Egeskov Castle set the stage for one of the most talked-about society weddings in recent memory. Among the guests dressed in tailcoats and tiaras was a face that royal watchers weren't entirely sure would show up: Count Nikolai of Monpezat. Crossing his chest was the Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog, one of Denmark's highest honors and a gift from his uncle, King Frederik X; it's a decoration that arrived years after his grandmother, Queen Margrethe II, stripped him of his princely title.
© Jacopo RauleNikolai has spoken candidly about that chapter of his life before. On this particular afternoon, though, none of it mattered. He was simply one of the wedding's most-watched guests.
The bride and groom were Cecilie Juhl and Gregers Carl Preben Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, the king's own godson, and their celebration turned Denmark into the place to be this weekend. Queen Mary walked away with the day's biggest fashion moment, choosing a pale gown paired with one of the more understated pieces in her jewelry collection: a diamond-and-ruby tiara she picked up herself at auction back in 2012, before debuting it as a headpiece for the first time in 2016.
King Frederik X's attendance alongside his wife had been expected for weeks. What hadn't been locked down was whether the Count of Monpezat would make it — and he did, arriving with his girlfriend, Benedikte Thoustrup, in a pairing that turned heads of its own.
Nikolai's outfit told its own story. Dressed in full white-tie regalia — tailcoat, waistcoat, the works — the grandson of Queen Margrethe II leaned into the moment with the Dannebrog sash draped diagonally across his chest. King Frederik X pinned the insignia on him and his younger brother, Count Felix, in a private ceremony at Amalienborg Palace, honoring the brothers despite the loss of their princely titles years earlier.
Nikolai shared the day's standout snapshot to his own social media, set to the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Away from the cameras, he has built a life that looks nothing like the one he was born into. He completed a master's degree in economics and business administration, specializing in sales management. He's also pursued a modeling career that kept him on runways and in campaigns worldwide.
© SOPA Images/LightRocket via GettQueen Margrethe's fateful decision
Queen Margrethe stripped Nikolai and his three siblings, the children of Prince Joachim, of their princely titles, reclassifying them as counts and countesses, freeing them from the obligations and scrutiny that come with formal royal status. It wasn't an easy adjustment.
"Both my life and the role I once played have changed. A decision was made on my behalf, and that is never pleasant, of course," Nikolai said in his documentary series, where he described the change as a kind of exile. Still, he's made peace with it. "Like everything in life, I try to make the most of things and see them from a positive perspective. I am now in the process of finding my own path in life, with the role and circumstances that I have."
These days, that path has brought him full circle — back through the doors of a castle, dressed to the nines, standing shoulder to shoulder with the family and the world he was once told he'd have to step back from.
© Martin Sylvest Andersen
