Princess Josephine: A Rapid Journey into Adulthood

A Royal Romance and the Growing Up of Princess Josephine

King Frederik X's relationship with Queen Mary of Denmark began like a romantic comedy. The couple met at a bar during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, with Mary unaware of who she was talking to. "It was perhaps half an hour or so later that someone came up to me and said, 'Do you know who these people are?'" Mary recalled in an interview. Despite Frederik's royal status and their physical distance, the pair developed an instant connection. "From the very first moment that we started talking, we never really stopped talking," Mary shared. Soon, she moved to Denmark, learned the language, and eventually married the future king in 2004.

The couple has four children, including their youngest, Princess Josephine, born in 2011, just half an hour after her twin brother. Now fourth in line to the Danish throne, Josephine has grown up in the public eye. Despite being in her teens, she is already taking charge of her future and pursuing her favorite hobbies with passion. For example, she participated in the Royal Run in 2025, a race that King Frederik founded in 2018 and has taken part in yearly. She competed in three events, running the 1-mile race, as well as the 5km and 10km. Her enthusiasm is reflected in everything she does as she prepares to step further into the spotlight.

Royal Twins and Their Unique Names

Princess Josephine is a royal twin with a royal name. On January 8, 2011, Denmark's royal family welcomed its own regal duo. Then-Princess Mary gave birth to Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and, just under half an hour later, his twin sister, Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda. Then-Prince Frederik shared the happy news from Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark, expressing his joy at the birth of perfectly healthy babies: a boy and then a girl right after.

Initially, their names were kept secret and not revealed until their christening at Copenhagen's Holmen's Church on April 14, following Danish tradition. Josephine, whose full title is Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, received a sentimental moniker with numerous nods to her heritage. Her first name is shared with one of her godmothers, Josephine Rechner, who is a close friend of Queen Mary. Meanwhile, Ivalo is a unique name of Aboriginal origin from Greenland, meaning "thread," "sinew," or "tendon" and signifying strength. Finally, Mathilda is the Danish spelling of Matilda, a tribute to Queen Mary's native Australia where "Waltzing Matilda" is the unofficial national anthem.

A Visit to Her Mother’s Homeland

Queen Mary of Denmark lives a lavish life in her new homeland but has never forgotten her roots. Over the years, the Australian native has repeatedly returned home for both royal and personal tours. In November 2011, Princess Josephine visited the country for the first time when she was just 10 months old. Accompanied by her twin brother and their father, the family spent a week on official visits to Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. A week later, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella joined the family for two weeks of fun in the sun and a visit to Mary's hometown, Hobart.

Just before Princess Josephine's fourth birthday, the family once again returned to Australia for the holidays in December 2015, taking in beaches on the Gold Coast before heading to Tasmania for Christmas. They repeated this custom during the Christmas season of 2017 and 2022. The royal family's Instagram account posted a snap from the latter trip, showing the now-11-year-old twins all smiles with their parents and siblings. The caption wished everyone a merry holiday season from Tasmania and quipped, "Here there are neither freezing temperatures nor bare trees but summer and warm weather."

Early Royal Engagements and Passion for Sports

Princess Josephine undertook her first royal engagement at age 3. In August 2014, the young princess took part in an official visit along with her parents and all three siblings. The family went on a seven-day cruise on the Royal Yacht Dannebrog to visit various cities in Greenland. Stops included the capital of Nuuk, as well as other locations along the south and west coasts of the county.

While in Qaqortoq, the largest town in southern Greenland, Princess Josephine showed off her penchant for royal duties when she helped plant trees in a poplar grove named after both her and her twin brother, Prince Vincent, using their Greenlandic middle names. Each member of the royal family wore traditional dress for the occasion, with Josephine donning the North Greenlandic national costume, including a beautifully embroidered top and white leather thigh-high booties.

She also showed a talent for tennis at a young age. In 2015, she fell from her horse during a riding lesson and broke her arm, but wasn't in the least bit fazed by the injury. Just days later, the four-year-old was spotted at an equestrian parade with her parents, wearing an elbow-length cast which didn't stop her from enthusiastically waving to the crowd and happily engaging with all of the riders.

