King Frederik of Denmark may have only recently ascended the throne, but he’s already proving that royal duty can go hand-in-hand with family, fitness, and forward momentum. On June 9, 2025, the 57-year-old monarch led his family in the annual Royal Run — a nationwide event he founded to celebrate his 50th birthday and to encourage Danes to stay active. Running alongside him were Queen Mary and their four children — Crown Prince Christian, 19, Princess Isabella, 18, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 14 — as the Danish royal family quite literally hit the ground running through cities across the kingdom.
The day marked a joyful public moment for the new King, who has maintained his late mother Queen Margrethe’s vision of an approachable, family-centered monarchy. The family joined nearly 100,000 participants across five Danish cities — Ribe, Horsens, Viborg, Korsør, and Copenhagen/Frederiksberg — in what has become one of the most popular annual events in the nation. According to official reports, the athletic King participated in multiple distances: a one-mile kickoff run in Ribe, a 5 km stretch in Horsens, and finally, a 10 km finish in the capital. The event reflected both his commitment to the Danish people’s well-being and his personal love of sport.
This year’s Royal Run also carried a personal touch: it came just days after King Frederik’s younger brother, Prince Joachim, opened up about his family’s life abroad and hinted at a possible return to Denmark. Prince Joachim, 56, and his wife, Princess Marie, have been based in Washington, D.C., since 2023, when he assumed a diplomatic role as a defense attaché at the Danish Embassy, covering U.S. and Canadian relations. In a rare interview with Denmark’s TV2, Joachim revealed that while his work overseas remains fulfilling, “We have a desire to come home. But we also do not rule out the possibility of staying abroad. For now, it is on our radar that when this post ends, we will return home.”
The prince described a family life that feels both settled and homesick. “The kids are at school, where they enjoy being challenged and have an ever-growing social circle, and I have my job,” he explained. “We are our little nuclear family and enjoy it. We make sure as much as possible that we also have time for each other.” Joachim, who shares two younger children — Count Henrik, 16, and Countess Athena, 13 — with Princess Marie, also reflected on the difficulty of distance: “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.”
The move to the United States followed one of the most dramatic moments in recent Danish royal history: Queen Margrethe’s decision in 2022 to strip Prince Joachim’s four children of their prince and princess titles, a decision she described as “necessary future-proofing of the monarchy.” While Joachim and Marie publicly expressed shock at the announcement, Queen Margrethe later apologized for the distress caused but stood by her decision. The family has since adjusted to the change, with Joachim telling The Washington Post in 2024 that they have “moved on,” while Marie acknowledged that the process had been painful.
Queen Margrethe’s abdication in January 2024 brought a new chapter for the royal family. Her elder son, Frederik, became King of Denmark, ushering in a new reign defined by modern family values, openness, and continuity. His eldest son, Christian, stepped into the role of Crown Prince, taking on more visible duties and — as Hello! magazine cheekily reported — even surpassing his father’s time in the 5 km Royal Run segment, helped by his recent completion of military training with the Guard Hussar Regiment. “He’s in the best shape he can be,” King Frederik joked, clearly proud of his son’s determination.
As the Danish monarchy continues to evolve under King Frederik’s leadership, the contrast between the lives of the two royal brothers tells a compelling story about adaptation and identity. Frederik, now leading the family at home, embodies the continuity of the Danish crown. Joachim, serving his country abroad, represents the monarchy’s global reach and its human side — the longing for home, the balancing of duty and personal life.
For Danes, the image of King Frederik crossing the finish line alongside his wife and children symbolized not only vitality but unity — a family running together, each in stride, toward a shared future. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Prince Joachim’s words carried a quiet echo of belonging: a reminder that even when separated by oceans, the bonds of family and nation remain deeply rooted.
In a year marked by change — from Margrethe’s abdication to the new King’s evolving role — Denmark’s royals seem to be writing their next chapter with both strength and sincerity. Whether at a public race in Copenhagen or a diplomatic post in Washington, the message from both brothers is the same: service to Denmark endures, wherever in the world life takes them.
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