Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren't the only 'feuding' royals to move overseas as duke's similarities with fellow 'spare' laid bare
Harry and Meghan relocated to the US in 2020
Prince Harry will likely be joined by another royal “spare” – Denmark’s Prince Joachim – at the Invictus Games in Canada next month.
Prince Harry, 40, and Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of newly crowned King Frederik X, share strikingly similar journeys.
Both are former military officers, both have relocated overseas, and both have experienced high-profile rifts within their royal families.
Prince Harry could meet fellow ‘spare’ Prince Joachim of Denmark at Invictus Games
The first-ever winter edition of the Invictus Games – which Harry founded in 2014 – will take place in Vancouver and Whistler from February 8 to 16.
The games will feature adaptive sports such as alpine skiing, skeleton, and wheelchair curling.
HELLO! reports that Prince Joachim, 55, and his wife Princess Marie, 48, are due to attend the event on February 15, just in time for the closing ceremony.
However, this isn’t Joachim’s first association with Invictus. He previously joined Harry during the duke’s 2017 visit to Copenhagen, where they toured a military training center together.
Prince Joachim and Prince Harry share an uncanny parallel as younger royal siblings who have steadily moved further from the throne.
Both men served in their respective militaries: Joachim as a colonel in the Danish Armed Forces, and Harry as a British Army officer who completed two tours of Afghanistan.
However, their biggest similarity comes from their complicated royal exits.
The Danish royal family’s own ‘Megxit’ moment
Joachim and his wife, Princess Marie, moved to Washington D.C. in late 2023 so that he could take up a new role in the American defense industry.
Their decision came a year after an alleged family feud with Queen Margrethe II over royal titles.
In October 2022, Queen Margrethe announced a controversial decision to strip Joachim and Marie’s children of their royal titles. She claimed that it was to “futureproof” the monarchy.
However, Joachim publicly expressed his discontent. He told the Danish media that his children were being “mistreated” by his mother.
Meanwhile, Joachim’s brother the then Crown Prince Frederik and his wife Crown Princess Mary sided with Queen Margrethe.
“Change can be difficult and can really hurt. But this does not mean that the decision is not the right one,” Princess Mary announced in a public statement.
The tensions between the brothers mirrored those between Prince Harry and Prince William, particularly in the wake of Harry and Meghan’s 2020 exit from royal duties, often referred to as “Megxit”.
Prince Harry and Prince William have little chance of reconciliation
Despite the fallout, Joachim returned to Copenhagen in January 2024 to support his brother King Frederik X at his coronation – suggesting that their relationship is on the mend.
No, I don’t think there’s any time for reconciliation.
In contrast, Prince Harry’s relationship with Prince William is still strained, with no confirmed reunion on the horizon.
In a recent interview, Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell was doubtful that William and Harry would mend their relationship.
Who is Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex?
Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in California, United States. She is currently 43 years old. She had a career in acting before marrying into the royal family in 2018.
What did Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex do before joining the monarchy?
Former actress Meghan had a string of acting roles before she met Prince Harry, most famously playing the role of Rachel Zane in legal drama Suits.
Her acting career began at Northwestern University.
The duchess also wrote a lifestyle blog named The Tig and became heavily involved in charity work - which has continued since she met Harry.
Marrying Prince Harry
Meghan married into the royal family on May 19, 2018, when she and Prince Harry tied the knot at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Just a few months after their wedding, Meghan and Harry announced they were expecting their first child. They welcomed Prince Archie on May 6, 2019.
Two years later on June 4, 2021, the couple welcomed a daughter named Princess Lilibet. She was named after the late Queen Elizabeth II - whose nickname was Lilibet.
Months after welcoming son Archie, Prince Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping down from their senior royal roles within the royal family. They then moved to the United States and have lived there since.
Meghan has made a return to the entertainment world, launching projects with Netflix alongside Harry. In January 2025, she announced a lifestyle show named With Love, Meghan, which will see her giving cooking and gardening tips to viewers alongside a host of celebrity guests. It will premiere on March 4, 2025.
“No, I don’t think there’s any time for reconciliation,” he told Royal Insider on behalf of Prime Casino. “What William can see is what I can see – that Harry is focused on a different direction, and he doesn’t really care about what wreckage he leaves behind.
“He can wreck people’s lives on this side of the world and then return to his Montecito mansion in California, close the gates, and forget the world.”
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