Queen Mary and King Frederik face emotional day as Crown Prince Christian, 18, leaves the family home

King Frederik and Queen Mary faced an emotional day on Wednesday as their son, Crown Prince Christian , 18, left the family home to begin his gap year trip.

The heir to the Danish throne graduated from high school in June and the palace shared his plans in a statement, saying: "On 4 September, HRH the Crown Prince will leave for an extended stay in East Africa.

"Here, the Crown Prince will be involved in the day-to-day running of two farms, which will, among other things, involve practical and administrative tasks as well as giving the Crown Prince an insight into local nature conservation. The plan is for the Crown Prince to return to Denmark in December."

Christian's trip will remain private throughout and the palace stated that no further details about his visit will be made public.

No doubt it will be a big change for Frederik and Mary, who are also parents to Princess Isabella, 17, and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Ahead of his trip, Crown Prince Christian travelled to France to show his support for Danish athletes at the Paris 2024 Paralympics .

© Instagram / @detdanskekongehus

The palace shared some snaps from his visit where the teenager was given a tour of the Danish camp, meeting several athletes including Alexander Hillhouse, who gold in the 100m butterfly and Daniel Wagner, who won silver in the long jump competition.

Christian also enjoyed coffee and lunch with the athletes in the village – watch highlights from his outing below…

The crown prince is following in the footsteps of his father, King Frederik, and his grandmother, Queen Margrethe , who also undertook working visits abroad in their youth.

Frederik travelled to Mongolia in 1986 and later worked for a year on a wine farm in California in 1989m while Margrethe visited the East and South America in the 1960s.

Royal duties

On the day of Crown Prince Christian's departure, King Frederik received ambassadors from Malawi, Oman, Angola, Mauritania, Qatar and Sweden during an audience and later ambassadors from Ghana and Iran.

Queen Mary was scheduled to attend the Carlsberg Foundation's Research Awards 2024 on Wednesday evening.

© Getty

After a brief summer vacation at the Danish royal family's Jutland residence, Gråsten Palace, Frederik and Mary embarked on a tour of the Danish municipalities on the Royal Ship Dannebrog.

© Getty

The couple made stops at Bornholmes, Ærø, Assens and Vejle during their four-day trip.

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