Princess Isabella, the eldest daughter of Denmark’s King Frederik and Queen Mary, has begun her 11-month military service as part of a major expansion of the country’s conscription program.
The 19-year-old arrived at military barracks in the town of Slagelse on Monday, joining around 1,600 new recruits.
Her enlistment comes as Denmark expands its military in response to growing security concerns in the Arctic and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Under reforms announced in 2024, women have been included in the country’s conscription program for the first time, while the standard period of service has increased from four months to 11 months.
According to the Danish royal family, Princess Isabella has chosen not to accept the salary and allowances, and will instead rely on financial support from her parents during her service.
The new intake will also be the first to include conscripts deployed to Greenland, where more than 100 soldiers will undertake a month of operational duties later this month.
The deployment comes amid ongoing tensions over Greenland, after repeated calls from US President Donald Trump for the semi-autonomous Danish territory to become part of the United States, proposals that have been rejected by both Denmark and Greenland.
At the NATO summit in Ankara in June, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the alliance.
She said Denmark was prepared to defend every inch of territory in the alliance “including our own.”
The expanded military service has been welcomed by some of the new recruits.
“Now we have 11 months, and I feel like you can really get into it, really experience it and get a lot deeper into the military,” 19-year-old recruit Silas Nohr said.
Recruits will complete five months of basic training before undertaking six months of operational service.
Denmark’s armed forces are also introducing new specialist pathways, including a drone platoon within its Special Operations Command.
Denmark’s conscription system operates as a ballot for all healthy 18-year-olds, although it has traditionally relied heavily on volunteers, with the lottery used only to fill remaining places.
The country joins Sweden, Finland and Norway, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in maintaining a conscription-based military service.
Image: Danish Royal Household
