It took almost two months for the lieutenant training at the Garderhus barracks in Slagelse.
Thus, he copies his big brother, Prince Nikolai. In 2018, he dropped out of the training as a reserve officer at the Army Sergeant School in Varde.
At the time, Prince Joachim said he may have been pushing a little too hard on the eldest son. But that his decision was accepted.
“When it is like that, and when I have overpaced, then no wrong should happen to him,” said the prince.
But regardless of the fact that Prince Joachim tried to de-dramatize the decision, it caused a stir, and the same applies to Prince Felix, says historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen.
For centuries, the royal house and the defense have been closely linked.
– So it is a rather spectacular break with tradition, says Hovbakke, who is an associate professor at Absalon University College.
The explanations for the princes’ decision can be many. But according to the historian, it may come into play that none of them receive apanage. In that generation, only the crown prince couple’s eldest son, Prince Christian, has that privilege.
The particular royal house a few years ago.
And that sets the two cousins more free.
– They do not feel as obligated, in relation to what they can afford to do and what they can afford to choose from, says Hovbakke.
But this is not necessarily the only explanation why first Nikolai and now Felix choose a different path, says Noemi Katznelson, professor and research leader at the Center for Youth Research at Aalborg University.
Perhaps the development where young people do not automatically do as their parents have spread to the royal house.
Just as the countryman’s son does not have to take over the farm, royal children do not have to do as previous generations.
– We live in a time where individual choice plays a major role, and it is conceivable that it challenges a traditional institution like the royal house.
The same thing is happening in other European royal houses. Most recently in Britain, where Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have relinquished their royal duties.
But while Prince Felix’s decision right now may seem surprising, it may prove to strengthen the royal family, Noemi Katznelson believes.
– Young people can feel tense between the parents’ expectations and their own interests and wishes. When the princes do as they do, others may reflect on it, and it may fall positively back on the royal house. Who knows?
The heir to the throne, Prince Christian, is the next in the family to pull on the uniform when he becomes a student in three years.
However, he will hardly follow his cousins, because he is in a special situation, points out historian Lars Hovbakke.
– There is a difference between whether you should be a king, like Prince Christian, or whether you are further down in the succession ..
Source: The Nordic Page