Danish royal family

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Danish royal family

 The King
The Queen
o The Crown Prince
o Princess Isabella
o Prince Vincent
o Princess Josephine

Queen Margrethe II

 Prince Joachim
Princess Marie
o Count Nikolai of Monpezat
o Count Felix of Monpezat
o Count Henrik of Monpezat
o Countess Athena of Monpezat

Extended royal family

The Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

 Greek royal family

 v
 t
 e
The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark.[1] While
some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of Prince(ss) of Denmark,
descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title Count(ess) of Monpezat.
Children of the monarch are accorded the style of His/Her Royal Highness. The
King and Queen are styled Majesty.
Margrethe II, her siblings and her descendants belong to the House of Glücksburg,
which is a branch of the royal House of Oldenburg. Margrethe II's children and
male-line descendants also belong agnatically to the Laborde de Monpezat family,
and were given the concurrent title Count/Countess of Monpezat by royal decree
on 30 April 2008.[2]
The Danish royal family receives remarkably high approval ratings in Denmark,
ranging between 82% and 92%.[3][4]
Main member
The Danish royal family includes:

 King Frederik X and Queen Mary (the King and his wife)
o Crown Prince Christian (the King's son)
o Princess Isabella (the King's daughter)
o Prince Vincent (the King's son)
o Princess Josephine (the King's daughter)
 Queen Margrethe (the King's mother)
o Prince Joachim and Princess Marie (the King's brother and sister-in-law)
 Count Nikolai (the King's nephew)
 Count Felix (the King's nephew)
 Count Henrik (the King's nephew)
 Countess Athena (the King's niece)
 Princess Benedikte (the King's aunt)
 Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes (the King's aunt)
Family tree of members[edit]
King
Queen
Frederik
Ingrid
IX

The
Dowager King
Queen Queen Anne-
Prince Princess of Constantin
Margreth Marie of the
Henrik Sayn- e II of the
e II Hellenes
Wittgenstein Hellenes
-Berleburg
 Greek
royal
family*

Alexandra,
Countess of
The The Prince Princess
Frederiksbor
King Queen Joachim Marie
g
(div. 2005)

The Countess
Princess Prince Princess Count Count Count Athena
Crown
Isabella Vincent Josephine Nikolai Felix Henrik
Prince
Note
* Extended members include the Greek royal family
Members of the extended royal family[edit]
Royal family of Greece[edit]
Main article: Greek royal family
Most of the members of the deposed royal family of Greece hold the title
of Prince or Princess of Greece and Denmark with the qualification of His or Her
Highness, pursuant to the Royal Cabinet Order of 1774 and
as agnatic descendants of George I of Greece, who, as the son of the future King
Christian IX of Denmark, was (and remained) a "Prince of Denmark" prior to his
accession to the throne of Greece in 1863. Until 1953, his dynastic male-line
descendants remained in Denmark's order succession. However, no Danish act
has revoked usage of the princely title for these descendants, neither for those
living in 1953, nor for those born subsequently or who have since married into the
dynasty.
There are three members of the Greek royal family who are not known to bear the
title of Prince/ss of Denmark with the qualification of His/Her Highness.[5][6][7]

