Countess Athena beams in gorgeous photo as she marks special occasion

Countess Athena of Monpezat turned 14 on Saturday, and to mark the occasion, the young royal posed for a special birthday portrait, taken by Jakob Kirk.

In the image, shared by the official social media account for the Danish royal family, Athena smiled as she posed inside a cream room. The teenager wore a blue zip-up jumper and jeans, accessorising with a pair of golden bracelets and necklace. Sunlight poured in behind the royal, and it appeared that there was fresh snow on the ground outside.

A caption on the post read: “Congratulations to Her Excellence Countess Athena, who today turns 14.”

Royal fans were quick to comment, and one of Athena’s biggest cheerleaders came in the form of her older brother, Count Nikolai, who shared a string of red heart emojis in response.

A second said: “Once a princess, always a princess. Happy birthday your excellency. Hope you are celebrated in style,” while a third posted: “The sweetest little princess!” and a fourth added: “A very happy birthday Princess Athena. Hope they have a good day with lots of spoiling.”

Royal anniversaries

It’s been a month of celebrations for members of the Danish royal family, with Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent celebrating their 15th birthdays earlier in January.

The snaps were taken at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen just before the new year, as the youngsters are expected to have resumed their schooling. The royal twins have attended separate schools since 2023. Josephine switched to Kildegård Privatskole in Hellerup from Tranegårdskolen, where her brother is still enrolled.

In 2025, she made a huge decision as she opted to move to Spir Eferskole – a boarding school located 174 miles away from the royal family’s main residence in Copenhagen.

This wasn’t the only major anniversary for the family, as January also marks the anniversary of King Frederik’s accession to the throne, following his mother, Queen Margrethe’s abdication in 2023.

The anniversary wasn’t publicly marked by the family, however, when Frederik assumed the throne, he did so in a very different way than the British monarchy, skipping a coronation ceremony.

“The UK monarchy is unique when it comes to crowning the Sovereign. In its history, Parliament has passed several acts that require the sovereign have a coronation ceremony after the accession,” royal historian Marlene Koenig previously told us.

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“The first Danish coronation was in 1170 and the last in 1840 for King Christian VIII and his second wife, Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg, who succeeded in 1839 and died in 1848. The throne passed to his thrice-married son, Frederik VII, who had no surviving children.”