In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish examines the lives of Denmark’s teenage royals—Crown Prince Christian (16) and Princess Isabella (15). Mellish outlines their predetermined roles in the monarchy, the intense media attention they receive, and recent controversies: a TV documentary exposing bullying at the elite boarding school they attend, Isabella’s TikTok challenge video that sparked newspaper coverage, and Christian’s misstep of wearing a Football Club Copenhagen scarf, a symbol of a class‑based rivalry. The host discusses how growing up in the age of TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat challenges the traditionally tight media control of the Danish royal family. He also details the future expectations placed on Christian—military service, university education, and a lifetime of official duties—and compares these Danish teens to other young European royals such as Norway’s Ingrid, Spain’s Leonore, the Netherlands’ Catharina‑Amalia, England’s Prince George, and Monaco’s Prince Jacques. Throughout, Mellish reflects on the pressures of royalty as a family business, the difficulty of forming friendships, and the balance between elite expectations and personal freedom. The episode concludes with promotional information for the podcast and related services.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. It's hard to be a teenager. No matter who you are or where you live. But spare a thought for the 2 teenagers who are currently part of the Danish royal family. Christian is just 16 years old, and he's the future King Christian XI of Denmark. Danish kings alternate between 2 names, Christian and Frederik, and his father's name is Frederik, so Christian's name was in place before he was even conceived. Before his parents even met. He was always going to be Christian XI. His sister, Isabella, is 15, and she and her young twin siblings are the spares. They have all of the media attention and the responsibility for good behavior that their brother has, but with no royal job waiting for them when they get older. Sure, they may cut a ribbon here or there, but they will have no guaranteed income from the Danish taxpayers. Christian and Isabella have been in the news this week because the boarding school that Christian attends— and Isabella plans to attend— was the subject of a TV documentary on bullying. This is a school for Denmark's elites. And yes, there is an elite class in Denmark, although they generally stay very well hidden. This is a school that still begins each educational year with a bird shooting. Using bows and arrows. According to some former students, violence was a daily part of life in the school, with young students being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night and assaulted by older students. There's a great deal of pressure on the royal family to take their teenagers out of the school. But there are not many places to go in Denmark if you're a young prince who is a teenager who occasionally wants to let his hair down around other teenagers. Christian is part of the first generation of royals to grow up in the age of social media. These days, anyone can post a photo of the future king having too many beers at a teenage party, or an anecdote about him asking someone for a date and getting turned down. Traditionally, the media coverage of the Danish royals is very tightly managed, much more so than the British royals. But in the age of TikTok and Snapchat and Instagram, that's harder to do. This month, one of Isabella's peers shared a video of 15-year-old Isabella doing a TikTok challenge in which you have to drink a great deal of liquid quickly without burping. The Danish newspapers picked up the story. They said Isabella was drinking Sprite. Other accounts say it was beer. I didn't see it myself, so I don't know. The whole thing was papered over with lots of nice photos of Isabella's confirmation, where she wore a chic white business suit instead of the usual lacy dress and posed with her grandmother, the Queen. She also did her first official on-camera interview, where she showed great promise at the royal skill of speaking a lot without really saying anything. For what it's worth, confirmation, around age 14 or 15, is traditionally the age at which Danish teenagers are permitted to drink alcohol. Isabella is a typical teenager. She has been in the news before for rolling her eyes at the family Christmas tree event and for yelling at her mother, are you nuts, Mom? at a poorly organized outdoor photo session with the Queen. Christian was also caught on social media recently attending a football game And his mistake was more significant. He was wearing a scarf of the Danish football team FCK, Football Club Copenhagen, which has a bitter rivalry with the other big Copenhagen club, Brøndby. If you visit Copenhagen, you'll see a lot of not-very-nice graffiti from supporters of these 2 clubs disparaging the other. Other royals have liked other football teams before, but this rivalry has a class element to it. FCK is generally preferred by the media class, the laptop class, the elite, while Bronboo is generally more working class. It's not the sort of fight a future king should be getting involved with. He's got to represent everyone. I feel for Christian, who is the newest link in the world's oldest continuous monarchy. It stretches back to Harold Bluetooth in the year 958. And yes, the Bluetooth on your phone is named after him. Much of Christian's life is already planned out for him. For example, he'll have to spend some time in the Danish military. Some serious time. His 2 male cousins of this generation tried out the military for a couple of months and then quit. That's not going to do for Christian, the future King Christian XI. And then university. And then a lifetime of ribbon cuttings and charity sports runs and parliament openings. And business promotional visits. The Danish royal family is very good for Danish business, in particular in hierarchical societies, where it is much easier to get a meeting with a CEO when the crown prince announces his interest in attending. Christian seems like an okay guy, and he's very tall, by far the tallest person in his family, which is good for a king. He also carries off a business suit pretty well for a 16-year-old. I hope he gets a chance to stay at his school if that's what he wants. It's hard to make friends as a future king, and Denmark's other wealthy and elite kids are probably his best bet. Of course, he'll always have Isabella to back him up, plus their 2 younger siblings who are not teenagers yet. And there are some other teenagers around Europe in the same position. Ingrid in Norway's 18. She's the future queen. Leonore in Spain is also 16. She's already doing official engagements. Catharina-Amalia in the Netherlands is 18. Mostly girls in the future monarch role, although Prince George in England and Prince Jacques in Monaco will soon be teenagers too. Christian and Isabella and these kids will spend a lot of time together in the future, doing official visits, dining together at state dinners. And being godparents to each other's children. Being a royal is a family business. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Come follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or on our own website, howtoliveindenmark.com, where you can find texts for podcasts going back to 2013. Shocking, I know. Buy our books at books.howtoliveindenmark.com or book me, Kay Xander Mellish, for an event at events.howtoliveindenmark.com. See you next time. Bye.
