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Prince Henrik of Denmark

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For his grandson, see Prince Henrik of Denmark (born 2009).

Prince Henrik
Prince Henrik at the wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling, 19 June 2010
Consort of the Danish monarch
Tenure14 January 1972 – 13 February 2018
BornHenri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat
(1934-06-11)11 June 1934
Talence, Gironde, France
Died13 February 2018(2018-02-13) (aged 83)
Fredensborg Slot, Denmark[1]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1967)​
IssueFrederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Prince Joachim
HouseMonpezat
FatherAndré de Laborde de Monpezat [da]
MotherRenée-Yvonne Doursennot [da]
ReligionChurch of Denmark
prev. Roman Catholic

Prince Henrik of Denmark (Danish pronunciation: [ˈhɛnˀʁæɡ]; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat (11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018[1]), was the husband and consort of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Henrik was born in the French commune of Talence to the old French family the Laborde de Monpezats. His family had spent many years in Vietnam, but left the country following the defeat of the French in the First Indochina War. After being educated in France, Henrik served in the French Army during Algerian War. Prior to his marriage with Margrethe, he worked in the diplomatic service. Henrik married Margrethe at the Church of Holmen on 10 June 1967 and became her consort when she succeeded her father, King Frederick IX, as monarch of Denmark on 14 January 1972.

He had two sons, Crown Prince Frederik (born 1968) and Prince Joachim (born 1969). He had eight grandchildren. Throughout his time as Prince consort, Henrik voiced his displeasure with fact that he never received the title of King.

A keen winemaker, Henrik produced his own wine, made at his estate in France. He also published many works of poetry. He was the first male consort to a Danish monarch. Henrik retired from his royal duties on 1 January 2016, at the age of 81.

Early life

Henrik in 1966

Henrik was born in Talence, Gironde, France. He was the son of André de Laborde de Monpezat (Mont-de-Marsan, 6 May 1907 – Le Cayrou, 23 February 1998) and his wife, Renée Doursenot (Périgueux, 26 October 1908 – Le Cayrou, 11 February 2001) (married in 1931[2]). He was raised Catholic.[3]

He spent his first five years in Hanoi (Vietnam), where his father looked after family business interests.[4] In 1939, the family returned to Le Cayrou, where the family stayed during the Second World War.[2] Henrik received homeschooling until 1947, when he went to a Jesuit school in Bordeaux.[4] He returned to Hanoi in 1950, where he fought the Việt Minh.[5] He graduated from the French secondary school in Hanoi in 1952.[4] Between 1952 and 1957 he simultaneously studied law and political science at the Sorbonne, Paris, and Chinese and Vietnamese at the École Nationale des Langues Orientales (now known as INALCO). He also studied in Hong Kong in 1957 and Saigon in 1958.[4]

He served as an infantry conscript in the French Army in the Algerian War between 1959 and 1962.[5] He afterwards joined the French Foreign Affairs ministry in 1962, working as a Secretary at the embassy in London from 1963 to 1967.[4]

Marriage and issue

Prince Henrik of Denmark in Vágur, Faroe Islands

On 10 June 1967 he married Princess Margrethe, the heir presumptive to the Danish throne, at the Naval Church of Copenhagen. At the time of the wedding his name was Danicised to Henrik and he was created HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark. Before the wedding, the Prince converted to Lutheranism.[3]

The Queen and Prince Henrik had two children and eight grandchildren:

Prince Henrik's native language was French, and his second language was Danish. He also spoke fluent English, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Although he quickly learned Danish after marrying Margrethe, Danes still joke about his grasp of Danish and his thick French accent.

Difficulties within the Danish monarchy

Prince Henrik with his wife Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 2010.

In 2002, Henrik left Denmark and went to stay at the couple's Château de Caïx in Cahors in southern France. The cause of his departure from Denmark was a New Year's Day reception in which his son, Crown Prince Frederik, had been appointed as host in the absence of Queen Margrethe. Henrik felt "pushed aside, degraded and humiliated"[6] by being relegated to "third place in the royal hierarchy."

