark and his wife Princess Marie of Denmark
Nikolai reportedly began dating 23-year-old Benedikte Thoustrup in 2018 and now lives with her in Copenhagen. Benedikte owns a danish hair accessory brand, BénéSoie, for which she designs silk bands and biodegradable hair clips with her mother and grandmother. The glamorous couple have studied abroad before: in 2021, they lived in Paris on exchange for a semester, but Australia marks a significantly bigger step across the world for the two. Nikolai’s father, Prince Joachim of Denmark, also spent time in Australia when he was younger, working on a farm at Wagga Wagga from 1986 to 1987 when he was 18. Nikolai's aunt, Crown Princess Mary, is from Australia and has spent time on holiday in the country with her husband, Crown Prince Frederik (Margrethe's eldest son), and their four children.
Count Nikolai and his siblings found themselves at the centre of a media storm when his grandmother Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced her plan to strip them of the prince and princess titles they had held since birth as part of a plan to ‘future-proof’ the monarchy. The move was unpopular with the family: Princess Marie told a Danish tabloid that ‘there’s nothing modern about hurting children’s feelings’; while her husband lamented that such changes should ‘be done in a decent way’. Queen Margrethe later added that she was ‘sorry’ for having ‘underestimated how much my youngest son and his family feel affected.’
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Despite this, the decision to strip the four of their prince and princess titles came into effect in January 2023. Count Nikolai, who is also a model (and a repeat Dior favourite), has since been using his Instagram to share a mixture of candid holiday photos and highlights from his working portfolio.
The news of Nikolai’s move to Australia comes after his father Prince Joachim announced in March that he and Princess Marie will move to Washington DC this summer to begin a new diplomatic role this September and leave the title drama behind.
