Prince Christian shares rare photos of gap year as he makes big announcement
King Frederikand Queen Mary's eldest son Crown Prince Christian has announced that he's set to join the military in an exciting update.
In a post shared to the Danish royal family's official Instagram account, Christian, who recently celebrated his 19th birthday, shared a glimpse inside his gap year, before later revealing his career plans.
He penned: "Learning a lot about life down here and have helped build new houses for the employees. And then I played some good football matches with the locals.
"But now I'm also starting to look forward to returning home to the family in Denmark and celebrating Christmas in a few weeks. And now I'm looking forward to new challenges! In February I'll start working as a military officer at the Guardhouse Regiment in Slagelse."
The post also featured several personal photos that showed Christian getting stuck in with an array of tasks. One showed the royal helping unload bricks while a second showed Christian playing football.
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Christian travelled to East Africa on the 4 September and isn't due to return to his home country until the end of the year. Back in August, the Danish palace released a statement which read: "On 4 September, HRH the Crown Prince will leave for an extended stay in East Africa.
"Here, the Crown Prince will be involved in the day-to-day running of two farms, which will, among other things, involve practical and administrative tasks as well as giving the Crown Prince an insight into local nature conservation. The plan is for the Crown Prince to return to Denmark in December."
The statement concluded: "It is the hope of the Royal Couple and the Crown Prince that there will be an understanding that the stay abroad will remain private from start to finish. For that reason, no more details about the stay are published."
Christian is now set to follow in the footsteps of his father who spent much of his early career in the military. Frederik served in the infantry regiment of the Royal Life Guards and the Royal Frogmen Corps, an elite special forces unit within the Danish navy.
In 2000, he also trained at The Flight School and became a captain of the reserve (air force). The King has been appointed to various positions over his military career, including commander in the navy and colonel in the army and the air force in 2010.
In the coming weeks, Prince Christian is set to return home in time for Christmas. He is expected to reunite with his parents and his three siblings: Princess Isabella, 17, and 13-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
The Danish royal family traditionally spend Christmas at Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus, Jutland, with King Frederik and Queen Mary playing host for the first time in their reign.
Christian became Crown Prince when his father ascended the throne on 14 January 2024, following Queen Margrethe's shock abdication.
