The prince of Denmark turned down his state-funded allowance. It's the latest way the royal family is modernizing.

• Prince Christian of Denmark won't accept his government-funded royal allowance when he turns 18.
• The royal, who is presumed to one day become king, announced he would be focusing on his education.

Prince Christian of Denmark announced this week that he won't accept his royal allowance when he becomes eligible for it come October, in a break with tradition.

The royal, who is currently second in line to the throne and will presumably become king one day, announced in a statement on Monday that he would not accept his royal allowance when he turns 18, choosing instead to focus on his education.

"Prince Christian's main priority in the coming year will be the completion of the Prince's upper secondary education," the statement read. "In continuation of this, the Royal Palace will provide information on Prince Christian's further youth and education courses when the time is right."

The palace elaborated, saying that Christian's role as a working royal would be revisited if there is a change in the throne and his father, Prince Frederik, becomes king, or when Christian eventually turns 21.

"Only after this is the expectation that His Royal Highness will participate to a greater extent in official contexts. However, it depends on where the Prince is at this point in his education. Until then, just like today, Prince Christian will only participate in official contexts to a limited extent," the palace continued.

It's the latest way the Danish monarchy is allowing members of the younger generation to forge their own paths

The Danish royal family has apparently made moves to modernize in recent months, with Queen Margrethe announcing plans last year to slim down the monarchy.

In September 2022, she said she would be taking away Prince Joachim's four children's prince and princess titles and they would instead receive the titles of counts and countesses. According to a statement from the Danish royal household, the decision, which it said was similar to recent decisions made by other royal families, was made so the children can "shape their own lives to a much greater extent."

Prince Joachim, Queen Margrethe's second son who is sixth in line to the throne after his brother and his brother's children, publicly called out his mother's decision to change his children's titles, while Frederik voiced his support.

"My mother has made this decision alone, because it is what she can do and it is what she wants, and she thought now was the time to make a decision that I also support and see as the right thing to do," Frederik said outside of a Copenhagen school where he attended an event in October 2022, People reported.

"I myself am interested in the Danish monarchy staying lean over time, so I, therefore, support my mother's decision, which she has chosen to make," he added.

Joachim lives in Paris with his family and, later this year, they will be moving stateside to serve under the Ministry of Defense as defense industry attaché at the Danish Embassy in Washington DC.