 Marina, Princess Michael of Greece and Denmark

 Princess Alexandra of Greece
 The Duchess of Aosta
The following, consorts of royal monarchs today, were born with the titles of
Prince/Princess of Greece and Denmark, although they are not descended from
King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie:
  Queen Sofía of Spain (King Constantine's sister and Queen Anne-Marie's
sister-in-law)
Royal family of Norway[edit]
Main article: Norwegian royal family
The royal family of Norway descends in the legitimate male line from Frederick VIII
of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II's great-grandfather. Haakon VII of Norway, who
was born Prince Carl of Denmark as Frederik VIII's younger son, was, like his
uncle, George I of Greece, invited to reign over another nation. As with the Greek
branch's descendants, members of the Norwegian line no longer have succession
rights to the Danish crown, but unlike the Greek dynasties, they discontinued use
of Danish royal titles upon ascending to the Norwegian throne in 1905.
Counts and countesses of Monpezat[edit]
On 30 April 2008, the Queen of Denmark granted to her two sons, Crown Prince
Frederik and Prince Joachim, and their legitimate patrilineal descendants of both
sexes the hereditary title "Count of Monpezat". The title is based on the French title
"Comte de Laborde de Monpezat" which was used by their father Henrik, Prince
Consort of Denmark.
On 29 September 2022, it was announced that from 1 January 2023, the titles of
Prince and Princess of Denmark, and style of Highness of the 4 children of Queen
Margrethe II's younger son, Prince Joachim, would be discontinued. They will
instead be titled "His/Her Excellency
Count/Countess Nikolai/Felix/Henrik/Athena of Monpezat".[8] All four grandchildren
maintain their places in the order of succession to the throne.
Counts and countesses of Rosenborg[edit]
Danish princes who marry without the consent of the Danish monarch lose their
succession rights, as do their descendants.[9] They are then usually accorded
the hereditary title "Count of Rosenborg". They are entitled to the style "His/Her
Excellency". They and their legitimate male-line descendants are:[10]
 Christian IX of Denmark (1818–1906)
o Frederick VIII of Denmark (1843–1912)
 Christian X of Denmark (1870–1947)
 Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (1900–1976)
 Count Ingolf of Rosenborg
 Count Christian of Rosenborg (1942–2013)
 Countess Josephine of Rosenborg
 Countess Camilla of Rosenborg
 Countess Feodora of Rosenborg
 Prince Harald of Denmark (1876–1949)
 Count Oluf of Rosenborg (1923–1990)
 Count Ulrik of Rosenborg
 Count Philip of Rosenborg
 Countess Katharina of Rosenborg
 Countess Charlotte of Rosenborg
o Prince Valdemar of Denmark (1858–1939)
 Prince Axel of Denmark (1888–1964)
 Count Flemming of Rosenborg (1922–2002)
 Count Axel of Rosenborg
 Countess Julie of Rosenborg
 Count Carl Johan of Rosenborg
 Countess Dagmar of Rosenborg
 Count Valdemar of Rosenborg
 Countess Désirée of Rosenborg
 Count Alexander of Rosenborg
 Count Birger of Rosenborg
 Countess Benedikte of Rosenborg
 Count Carl Johan of Rosenborg
 Countess Caroline of Rosenborg
 Countess Josefine of Rosenborg
 Countess Désirée of Rosenborg
 Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg (1890–1950)
 Count Christian of Rosenborg (1932–1997)
 Count Valdemar of Rosenborg
 Count Nikolai of Rosenborg
 Countess Marie of Rosenborg
 Countess Marina of Rosenborg
Counts and countesses of Samsøe[edit]
The Danneskiold-Samsøe family are the descendants of the eldest son of Christian
V and his mistress Sofie Amalie Moth, whom the king elevated to be the first
Lensgrevinde til Samsø ("Countess of Samsø"). A descendant, Countess
Frederikke Louise af Danneskiold-Samsøe (1699-1744) married her
kinsman Christian August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.
By royal statutory regulation, the Counts of Danneskiold-Samsøe and their male-
line descendants are ranked as the second-highest nobles in Denmark,[11] second
only to the Counts of Rosenborg, whom also descend from the Danish Kings. With
a place in the 1st Class No. 13, they are entitled to the style"His/Her Excellency".[12]
Line of succession[edit]
Then-prince (now crown prince) Christian in 2021.
The first law governing the succession to the Danish throne as a hereditary
monarchy was Kongeloven (Lex Regia), enacted on 14 November 1665, and
published in 1709.[13][14] It declared that the crown of Denmark descends by heredity
to the legitimate descendants ofKing Frederick III, and that the order of
succession follows semi-Salic primogeniture,[13] according to which the crown is
inherited by an heir, with preference among the monarch's children to men over
women; among siblings to the elder over the younger; and among Frederick III's
remoter descendants by substitution, senior branches over junior branches.
Female descendants were eligible to inherit the throne in the event there were no
eligible surviving male dynasts born in the male line.
As for the duchies, Holstein and Lauenburg where the King ruled as duke, these
lands adhered to Salic law (meaning that only men could inherit the ducal throne),
and by mutual agreement, were permanently conjoined. The duchies
of Schleswig (a Danish fief), Holstein and Lauenburg (German fiefs) were joined
in personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark.
This difference caused problems when Frederick VII of Denmark didn't produce
any children, making a change in dynasty imminent, and causing the lines of
succession for the duchies on one hand and for Denmark on the other to diverge.
To ensure that future Kings of Denmark would continue also being Dukes of
Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg, the line of succession to the duchies was
modified in theLondon Protocol of 1852, which designated Prince Christian of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, as the new heir apparent, although he
was, strictly, the heir neither to the Kingdom of Denmark nor to the Duchies of
Schleswig, Holstein, or Lauenburg by primogeniture. Originally, the Danish prime
minister Christian Albrecht Bluhme wanted to keep the separate hereditary
principles, but in the end, the government decided on a uniform agnatic
primogeniture, which was accepted by the Parliament. Even after the loss of the
duchies in the Second Schleswig War of 1864, the style of the Danish
monarchs included references to the duchies until the style was shortened in 1972
on the accession of Margrethe II.
Problems emerged again when Frederik IX became king in 1947. He had only
daughters, and it seemed unlikely that he would have a son, leaving his
brother Knud as heir presumptive. As part of the 1953 constitutional referendum, a
new Act of Succession introduced male-preference primogeniture, allowing women
with no brothers to inherit. In 2009, the succession law was amended after the Act
of Succession referendum, this time to introduce absolute primogeniture. This had
no immediate effect on the line of succession, and the first person affected by the
2009 amendment was Prince Vincent, who on his birth in 2011 would have
otherwise been ahead of his older sister Princess Isabella in the succession. As of
2024 the line of succession is:

