A lesson in royalty

Prince Nikolai of Denmark, first born grandson of Queen Margrethe II, celebrates his fifteenth birthday today.  The teenager, eldest son of Prince Joachim and his first wife Alexandra Manley, has posed for two official birthday portraits and has chosen his school as the backdrop.

Nikolai of Denmark is fifteen today

The images, strikingly shot and dramatically lit, are very different from the usual birthday portraits which normally feature a head and shoulders image of the royals or a pose in the gardens of one of their homes. These snaps show the young prince as he starts a new stage in his life - he started Herlufsholm boarding school earlier this year and is expected to stay there until he completes this stage of his education.

Nikolai, first grandson of Margrete of Denmark, in his fifteenth birthday portraits

And these images are the first indication of another new phase in Nikolai's life.  For although he is the first born of a new generation of Danish royals, he is already seventh in line to his country's throne and will only move further away from the crown as he gets older.  While his younger cousins, the children of Crown Prince Frederik, will form the new royal family Nikolai will be on the fringes of the monarchy as time moves on.  These photos show a young man starting to make his way in the world by himself as he will do as his future unfolds.  They are birthday portraits and a lesson in royalty.