Today the Danish court released the news that Prince Henrik, the Prince Consort, will be stepping down from his role as chancellor of the Danish royal orders. The Queen has appointed Prince Joachim as his successor in this role.
Where the monarch is the Master of the Order of both the two Danish orders: the order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Elephant, the chancellor of the royal orders is a role that deals with the administrative business behind the scenes of the system. Among the duties is consideration of people being selected for the orders, before the final selection goes to the monarch as well as signing the diplomas that are awarded along the orders and other medals of service.
The reason behind the switch now is that the Prince Consort has held the role for the past 41 years, and has, himself, deemed it time to start the transition to the next generation. Prince Joachim will start in his new role on October 1.