As Denmark's Crown Prince Christian prepares for a life of public service, his parents have given him something many royal heirs often lack: Time to grow up. 

Crown Prince Christian of Denmark turned 21 this week and marked his birthday with a gift to the Danish taxpayer: foregoing the government-funded stipend he's entitled to claim with his coming of age.

Instead, just as he did at 18, the crown prince is not taking on a regular place in the working royal roster, nor the annuity. Christian's position as heir to the throne demands he fill in for his father, King Frederik X, as regent. He has already done so on multiple occasions and will continue as needed. But rather than a full time working royal he has chosen to pursue a military career.

At a time when Harry and Meghan are struggling to integrate back into some parts of the British royal life they quit so acrimoniously in 2020 to set up their own brand of "service", they would do well to take a few pointers from King Frederik's kids who seem to be managing the "half in, half out" compromise these two so desperately crave.

On the surface Britain's House of Windsor and Denmark's Glücksburg face similar issues — both ancient institutions that place royals at the top of an increasingly less forelock-tugging food chain trying to hang on to relevance in the 21st century. At the same time they must navigate a voracious public and media that gorges on all aspects of royal life, public and private. Pound of flesh hardly covers it.

But how these two monarchies operate in the modern world may explain why King Frederik X and Australia-born Queen Mary's four offspring seem so happy and sorted as the Sussex family lurch from one drama to the next and Prince William prefers to send his heir to school at the elitist of elite, Eton. 

Over in Denmark, as youngsters, the royal children cycled to their regular state-run primary school with their parents and now integrate into public life with an apparent ease. But in the UK Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are driven to an unnamed private school by limo with a convoy of security and paparazzi recently spotted outside the gates.

How have the Danes managed to give the new generation of royals an inner sense of adolescent freedom and agency over their lives and outer glow of duty? It's all in the detail.

'I've always wanted to do it'

Crown Prince Christian, Denmark's next king, began his four months of military service in February 2025, compulsory for every fit Dane over the age of 18. Then, in August that year, he started lieutenant school. Officer training followed and in June, the crown prince was promoted to second lieutenant.

It's not a constitutional requirement for royals to join the military but certainly the crown prince was following in the footsteps of his forebears. The royal family and the military are intrinsically entwined, and generations have served the nation. But he didn't have to. What's more, unlike many British royals — including Princes William and Harry — he's also chosen to refuse a military salary as well as the royal stipend. Christian's living expenses will be funded by his family.

In his first ever major newspaper interview given in the lead up to his 21st birthday Christian told Politiken that he faced no pressure from his parents nor the royal court to sign up.

"I've always wanted to do it and thought it sounded exciting," he explained, admitting he was shaking on his first day, wondering if he'd made the right choice and whether he would fit in with the other recruits. He needn't have worried.

No one in Denmark was surprised by the move, after all Christian's father King Frederik had famously served with the Danish Frogman Corps following a rigorous selection process. As an amusing aside the monarch earned the nickname "Pingo" in the corps — something to do with his wetsuit filling with water causing him to waddle like a penguin.

Back in 1958 Christian's grandmother, Queen Margrethe II, shattered glass ceilings when she chose to volunteer with the Women's Flying Corps at a time when women weren't allowed to do national service and were rare in the military.

The pertinent decision is the lack of payment for this future king. Money talks and where royals are concerned that talk is rarely complimentary. British royals were paid regular military salaries when they served, many also receiving income from other public and private sources.

And let's not forget Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who served in the Royal Navy for 22 years when he was a prince, currently draws a modest naval pension of about $40,000 a year.

"I think it was a very wise decision," Marie Rønde, royal correspondent for Denmark's TV 2 News told me. "The thought in the Danish royal court is taxpayers pay a lot of money to the royal family already, why should we also pay more for Christian to serve?"

Following King Frederik's ascension to the throne on January 14, 2024, the royal house received an additional 17 million kroner (AU$3.65 million) per year.

"And no one questioned it. There was literally no debate in Denmark," Rønde says. "So, I think for the palace the thought was, we don't want to push it."

That decision would have been a discussion between the king, the queen and court advisers, as well as Christian himself. This was all about public connection.

Navigating royal privilege

The Danish monarchy is one of the most popular in the world with 72 per cent of Danes supporting the ancient institution in a recent national poll. While optics are everything, keeping in step with the public mood is important too.

Jakob Steen Olsen, royal affairs commentator at Berlingske, Denmark's oldest national daily newspaper, says in this case the palace messaging was spot on and so was the intent.

"This was saying we are here to serve and we are aware that we have a privileged position in society," Olsen says.

While Crown Prince Christian cannot avoid military service altogether, his undergoing military training is the ultimate sacrifice in many ways, Olsen believes: "He shows that he's willing to give his life for the country."

Also serving is Princess Isabella, Denmark's 19-year-old spare to the heir who made history as the first Danish female royal to take part in military service when she joined up in August for the required 11 months of training.

Like her brother, Isabella has turned down a military wage.