"For many years I have been Denmark's number two," he said. "I've been satisfied with that role, but I don't want to be relegated to number three after so many years." Henrik "fled" Denmark to reflect on his status in the Danish Royal Family. Queen Margrethe flew to France to meet her husband.[6] Henrik stressed that neither his wife nor son were to blame for the incident. The Prince Consort spent three weeks in Caix, and did not appear with his wife as expected at the wedding of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Máxima Zorreguieta.[7] After three weeks, Henrik returned to Denmark.

On 30 April 2008, shortly before the wedding of his younger son, Prince Joachim, to Marie Cavallier, the Queen conferred the new Danish title "Count of Monpezat" (Template:Lang-da) on both of her sons and made it hereditary for their male-line descendants, both male and female.[8] The Queen's private secretary Henning Fode commented, "The Queen and the Prince Consort have considered this for quite some time, and it has led to the belief that it was the right thing to do."[8]

In fact, Henrik had mentioned this possibility as long ago as 1996, in his published memoir, "During our generation the future sovereign will perhaps receive approval to see 'Monpezat' added to the dynastic name of 'Oldenburg-Glücksburg'".[9] While being interviewed by the French weekly Point de Vue in October 2005, Henrik raised the issue shortly after the birth of Crown Prince Frederik's first son, Prince Christian, who is expected to inherit the Danish crown one day: "It also makes him very proud and happy that Monpezat will be added to this small grandson's future name as Prince of Denmark. 'It is a great joy for me that his French roots will also be remembered.'"[10] Although no announcement was made at that time, Prince Christian does now include this part of his French grandfather's surnames among his hereditary titles. The grant does not extend this Danish comital title to Henrik himself.

In her New Year's speech to the Danish people on 31 December 2015, Queen Margrethe announced that Prince Henrik would 'wind down' and give up most of his official duties with immediate effect from 1 January 2016. On 14 April 2016, Prince Henrik renounced the title of Prince Consort, which he had been given in 2005.[11][12]

In August 2017, he announced that he won't be buried next to his wife in the Roskilde Cathedral, where Danish royals have been buried since 1559. Queen Margrethe who had a specially designed sarcophagus made for the couple, accepts Henrik's decision, according to a royal house spokeswoman.[13][14][15]

Health

On 6 September 2017, it was announced that Prince Henrik was suffering from dementia.[16] On 28 January 2018, Prince Henrik was hospitalized at Rigshospitalet, following a visit to Egypt.[17] It was later revealed that he had a benign tumor in the left lung.[18] His health however worsened, causing Crown Prince Frederik to cut short his visit to South Korea where he would have visited the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[19] On 13 February 2018, he was transferred from the Rigshospitalet to Fredensborg Palace, where the Danish Royal Court stated he wishes to spend the remaining days of his life. The Royal Court added that the condition of the Prince remains serious.[20] On 14 February 2018, it was announced that Prince Henrik had died peacefully in his sleep at Fredensborg Palace on the evening of 13 February surrounded by his wife and their two sons.[1]

Poetry

Henrik wrote many poems in his native language French, some of which have been published in the poetry collections; Chemin faisant (1982), Cantabile (2000), Les escargots de Marie Lanceline (2003), Murmures de vent (2005), Frihjul (Roue-Libre, 2010), Fabula (2011), La part des anges (2013), and Dans mes nuits sereines (2014). The symphonic suite Cantabile by Frederik Magle is based on Henrik's poetry collection Cantabile and was premiered by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at two concerts celebrating Henrik's 70th and 75th birthdays in 2004 and 2009.

Henrik said about writing poetry (translated from Danish): "I see poetry as an opportunity for immersion in a superficial time dominated by news and entertainment that makes us rootless and restless. Poetry takes us closer to the true nature of the world, in poetry we can approach the eternal questions such as love, loneliness and death."[21]

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

Styles of
Prince Henrik of Denmark
Reference styleHis Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness
Alternative styleSir
  • 11 June 1934 – 10 June 1967: Count* Henri de Laborde de Monpezat
  • 10 June 1967 – 2005: His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark
  • 2005 – 14 April 2016: His Royal Highness The Prince Consort
  • 14 April 2016 – 13 February 2018: His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark[12]

