Meanwhile downstairs! Count Nikolai looks back on 2023 with glamor shots in Australia, where he started a new life after being stripped of his title – but now that Frederick ascends the throne, will ‘Danish Prince Harry’ be brought back into the fold?

Count Nikolai of Denmark has revealed in a New Year’s post on Instagram that he ‘can’t wait to see what 2024 brings’ – hours after his grandmother Queen Margrethe announced her abdication.

The young Danish royal, 24, was stripped of his prince title in 2022 along with his three siblings, Felix, Henrik and Athena, in a momentous move by the monarch that caused deep division within the family.

Fortunately, they appeared to settle their differences after peace talks and an unprecedented public apology from Queen Margrethe – and since then Count Nikolai has started a new, glamorous life as a student at the University of Technology, Sydney, where he now lives with his friends. designer friend Benedkeek Thoustrup.

In a post ringing in the new year from Australia, Nikolai made no mention of his grandmother’s abdication. Instead, he shared highlights from 2023 modeling shoots as he built a new life for himself in Sydney.

The young royal, who took a not-different path to Prince Harry after moving abroad and starting a new life, appears to be living life to the fullest, but after the 24-year-old revealed he’ll ‘always be there ‘ for his 18th-year-old cousin Prince Christian, who is now heir apparent, the change may prompt Nikolai to return home and take on a more central role in the Danish royal family.

In a New Year’s post today, Nikolai shared some modeling shoots from the past year and said: ‘Some of my favorite shoots from 2023. Thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of working with! I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings’

Queen Margrethe of Denmark at the main entrance of Frederiksborg Palace, welcoming her grandchildren, Prince Felix and Prince Nikolai, on the occasion of Prince Christian’s confirmation on May 15, 2021 in Fredensborg

Sharing the glamorous snaps on the social media platform, he said: ‘Some of my favorite shoots from 2023. Thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of working with! I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings.”

His post comes just over a month after Nikolai told the Australian publication Wish Magazine that he will ‘always be there’ for his cousin Prince Christian as his role within the monarchy becomes increasingly central.

In November, he told the magazine he was excited to “chart his own course” in life after being stripped of his royal title – but revealed his close bond with Christian and his willingness to bring the younger royal into the fold to guide life.

It comes after the Danish monarch, 83, announced in her annual New Year’s Eve speech that she will abdicate on January 14 – the Nordic state’s first abdication in 500 years.

In March, he launched a new Instagram account to promote his modeling career after being stripped of his ‘HRH’ status.

But despite the tensions in the family last year – when Queen Margrethe stripped Prince Joachim’s four children of their prince and princess titles – it appears that Nikolai harbors no bitterness. Nikolai pictured in September

Experts have told MailOnline that they believe the abdication is also about saving the Danish royal family and also about the marriage of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik.

Queen Margrethe took over the title from Prince Joachim’s eldest son, and also took over the prince and princess titles from his younger children Athena, 11, Prince Felix, 20, and Prince Henrik, 13.

They are now Earls and Countess and are referred to as Their Excellencies – and in January this year the Danish Royal Family updated their website to reflect the new status.

She emphasized that this step will be “good for them in their future” and will allow the children – who have retained their position in the line of succession – to “shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and duties’ that a formal bond entails. with the Danish royal family.

The count also said that his Australian aunt Princess Mary, who will now become queen, shared a list of recommendations to enjoy her homeland when he arranged his trip, and warned him to apply SPF 50. Nikolai is still the seventh in line for the throne. .

He told Wish in an interview how his style has changed since moving to Australia. “I like the mullet and the mustache,” he said.

“They’re really cool and I love how expressive young guys are here. Their style is so relaxed and casual. I like that sometimes they walk around barefoot – not that I would ever do that – or just in their thongs.”

He explained that he had a very “conservative clothing style” growing up, but was “keen to explore more of it.”

Nikolai and his girlfriend Benedkeek live together in Copenhagen, but moved to Sydney to study from August 1 to November 30.