The rumour had been circulating for several months in the national press. “Her Royal Highness Princess Isabella will undergo 11 months of military service starting in August,” the Amalienborg Palace revealed on March 31, 2026. So here is the youngest daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark ready to put on the uniform, make her bed in the barracks, and most importantly, push her limits. A training she will start once she has her high school diploma in hand, currently in her final year at the Øregård high school in Hellerup, near Copenhagen. Like her brother, Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella will join the regiment of hussars of the guard at Antvorskov Barracks in Slagelse.
The Court specifies that she will be among the “first” to carry out her military service. Indeed, since last year, conscription has been expanded in the Scandinavian kingdom and applies to young men and women alike, once they reach the age of majority. While these new rules only applied to Danish women who turned 18 from July 1, 2025, Isabella of Denmark has nevertheless chosen to take on the challenge. “It’s really great, and it sends a positive message to the many young women who are also called up. This shows a certain strength, and the fact that she chooses this path shows her dynamism and determination,” explains journalist Marianne Singer in the pages of the magazine Billed-Bladet.
On March 8, 2025, the princess accompanied her family on a visit to Slagelse where her brother Christian had been stationed for a few weeks. An opportunity for her to get a glimpse of daily life at the barracks and learn more about the regiment of hussars of the guard. She even had fun putting on the camouflage backpack and the helmet of the Crown Prince. “The royal couple is very attentive to their children, so if Isabella of Denmark had really opposed it, it would not have happened,” adds our correspondent.
A carefully considered choice by the princess who was able to discuss with her father Frederik X and her brother Christian about their experiences in the army. Her mother, Queen Mary, her grandmother, Queen Margrethe, and her uncle, Prince Joachim, also followed a military path. As for her aunt, Princess Marie, she was appointed in April 2023 as head of section in an honorary capacity at the Danish Emergency Management Agency. Princess Isabella thus prioritizes family tradition before heading to university. “The fact that two of the royal couple’s children are in the army sends a very strong signal,” emphasizes Marianne Singer to Billed-Bladet. She added: “I also think she will appreciate the sense of community that prevails in the army. It’s something her father has always valued: the strong cohesion that is created in these places.”
Read also >> Frederik X of Denmark’s hectic political day
