Prince Joachim and Princess Marie are extending their stay in Washington D.C, the Danish royal palace confirmed on Friday. In a statement, it said: "The Ministry of Defense announced this morning that HRH Prince Joachim will be extended in his position as Defense Industry Attaché and Deputy Defense Attaché in Washington DC until the end of August 2027. HRH Prince Joachim, together with HRH Princess Marie and their two children, HRH Count Henrik and HRH Countess Athena, will therefore remain living in Washington DC, where the children also attend their daily schooling."
It added: "As defense industry attaché and deputy defense attaché, Prince Joachim reports to the Ministry of Defense and in his daily work to the ambassador in Washington, DC."
The Danish royal couple and their two children, Count Henrik, 16, and Countess Athena, 13, moved to the US when Joachim took up the position in September 2023. Prior to that, the family lived in Paris, having moved to France in 2019.
Prince Joachim's thoughts on being away from Denmark
The update comes just a few months after Prince Joachim spoke about how two big relocations in the past six years had affected his family. Speaking to TV2 in June, the prince said: "We have a desire to come home. But we also do not rule out the possibility of staying abroad. Now we have to see. For now, it is on our radar, when the post here stops, we will return home."
© The Washington Post via Getty ImThe royal, 56, who is the younger brother of King Frederik, also admitted feeling homesick, adding: "Overall, we can all feel it, and we can also feel it in the children, that it is at home in Denmark that we have our largest social base. We can't travel back and forth, after all, there is a six-hour time difference and an entire ocean in between. We take our time when we are home and enjoy it to the fullest. Perhaps that is the band-aid for being far away from home."
Princess Marie returned to Denmark in August, with her teenage children, to carry out engagements with some of her patronages, including Copenhagen Cooking Festival.
© Getty ImagesJoachim also has two older sons from his previous marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg - Count Nikolai, 26, and Count Felix, 23. Joachim's four children were stripped of their royal titles by their grandmother, Queen Margrethe, in 2022. The decision shocked the royals and the nation, but the former monarch said she wanted them to "shape their own lives, without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation to the Royal House of Denmark entails". Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena are not expected to carry out royal duties in future.
Frederik, 57, and his wife, Mary, 53, became king and queen of Denmark in January 2024. Their eldest child, Crown Prince Christian, 19, is heir to the throne. The couple are also parents to Princess Isabella, 18, and 14-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