"We just recently decided that girls are obliged to go into the army. She's actually the first part of the first generation of those girls," Olsen says. "So of course that's an important sign also that the royal family supports that decision by government."

Denmark's recent deployment of troops to Lativia may mean that either or both royals are posted to the Baltic nation, considered NATO's eastern front line against Russian invasion, so their military service is far from academic.

For Christian declining his birth right payment from the public purse as well was, Rønde says, a smart move by the royal court.

"He could have had it at 18, like his father and grandmother did," he says. "But he didn't. It's all part of the signals the king and queen are giving."

Just like other Danes

Money and military service aside, the royal couple is eager to allow Christian and Isabella space to enjoy their youth, away from the royal spotlight.

"It's sort of a trade-off," Olsen says. "They won't be carrying out official royal duties for quite a while, so let's make this deal. The public doesn't pay for them, but they don't show up so much for official work."

Carefully choreographed photo ops of the siblings in army fatigues fill the official royal social media. The pair are clearly enjoying their duty and have become royal role models for young Danes.

Also filling social media, though not from the official royal account, have been photos of Christian and Isabella at music festivals and these are equally popular with the public.

"People like them being able to live lives that are quite close to how all other Danish teenagers live. They drink a lot of beer, they dance around, they hug different girls and boys, and Danes like that. It's not a problem," Olsen says.

Venture onto TikTok and there are videos of Princess Isabella and her younger sister Princess Josephine doing cute dance routines, just like other teens.

Princess Isabella, particularly, has a reputation as a "spirited" young lady, Rønde says.

"She's bubbly and open and quite vivacious," Olsen adds.

"She's funny and you can see the energy in her eyes…she definitely likes to party," Rønde agrees.

Things don't always go to plan but so far those misdemeanours seem to make them popular too.

In 2021 cameras picked up Isabella answering her mother back at Crown Prince Christian's confirmation and "she became an overnight royal star," Olsen says. "Danes liked the idea of this bratty teenager in the royal house speaking the way that most teenagers speak to their mums in this this day and age."

Isabella's credibility rose further in 2025 when she was photographed at a music festival in a Danish rap band T-shirt with words that translate to "I f**ked him yesterday" and an arrow pointing to the person standing next to her.

"That did cause a sensation," Olsen says. "Some people thought it was a bit too much and I'm sure she was scolded for it at home, because if some people don't like it, of course, it's not good for the royal family. But she also got some points. A lot of Danes are quite liberal, and they liked it."

When asked by a journalist about her daughter's choice of clothing her mother Queen Mary said: "Let's put it this way, some decisions are better than others!"

Such pranks are a long way from Prince Harry wearing a Nazi uniform to a private "colonials and natives" themed costume party in 2005 or playing strip billiards in a VIP suite in a Las Vegas hotel in 2012.

Rønde says that while Danes really do want their royal kids to live a little and enjoy their youth like everyone else, what is important is "that they are not using their royal status to be privileged or to get something that other people can't get".

Dance festival v the crown

Evidently there was debate last summer when the king was out of the country and Christian had to step in as regent.

"He was at a festival and there was a question about whether he should be there when he actually had the responsibility for the country at that time," Rønde says. Public opinion was divided and it was another lesson learned.

Olsen says this idea of give and take only works if there's also a visible healthy respect from the youngsters for their royal duties.

"So, as long as they show that they understand what the job is about and they're willing to sacrifice themselves on that altar, Danes actually allow them I think to live quite normal lives," he says. "And certainly, if you ask young people from the future taxpayers, who are the same generation as Christian and Isabella, what they think of them, generally it's 'we like them because they're so much like us'."

Rønde, who reports on all the European royals, regularly travels to the UK to attend engagements and is surprised by the differences between what British people expect from their royals and what Danes expect from theirs.

"We like [Danish royals] to be down-to-earth and [in Britain] they expect them to be on a pedestal and dressed in a certain way. But King Frederik and Queen Mary have given their kids an upbringing that is as much like a normal family when your family is not normal and that shows," she says.

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It started from the moment they were born. Prince Christian was the first heir apparent to go to a regular kindergarten and his siblings followed suit.

"When they are travelling with their parents they just wear jeans and sneakers," she says, "and they were also allowed to decide for themselves which schools they go to. It's just a modern way of being parents".

Rønde says Mary and Frederick "listen" to their children: "They give them responsibility and they let them make up their own minds."

Crown Prince Christian did briefly attend a prestigious private school but left after a scandal involving other students and completed his education at Ordrup Gymnasium, a state high school. 

One wonders if Prince George was the one who chose to go to Eton, where his uniform is from another era — pinstripe trousers, waistcoat and tails!

The contrast is stark

Rønde landed the first TV interview with Prince Christian a few months ago when the heir crossed the finish line at the annual Royal Run through the streets of Denmark. She says he was relaxed, polite and certainly not daunted by the role ahead.

