Count Nikolai pictured in rare blended family photo to mark special day

The Danish royal palace shared two personal photographs to celebrate Count Nikolai 's 25 ^th birthday on Wednesday, including one with his stepmother, Princess Marie , and his half-siblings.

The first snap showed Nikolai after climbing Roys Peak, a mountain in New Zealand which stands 1578 metres above sea level, with views across Lake Wanaka.

Nikolai, who is the son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, studied for a semester abroad in Australia while attending Copenhagen Business School. He then spent his Christmas break last year travelling around New Zealand.

© Instagram / @detdanskekongehus

The second photo published by the Danish royal palace showed Nikolai with his blended family, which included his brother Count Felix, 22, Prince Joachim and Joachim's wife, Princess Marie, and the couple's two children, Count Henrik, 15, and Countess Athena, 12.

The family posed for the sweet snap at the Danish royal family's holiday home, Château de Cayx, in France, where they spent some of their summer vacation this year.

© Instagram / @detdanskekongehus

Nikolai's grandmother, Queen Margrethe , 84, bought the château with her late husband, Prince Henrik, in 1974, with the couple and their family making it a tradition to spend several weeks at the property every summer.

The Count shared several photos from his family's holiday on his own personal Instagram account, including stunning images of the estate, which includes a working vineyard.

Nikolai was born on 28 August 1999 at Rigshospitalet, making him Queen Margrethe's eldest grandchild.

He graduated from Copenhagen Business School with a Master of Science in Merchandising degree in June and has been making strides in the modelling industry, having recently attended Copenhagen Fashion Week with his girlfriend, Benedikte Thoustrup.

Margrethe's eldest son, King Frederik and his wife, Queen Mary , have four children – Crown Prince Christian , 18, Princess Isabella, 17, and 13-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Danish Queen Margrethe, who abdicated in January, made the shock decision to strip Prince Joachim's four children of their royal titles in 2022. She claimed she wanted her four grandchildren to "shape their own lives, without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation to the Royal House of Denmark entails" but later issued a public apology for causing upset among her family.

As a result, Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena are now styled Count of Countess of Monpezat, instead of Prince or Princess.

LISTEN: A Right Royal Princess Catherine Special

LOVE THE ROYALS? JOIN THE CLUB!

If you are reading this, the chances are you are obsessed with all things royalty – which is just as well because so are we! So obsessed, in fact, we’ve launched a club solely dedicated to covering them. So welcome to The HELLO! Royal Club . We would love you to join us there…

What is it?

Interactive community offering behind-the-scenes access, exclusive royal interviews, unmissable royal insights, and an illustrious royal Inner Circle .

Member benefits

• Two weekly newsletters, one from Emily Nash
• Video posts and audio notes from Emily Nash and the HELLO! Royal team
• Access to our royal community and opportunity to interact with club writers and members
• Participate in polls, comments and discussion threads
• Royal-themed puzzles with a weekly prize to be won
  
• Access to our Ask Me Anything sessions with our journalists
• Invitations to in-person and virtual events
• A subscription to the digital edition of HELLO! Magazine (Worth £82 annually)*
• Future ‘Inner Circle’ benefits

By royal decree

You are royally invited to join The HELLO! Royal Club – and then to go forth and spread the word to your fellow royal fans. See you in the club!