Olympian Princess and Queen Margrethe's niece, Nathalie, Divorces Husband of 12 years

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg finalizes divorce

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's niece, Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and her husband, German horse breeder, Alexander Johannsmann, called it quits after 12 years of marriage. They finalized their divorce this month.

She is the third child and youngest daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Prince Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittengenstein-Berleburg, who died in 2017.

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg finalizes divorce
Princess Nathalie and Alexander Johannsmann's church wedding in 2011

Princess Nathalie and her two older siblings, Prince Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and Princess Alexandra, were raised in Berleburg Castle in Germany which made them ineligible to succeed the Danish throne.

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg finalizes divorce
Princess Nathalie and Alexander Johannsmann's church wedding in 2011

Her maternal grandfather, King Frederick IX, mandated that in order for his grandchildren to inherit the Danish throne, they should be raised in Denmark and should be Danish citizens when they reached 18 years old.

Princess Nathalie acquired her Danish citizenship in 1998 when she chose to represent Denmark, instead of Germany, in the equestrian competitions.

Princess Nathalie, 47, is a competitive equestrian and Olympian. She represented Denmark in the European Championships, World Cup, and two Summer Olympics. 

Princess Nathalie is an Olympian in the equestrian event

She is the only European princess in recent memory to have ever reached the Olympic podium (because Zara Tindall is not technically a princess) in the equestrian event.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she helped her team secure the Bronze medal in the dressage routine, and in the 2012 London Olympics, her team finished 4th. Since 2017, Princess Nathalie is the head coach of the Danish team in the Dressage event of the Equestrian.  

Apart from riding, Princess Nathalie is also a horse breeder and has her own stud farm at her father's estate (and now owned by her brother, Prince Gustav) in Berleburg, Germany. 

It's through this passion that she met Alexander Johannsmann, who is also a horse breeder. He is the son of German showjumper, Heinrich Wilhelm Johannsmann.

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg finalizes divorce
Princess Nathalie and her father, Prince Richard

They got married civilly on May 27, 2010, in Germany, and had a church wedding ceremony on June 18, 2011. She gave birth to their eldest child, Konstantin, just two months after their civil wedding in 2010, which made headlines in Denmark.

Princess Nathalie wore a floral lace overlay and floral appliqué detail at her church wedding. She also wore the wedding veil that her great-grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, wore at her wedding to future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1905.

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg finalizes divorce
Princess Nathalie wore the Khedive of Egypt tiara and the wedding veil of her great-grandmother Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden 

Just like her older sister, Princess Alexandra, and first cousin, Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark, Princess Nathalie wore the Khedive of Egypt tiara on her wedding day. It was originally owned by Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden. It is now inherited by her maternal aunt, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg finalizes divorce
Princess Nathalie and her husband, Alexander, attending the funeral service of her father in 2017

Princess Nathalie and Alexander Johannsmann have grown apart since the death of Nathalie's father, Prince Richard, in 2017. 

She confirmed their separation this year. And the Royal Court of Denmark confirmed to Billed Bladet, a Danish magazine, that the divorce has been finalized this month. They will share custody of their minor children, Konstantin, 12, and Luisa, 7.

Princess Nathalie just joined her cousins and maternal aunts recently at Grasten Palace in Denmark for their annual summer holiday.

From left: Princess Alexia and Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, Princess Nathalie, Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, and Prince Joachim of Denmark. Credit: Royal Palace of Denmark instagram

Seated: Queen Anne-Marie, Queen Margrethe II, Princess Benedikte
At the back: the royal cousins and their respective partners. Princess Nathalie's estranged husband was not there. Absent were Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and his wife, Marie-Chantal. Credit: Royal Palace of Denmark instagram

The Danish royal family during their annual summer break in Denmark. Credit: Royal Palace of Denmark instagram

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