Count Nikolai and Benedikte Thoustrup spark engagement speculation with unusual move during US holiday

Denmark could soon be hosting its first royal wedding in nearly 20 years.

Signs are pointing to an imminent engagement between King Frederik's eldest nephew and his long-term girlfriend after a recent outing.

Count Nikolai of Monpezat and Benedikte Thoustrup are currently in the United States and while there, they did something unheard of within Danish royal circles.

Both were guests at the confirmation of Nikolai's younger sister, Countess Athena, in Washington D.C.

Count Nikolai and his younger brother Count Felix had flown from Denmark for the occasion.

While that is not unusual, Thoustrup's presence at the family gathering was.

Friends of the family, and relatives, were invited to Countess Athena's confirmation inside the Georgetown Lutheran Church on May 2.

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Countess Athena, 14, is the youngest child of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie. Their son, Count Henrik, is 17.

The family has been living in D.C. for the past three years where where Prince Joachim works at the Danish embassy as a defence attaché. They are due to return to Denmark in August, 2027.

Among the guests were Count Nikolai, 26, and Count Felix, 23, who are Prince Joachim's sons from his first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.

While Thoustrup was not included in any of the official photographs later shared by the Royal House of Denmark, she was seen arriving at the church. The images were published on Danish royal magazine website BILLED-BLADET.

The publication's royal expert Ulrik Ulriksen said Thoustrup's inclusion in the family occasion was a sign of bigger things to come.

"By attending the confirmation, the couple is sending a strong signal," Ulriksen wrote.

"There is no tradition for royals to bring their lovers to celebrations where the public and press are present. This usually only happens after the couple has become engaged."

He added: "Benedikte has therefore never accompanied Count Nikolai at major celebrations, such as when his cousin Princess Isabella turned 18 a year ago and was celebrated with a gala performance at the Royal Theatre, or when he attended Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine's confirmation just a few weeks ago."

If an engagement is announced, their wedding would be one of the most exclusive events in Denmark.

The last major royal wedding to take place in Denmark was that of Nikolai's father when he married French-born Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier in May, 2008.

Four years earlier, then-Crown Prince Frederik married Australian commoner Mary Donaldson, now King Frederik and Queen Mary.

Count Nikolai and Thoustrup's wedding is likely to be much more low key.

Nikolai and Thoustrup have been dating for nine years after meeting at high school.

They both attended the prestigious Herlufsholm School in Næstved, south of Copenhagen, and were friends first.

Last year, the couple gave their first joint interview to ELLE Denmark where they spoke about the early days of their relationship.

Nikolai told the magazine: "Two years actually passed, where we just hung out as classmates and friends, but then something happened, and then it quietly developed into a lovely relationship".

Thoustrup also revealed she had met Nikolai's family, but did not go into too much detail about exactly who she has been introduced to.

"It was very easy to meet Nikolai's family," she said.

"It was of course fun to see a little more behind the scenes of some of the events that others don't experience because the cameras are off."

Count Nikolai and Thoustrup regularly share their glamorous lives on social media and she has regularly holidayed at the Danish royal family's French residence, Château de Cayx.

After spending time with Prince Joachim and the rest of Nikolai's family in D.C., he and Thoustrup travelled to New York City.

Nikolai is one of the most in-demand models and influencers, while Thoustrup began modelling professionally in 2023, making her catwalk debut at Copenhagen Fashion Week.

The couple previously lived in Australia after Nikolai completed a semester at the University of Technology, later graduating from the Copenhagen Business School.

Count Nikolai was recently a guest at the confirmation of Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine where he was photographed on the steps of Fredensborg Palace with his uncle King Frederik and Queen Mary.

Nikolai and his siblings were the subject of global headlines in late 2022 when their grandmother Queen Margrethe II announced sweeping changes to the royal titles of four of her eight grandchildren. Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena lost the right to be known as 'prince' and 'princess'.

In September 2023, Nikolai spoke exclusively to 9Honey about his grandmother's decision, admitting it was "still quite a touchy subject".

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