As Denmark fully implemented a new conscription system that includes women, Princess Isabella, 19, second in line to the throne, also began military service.
According to AFP and Reuters on the 3rd local time, Denmark implemented a new draft that extends the service period from the previous four months to 11 months and includes women in the conscription pool. About 1,600 male and female recruits began mandatory service that day, and about 20% of them are women.
Recruits are assigned to 14 units nationwide, receive five months of basic military training, and then carry out six months of real-world operations and specialized training. After firearms training, first aid, and physical training, they will be deployed to various missions including surveillance and drone operations.
Princess Isabella, who enlisted that day, will serve 11 months with the Guard Hussar Regiment at Antvorskov Barracks in Slagelse. The second daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary will live alongside regular conscripts, but the royal family said she will not receive the salary and allowances paid to her.
Crown Prince Christian, first in line to the throne, also completed conscript service in the same unit, went through the Army officer course, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June.
Through a legal revision last year, Denmark included women aged 18 and older in the same lottery-based draft as men. It is the third country in Europe to introduce female conscription, after Norway and Sweden.
However, for now, volunteers fill most of the slots, so an actual lottery is held only when there is a manpower shortfall. The roughly 1,600 who enlisted this time were all reported to be volunteer enlistees.
Denmark's expansion of conscription reflects Russia's military threat, the need to strengthen defense capabilities, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members' trend of boosting defense. Denmark plans to increase annual conscripts from about 5,000 now to 7,500 by 2033.
At the end of this month, about 100 conscripts will be deployed to Greenland for the first time. Reuters assessed that, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly expressing his intention to annex Greenland, the deployment carries political symbolism as well as military significance.