Queen Mary's daughter Princess Isabella to make royal history by doing military service

Queen Mary's eldest daughter will soon join the Danish army.

Princess Isabella is due to finish high school later this year and afterwards she will spend 11 months doing military service.

The princess, who will turn 19 in April, is to join the Guard Hussar Regiment in Slagelse, west of Copenhagen, from August.

Isabella's decision is an historic one for the Danish royal family and she will become the first female royal to take part in military service.

Last year, Denmark introduced conscription for women based on a lottery system in response to rising tensions and heightened security concerns in Europe.

Until the change, women had been allowed to participate in military service when they turned 18, but on a voluntary basis.

Volunteers are now recruited first, with the remaining numbers made up through the lottery system.

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The period of conscription for teenagers also rose from four to 11 months.

Princess Isabella is following in the footsteps of her older brother and heir to the throne Crown Prince Christian, who also served in the Guard Hussar from February last year.

Crown Prince Christian is due to finish his lieutenant training in June and will then serve with the Royal Life Guards. He will be platoon commander for conscripted privates on call-up duty from August at the Guard Barracks in Høvelte.

Once Princess Isabella graduates from Øregård Gymnasium, she will begin her military service.

Her decision will mark a first for the Danish royal family as traditionally only men were conscripted into the armed forces.

Princess Isabella's grandmother, Queen Margrethe II, didn't have the option when she was a teenager and instead the queen signed up for the Women's Flying Corps.

Isabella's father, King Frederik, joined the Royal Life Guards after his 18th birthday in 1986 and upon the accession to the throne in January 2024, he became a general in the Army and Air Force and an admiral in the Navy.

Royal correspondent for Danish magazine BILLED BLADET, Marianne Singer, said Isabella's move was monumental.

"Princess Isabella's choice and desire to serve her military service has enormous significance as the role model she is," Singer told the publication.

"I have already been asked the question: has she been forced to do it? And [the answer is] no. Of course she hasn't.

"It is 2026 and Princess Isabella is an independent, young woman with tons of integrity, so of course it is her own choice.

"A choice I am sure that her parents, grandmother and probably also uncle Joachim, who has made a career in the Armed Forces, are very happy and proud of."

Princess Isabella has a reputation for being headstrong and will be suited to the military, Singer believes.

"We know that the royal couple listens a lot to their children, so if she was really against it, it wouldn't have happened.

"[Isabella] has always been stubborn and goes her own way. The military suits her well, and she will probably cope very well."

Princess Isabella's military service will also be a good look for the Danish royal family, Singer says.

"In these uncertain times, it is very wise from the royal family's perspective that she should serve her military service.

"She could, like some of her royal colleagues, go abroad to study, but instead she will stay in Denmark and do her duty. This will give huge points to both her and the royal family.

"The fact that two of the royal couple's children are in the military is a very strong signal."

Princess Isabella is following other young royal women from across Europe by enlisting in the military including the heirs to the thrones of Norway, Belgium and Spain. While Isabella is not heir to Denmark's throne, she is the King and Queen's second child.

Next month, King Frederik and Queen Mary's two youngest children will celebrate their confirmation.

Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine will be confirmed inside Fredensborg Castle Church on April 18.

The twins were photographed attending a Sunday mass with their grandmother on March 22 in preparation for the event.

The church at Fredensborg Castle has been the site of royal confirmations for many years.

Both Queen Margrethe and King Frederik were confirmed there in 1955 and 1981, respectively.

Most recently, Crown Prince Christian had his confirmation there in 2021 and Isabella celebrated hers in 2022.

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