Education and Career Exploration

At 12, Princess Josephine left her twin brother to pursue her own academic career. In August 2017, she was enrolled in a primary school called Tranegårdskolen, located on the outskirts of Copenhagen. She was joined there by her twin brother, but in 2023, she decided to go her own way. While Prince Vincent continued his studies at Tranegårdskolen, Josephine started the 6th grade at Kildegård Privatskole, a private school founded in 1870 by Comtesse Thusnelda Moltk to educate girls. Now co-ed, the school boasts on its website, "We challenge and develop our students so that they are more than ready for their future education."

However, that transition didn't last long. At just 14, Princess Josephine decided to yet again shake up her education with another surprise academic decision. In 2025, the royal house confirmed in a statement, "HRH Princess Josephine has chosen, at her own request, to continue her education in the 8th grade at Spir Efterskole." The boarding school is located in Juelsminde, about 160 miles away from Copenhagen, which marks a break with tradition as Josephine became the first young royal to study away from home.

Acting Debut and Rising Public Profile

Princess Josephine made her acting debut as a tween. In 2023, at just 12 years old, the young royal made her acting debut during a stage adaptation of "Peter Pan" presented at Copenhagen's Glass Hall Theater. The tween was cast in a small role as one of the Lost Boys living in Neverland and was listed in the credits merely as Josephine Sophia Ivalo.

Just a year later, at 13, she made the move to the small screen, surprising Danish television viewers by appearing in the second season of "Tidsrejsen" (which translates to "The Voyage Through Time"). The series had 24 episodes that ran from December 1 through Christmas Eve and told the story of a boy named Romeo who used his substitute teacher's time machine to search for the father he'd never met. In episode four of the show, fans were first introduced to a character named Kate, a student attending Romeo's school, who was played by none other than Princess Josephine.

Embracing a Normal Teen Life

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II chose to step down from the throne in December 2023 and the following month, her son was crowned as King Frederik X. Soon, he and Queen Mary were thrust into the spotlight even more than before, as were their four children. Being the youngest, Princess Josephine has yet to undertake any official duties in her own name, but she's begun appearing at a growing number of royal engagements since her father's coronation.

The children of the Danish royal family live a lavish life to be sure and yet, the king and queen have been doing their best to give them a regular childhood. As Ulrik Ulriksen, a royal writer for local outlet Billed-Bladet, told Australian paper The Advertiser, "Frederik and Mary have said that they are modern people and they want their children to have a normal upbringing." This has included plenty of time spent in nature. As Queen Mary told a local TV station in 2025, "Our children are outside a lot [...] They think it's nice to get fresh air and exercise in nature."

It seems their efforts have paid off as Josephine has regularly been spotted doing everyday teen things, like swapping clothes with her mom. In 2024, a 13-year-old Josephine was snapped wearing Queen Mary's vintage Prada coat while in 2025, it was the queen who wore a top from her 14-year-old daughter's closet. Meanwhile, in May 2025, Josephine went viral when she and a friend arrived at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, casually walked past the royal guards, then proceeded to use the buzzer at the door to be let in.

What Lies Ahead for Princess Josephine?

Following King Frederik X's ascension to the throne in January 2024, the Danish line of succession now begins with the king's eldest son, Crown Prince Christian, followed by Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and finally, Princess Josephine. Given that she's fourth in line to the throne, it is highly unlikely that Josephine will ever become queen. According to royal experts, this will give her lots of freedom to build her future as she pleases.

Speaking with Australian paper The Advertiser in 2011, Jes Fabricius Moller, the associate professor of Danish History at Copenhagen University, predicted that Josephine and her twin brother would enjoy a particularly high level of freedom. "What role the twins will have in life and how closely connected they will be to the palace depends very much on their abilities, their education, and their wishes for their own life," Moller speculated. That being said, they will still need to keep their lineage in mind and remember that their actions will always be closely watched. "They can have many different and unusual careers, but they cannot do anything considered immoral," Moller added. However, while royal protocol will always be a consideration, both Josephine and Vincent will have the option to pursue their own passions. "The twins will have to make their own careers," Moller concluded. "They cannot make a living out of just being related to the king."