* Use is disputed, see section "French title controversy" below

French title controversy

Laborde de Monpezat family coat of arms

The Laborde de Monpezat family style themselves as counts, though their right to the use of that title is disputed: The Encyclopédie de la fausse noblesse et de la noblesse d'apparence (Template:Lang-en) states that Prince Henrik's ancestor, Jean Laborde, received royal letters patent of ennoblement in 1655, conditional on his reception as a noble in the Estates of the province of Béarn where his lands were located.[22] But this condition was never fulfilled, as the Estates refused Laborde's petitions in 1703 and again in 1707.[22] The family's surname was "Monpezat" by the time of the French Revolution, without title, until 14 July 1860, when it was changed by imperial decree to "de Laborde-Monpezat", and legally changed again on 19 May 1861 to "de Laborde de Monpezat".[23] Although the comital title has been used by the family as if it were a titre de courtoisie, traditionally the royal court and French society accepted such titles when used by genuinely noble families.[24] Since the title was assumed by Henrik's ancestor prior to the twentieth century, it is possible he was unaware of the misuse until his family's history was scrutinized by genealogists after his engagement. Henrik's 1996 autobiography acknowledges the unsuccessful ennoblement.

Royal spouses and titles

Henrik with Queen Margrethe, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush in 2005.

Danish law never required that royal spouses be of aristocratic origin. Nonetheless, no prince's marriage to a woman who lacked male-line descent from royalty or titled nobility had been accepted as dynastic by the sovereign in the course of Denmark's history as a hereditary monarchy, prior to the marriage of the heir to the throne, Princess Margrethe, in June 1967.[25][26] Moreover, six months later Margrethe's first cousin, Prince Ingolf of Denmark, married an untitled commoner and was demoted to a count, and another cousin, Prince Christian of Denmark, also wed a Dane, Anne Dorte Maltoft-Nielsen, in 1971, forfeiting his dynastic position. Christian later commented on the dynasty's marital rules in the Danish periodical, Billed-Bladet:

As protocol dictates, I had to ask my uncle, King Frederick IX, if he had any objections to my getting engaged ... I knew I would have to renounce my title of prince and my right of succession if I married her. I was number four in the line of succession after Princess Margrethe, Princess Benedikte, and my father. My brother, Ingolf, had two years previously lost his princely title and succession right when he married a commoner, Countess Inge. Now I was ready to follow him. To me, it didn't matter if I were in line for the throne or not... My uncle, of course, had nothing against a union between Anne Dorte and me.[27]

Decades later, Henrik's sons Frederik and Joachim both married foreign commoners without any serious doubt being raised about their continued eligibility for the throne.

Honours

Coat of arms of Prince Henrik, depicting the collars of the Danish royal orders of the Elephant and the Dannebrog.
See also: List of honours of the Danish Royal Family by country

National honours and awards

His national honours are:[4]

Foreign honours and awards

His foreign honours are:[4]

Ancestry

Family of Prince Henrik of Denmark
16. Jean de Laborde de Monpezat (1786–1863)
8. Aristide de Laborde de Monpezat (1830–1888)
17. Jeanne Judith Ferrier (1797–1868)
4. Henri de Laborde de Monpezat (1868–1929)
18. Aubin Borde (1797–1857)
9. Jeanne-Emilie Borde (1835–1889)
19. Jaquette Lacrampe-Couloume (1805–1872)
2. André de Laborde de Monpezat (1907–1998)
20. Christian Hallberg (1800–1872)
10. Eugene Hallberg (1839–1921)
21. Marie Schroder (1818–1840)
5. Henriette Hallberg (1880–1973)
22. Hippolyte Vernhes (1814–1888)
11. Clara Vernhes (1844–1922)
23. Françoise Emilie Bru (1823–1898)
1. Henrik, Prince of Denmark (1934–2018)
24. Pierre Doursenot (1824–1867)
12. Jean-Alfred Doursenot (1855–1940)
25. Jeanne Laronze (1828–1906)
6. Maurice Doursenot (1883–1916)
26. Jean Baptiste Barrière (1827–1898)
13. Marie-Louise Barrière (1863–1941)
27. Marguerite Raynaud (1826–1907)
3. Renée Yvonne Doursenot (1908–2001)
28. Pierre Gay (1817–1847)
14. Leonard Gay (1846–1918)
29. Catherine Bonnet (1819–????)
7. Marguerite Gay (1883–1974)
30. Annet Laforest (1818–1899)
15. Marguerite Laforest (1853–1921)
31. Louise Deffarges (1828–1891)

Publications

Prince Henrik translated several books into Danish, as well as publishing several other books.