1. Crown Prince Christian

2. Princess Isabella
3. Prince Vincent
4. Princess Josephine
5. Prince Joachim
6. Count Nikolai
7. Count Felix
8. Count Henrik
9. Countess Athena
10. Princess Benedikte
Privileges and restrictions[edit]
Following the transformation of Denmark's monarchy from elective (at least
theoretically, although it had generally descended to the eldest son of the House of
Oldenburg since 1448) to hereditary in 1660, the so-called Kongelov (Lex Regia in
Latin) of 1665 established the reign "by the grace of God" of King Frederick III and
his posterity.[13] Of the articles of this law, all except Article 21 and Article 25 have
been repealed by amendments to the Constitution in 1849, 1853, 1953, and 2009.
Article 21 states "No Prince of the Blood, who resides here in the Realm and in Our
territory, shall marry, or leave the Country, or take service under foreign Masters,
unless he receives Permission from the King".[13] Under this provision, princes of
Denmark who permanently reside in other realms by express permission of the
Danish Crown (i.e. members of the dynasties of Greece, Norway and the United
Kingdom) do not thereby forfeit their royalty in Denmark, nor are they bound to
obtain prior permission to travel abroad or to marry from its sovereign, although
since 1953 those not descended in male-line from King Christian X are no longer in
the line of succession to the Danish throne.[13] However, those who do reside in
Denmark or its territories require the monarch's prior permission to travel abroad
and to marry.[13]
Article 25 stipulates, with respect to blood members of the Royal dynasty: "They
should answer to no Magistrate Judges, but their first and last Judge shall be the
King, or to whomsoever He decrees."[13] The wording excludes those whose blood
cannot be traced to a Danish monarch (e.g., the present Queen).
Notes[edit]
1
Princess Benedikte's children have no succession rights. This is because the
marriage consent given to her had very specific provisions; if Benedikte ever
became the heir presumptive, she and her husband would have to take permanent
residence in Denmark and her children would have succession rights only if they
had applied for naturalization upon reaching adulthood, and taken up residence in
Denmark: (a) at the time of becoming the immediate heir to the throne, and (b) no
later than when they reached the age of mandatory schooling under Danish law.
Since the children continued to be educated in Germany well past the mandatory
schooling age, they are deemed to no longer have succession rights.[15]
2
Queen Anne-Marie has no succession rights, and her descendants have none
through her, because the permission granted for her marriage stipulated that she
renounced her claim to the Danish throne upon becoming queen consort of the
Hellenes.
See also[edit]
 Danish nobility
 Line of succession to the Norwegian throne
References[edit]
1. ^ "The Danish Monarchy - the Royal House". Kongehuset.dk. Archived from the
original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
2. ^ "House of Monpezat". Kongehuset.dk (Press release) (in Danish). Danish
Monarchy. 30 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011.
3. ^ Danish-Style Royal Fairy Tale - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency
4. ^ "Once upon a time". The Age. Melbourne. 10 May 2004.
5. ^ Willis, Daniel (1999). The Descendants of Louis XIII. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield
Co. pp. 94, 762. ISBN 0-8063-4942-5. The daughters of Prince and Princess
Michael [of Greece and Denmark] are titled Princess of Greece without the style of
Royal Highness
6. ^ Huberty, Michel; Alain Giraud; F. and B. Magdelaine (1994). L'Allemagne
Dynastique Tome VII Oldenbourg (in French). France: Giraud. pp. 329,
357. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.
7. ^ Willis, Daniel (2002). The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain.
Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co. p. 419. ISBN 0-8063-5172-1.
8. ^ Agence France-Presse (29 September 2022). "Denmark's Queen Margrethe
strips four grandchildren of royal titles". The Guardian. Retrieved 29
September 2022.
9. ^ Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter (2 February 1999). "Conditional Consent, Dynastic Rights
and the Danish Law of Succession". Hoelseth's Royal Corner. Dag Trygsland
Hoelseth. Archived from the original on 7 August 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
10. ^ Søgeresultat: - Skeel-Holbek, Schaffalitzky de Muckadell
11. ^ "Rangfølgen". 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
Retrieved 10 June 2020.
12. ^ "Danneskiold | lex.dk". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 11 June 2020.
13. ^ a b c d e f g Gråsten Palace
14. ^ "Kongeloven". Statsministeriet. Statsministeriet. 4 September 1709. Archived
from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
15. ^ Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter (2 February 1999). "Conditional Consent, Dynastic Rights
and the Danish Law of Succession". Hoelseth's Royal Corner. Dag Trygsland
Hoelseth. Retrieved5 November 2009.