Queen Margrethe of Denmark has announced that
her youngest son is to marry for a second time.
The Queen this morning informed the cabinet at a regular Council of
State of the news that Prince Joachim has become engaged to his
longtime girlfriend, Marie Cavallier, and will wed during the first
half of
next year. The couple attended this morning's meeting with the queen
and her ministers.
According to a statement released by the Royal Palace in Copenhagen: "Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark and His Royal Highness the Prince
Consort have the pleasure to announce the engagement of their son, His
Royal Highness Prince Joachim to Miss Marie Cavallier."
The Palace has also announced that 31-year-old will become Her Royal
Highness Princess Marie following her marriage to the 38-year-old Prince, who is fourth-in-line to the throne after his older brother Prince Frederik and his two young children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella.
A Roman Catholic, Marie will
join the Danish state Lutheran Church and also drop her French
citizenship so as to take on a Danish passport.
Born in Paris in 1976, Marie Agethe Odile Cavallier has appeared almost
certain to wed the prince after she was invited to spend Easter with
the Royal Family.
Following the divorce of her parents when she was just 13, Marie moved
to Switzerland with her mother. Fluent in four languages - English,
French, Italian and Spanish - Marie studied commerce and marketing at
Boston College, following which she embarked on a job with an IT
company in New York City.
The royal bride-to-be has most recently spent
her time working for her father's investment company in Geneva.