  • In 1981, under the pseudonym H.M. Vejerbjerg he and the Queen translated Simone de Beauvoir's Tous les hommes sont mortels.
  • Chemin faisant, 1982, a volume of French poems.
  • Destin oblige, 1996, his memoirs as Prince Consort.
  • Ikke Altid Gåselever (not always foie gras), 1999, a selection of favourite recipes.
  • Cantabile, 2000, poems.
  • Les escargots de Marie Lanceline, 2003.
  • Murmures de vent, 2005, poems.
  • Frihjul, 2010, poems.

References

  1. ^ a b c Hans Kongelige Højhed Prins Henrik afgået ved døden
  2. ^ a b Svendsen, Helge (12 February 2001). "Obituary: Countess de Monpezat". jyllands-posten.dk (in Danish). JP/Politikens Hus A/S. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b Barbara, Augustin (1989). Marriage across frontiers. Multilingual Matters. ISBN 1-85359-041-X. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Danish Royal Family. "HRH Prince Henrik". kongehuset.dk (in Danish). Danish Royal Family. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b Elkjær, Kenneth (18 June 2014). "Prince Henrik Reveals His Bloody Past: We shot and human lives were lost". BT.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media A/S. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Runaway prince returns home". BBC News. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  7. ^ "'Degraded' Danish prince takes time out". BBC News. 5 February 2002. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Monpezat til Frederik og Joachim". Berlingske Tidende. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  9. ^ Henrik prince de Danemark, Destin Oblige, 1996, 102
  10. ^ Levinsen, Niels. "Henrik fulgte Mary time for time" (in Danish). Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Dronningen i sin nytårstale: Prins Henrik går på pension". Politiken.dk. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Denmark's Prince Henrik renounces title as Prince Consort". Xinhuanet, China-Europe. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  13. ^ Olsen, Jan M. (4 August 2017). "Denmark prince refuses to be buried next to wife, the queen". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  14. ^ Sorensen, Martin Selsoe (3 August 2017). "Denmark's Prince Henrik Wanted to Be King. So He'll Protest for Eternity". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Danish prince refuses to be buried with his wife, the queen". BBC News. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  16. ^ The Danish Royal Family (6 September 2017). "HRH Prince Henrik's health". kongehuset.dk. The Danish Monarchy. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  17. ^ Astrup, Peter; Boas, Simon; Hansen, Jens Anton (29 January 2018). "Prince Henrik Hospitalized: Prince Joachim responds to his father's situation". BT.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  18. ^ /ritzau/ (2 February 2018). "Prince Henrik studied for tumor in the left lung". Jydske Vestkysten (in Danish). Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  19. ^ Kongehuset (9 February 2018). "HRH Prince Henrik's condition deteriorated". Kongehuset.dk. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  20. ^ Kongehuset (13 February 2018). "HRH Prince Henrik has returned to Fredensborg Castle". Kongehuset.dk. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Prins Henrik udgiver digte om livet | Kultur | DR" (in Danish). Dr.dk. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  22. ^ a b Dioudonnat, Pierre-Marie, Encyclopédie de la fausse noblesse et de la noblesse d'apparence, Paris, Sedopols, 1976–79 (2 vols), French, p.208
  23. ^ Joseph Valynseele, Les de Laborde de Monpezat et leurs alliances, Paris, chez l'Auteur, 1975, French
  24. ^ Velde, François. "Nobility and Titles in France". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  25. ^ Huberty, Michel; Alain Giraud; F. and B. Magdelaine (1994). L'Allemagne Dynastique Tome VII Oldenbourg (in French). France. pp. passim. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  26. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser Band VIII. "Dänemark". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1968, p. 49.
  27. ^ Billed-Bladet, (Interview with Count Christian of Rosenborg), 1985, Danish
  28. ^ "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (PDF) (in German). p. 552. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  29. ^ "Vabariigi President". President.ee. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark.
Prince Henrik of Denmark
Born: 11 June 1934
Danish royalty
Preceded byas Queen consort Prince Consort of Denmark
(official Prince Consort from 2005 to 2016)
14 January 1972 – 13 February 2018 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Awards and achievements
Preceded by European of the Year
(by the Danish European Movement)
2011 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Prince_Henrik_of_Denmark&oldid=825582648"