Growing up royal is not easy and Prince Christian and Princess Isabella along with their younger siblings, twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, now 15, have been raised in a very different manner to their father and to young royals in other countries and it's paying off.

"King Frederik was sort of thrown to the wolves at the age of 18 taking up official duties almost immediately," Olsen says. "He represented Denmark on a trip to Japan and a host of other duties and that was a terrible thing. He wasn't ready for it. He felt let down by the people surrounding him. He felt insecure and hated it."

As a child Frederik barely saw his parents and rarely ate meals with them. Queen Margrethe has confessed that she doesn't really like young kids and was distant and disconnected from her sons. Frederik has said that he doesn't blame his parents, it was a different time.

"But he has been very clear all the way that he wanted a different childhood for his own kids. He wanted to be closer to them," Rønde says.

Add in Mary Donaldson, Tasmanian born, close to her family, and you have a radically different approach to parenting.

"I remember when they took Christian home from the hospital after the birth and they explained to media that he would always be only an arm's length away from them," Rønde says.

The contrast is stark, Olsen says. "They've been trying with the unusual circumstances that they have, to give their four as grounded an upbringing as possible and allowing them as part of the strategy to make their own mistakes. And then gradually they've been exposing them to their life in the public eye. They've been brought along to various events and they are now more and more exposed to being in the limelight. And it seems like it's worked," he explains.

"If you look at Princess Isabella and Prince Christian out with the public, they don't mind and they're used to being the centre of attention. They're not paralysed by it like their father was. He was terrified and irritated."

A new approach

It's quite obvious that all four royal kids have been prepared in a totally new way.

Olsen tells a story about the royal family attending a concert.

"They came in this van, and out came Mary and she looked like the duck mum with her ducklings, and they instantly knew how to line up in which order," he says.

Compare this to the British royal kids suited and booted and riding in carriages at say Trooping the Colour and it's clear to see how Denmark is leading the charge for a new approach to monarchy.

"Queen Margrethe has always described that process of learning as a kind of osmosis that you don't really sit down and talk about it. But I think there have been more discussions around the breakfast table for these young royals than Queen Margrethe ever had with her sons," Olsen says.

Prince Harry's obsession with the VIP security he now doesn't have in the UK, constantly feeling paranoid about potential assailants or paparazzi snapping sneaky photos of his kids, is barely an issue in Denmark.

Yes the Danish royal kids all have personal protection officers who are publicly funded, but the presence is discreet and is much less for the children of non-working royals. What's more the Danish public are very used to seeing their royal family out and about in the streets all over the country.

Even now as queen, Mary rides in the woods and goes for morning walks with the dog.

"When they are at Fredensborg [the royal family's castle in the countryside, used in spring and autumn] the public often meet the queen or the king jogging or just taking a walk," says Rønde.

"It's a really relaxed relationship that we have with them and people really like it. Of course there's an understanding that you can't just run towards them and you have to give them some space."

Similarly, although there are no privacy laws in Denmark, there's a clear line between public and private that domestic media observes.

"We don't photograph the kids when they go to school, when they play soccer in a regular club. And when the family goes to the beach in Skagen every year, we don't photograph them in bikinis with their kids. This is their space. It's really a matter of courtesy," Rønde continues.

Hazards ahead

For the moment it is just Christian whose future career path as a working royal is unavoidable, but many feel Princess Isabella would also be a useful sidekick to her brother.

"We have the same problem of a slimmed down monarchy that they're facing in other royal households in Norway and Great Britain. If somebody is ill, who will actually do the job?" Olsen says.

When Danes were asked in a poll "Would you support paying for Isabella as well, if she decides she wants to and parliament agrees?" a majority liked the idea and supported that, he says.

While the concept of a republic is rarely raised in Denmark, that sense of entitlement that has caused scandals and damage for other royal families is of course a watching brief.

"Danes were quite satisfied with the 52-year reign of Queen Margrethe. I mean, there's money in the bank that has been transferred to the next generation," Olsen says. "But apart from being likeable and people that we can identify with, it's all about carrying on and doing a good job, being industrious. We're a country of small-time tradespeople. We like a good bargain. We want our money's worth."

The other vital piece of the puzzle, he notes, is "about knowing what's right and what's wrong".

"If you look at the problems that some European royal households have run into, it's always about sex and greed, dangerous pits that you can fall into."

Whether Prince Christian will make a good king is yet to be seen. There are so many unforeseen hazards ahead and public opinion can be cruel and fickle.

"If you look at the popularity polls that these poor people are subjected to, he's not as popular as his parents or the old Queen Margrethe," Olsen says. "But we don't really know him yet" he says, adding that with every handshake or soundbite "we get there's a development".

"Already he has to shake a lot of hands and one little thing that I have noticed is that he looks people straight in the eye, even though it's just for five seconds, and I like that. It shows that [Christian is] aware he has a role to play in the lives of real people."

Credits

Words: Juliet Rieden

Illustrations: Kylie Silvester

Photography: Reuters

Editor: Catherine Taylor