Danish order of precedence

Danish order of precedence
The Danish order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of Danish officials used to direct protocol. It has no official status and entails no special privileges, but has been established in practical use, e.g. determining seating arrangements at formal occasions in the royal house. The order of precedence is very elaborate, and especially the lower classes include many relatively obscure civil servant positions; the following is only an excerpt.
The royal family
Members of the royal family are not part of the official order of precedence, but are traditionally placed on top of the hierarchy. Their order is as follows:
The Queen
The Crown Prince
The Crown Princess
Prince Christian
Princess Isabella
Prince Vincent
Princess Josephine
Prince Joachim
Princess Marie
Count Nikolai
Count Felix
Count Henrik
Countess Athena
Princess Benedikte
When the Queen is out of the country or otherwise unable to perform her duties, the heir apparent becomes regent. If the heir apparent is also out of the country or otherwise not able of being regent, one of three people, whom the Queen has chosen, can become 'rigsforstander'. These people are:
Prince Joachim of Denmark
Princess Benedikte of Denmark
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
The order of precedence
The 1st Class is the highest, and 5th Class is the lowest. Classes 1 and 2 are exhaustively listed here by the most recent officially published ranking, while classes 3–5 are summarized and only an excerpt. Within the individual classes themselves there are also secondary orders of precedence, shown here with the numbers.
Statutory basis
The Danish order of precedence is decided by royal regulation, which was first published in 1671. The current ranking is from 1746 – The Royal Regulation of 14 October 1746. Throughout time, there have been multiple revisions and changes to the order of precedence, the most recent being on 16 December 1971.
1st Class
Counts of Rosenborg and the Countess of Frederiksborg
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The Queen's Chief Court Mistress (none since 1952)
The Prime Minister and the other Government ministers. The Queen's Maid of the Bedchamber. The Princesses' ladies-in-waiting.
The President of the Supreme Court
Knights of the Elephant
Grand Commanders of the Dannebrog.
The Lord Chamberlain of Denmark (not in current use).
Generals and admirals (the Chief of Defence is the only military officer of this rank in Denmark at any given time)
The Chancellor of the Order. Lord Marshal of the Court. Lieutenant generals and vice admirals
Lord Groom of the Chamber.
Lord Master of the Horse. Lord Master of the Royal Hunt. Lord Master of Ceremonies. Lord Pourer.
Counts Danneskiold-Samsøe, and their male descendants. The Mother Superior for the noble Diocese of Vallø.
2nd Class
Grand Crosses of the Dannebrog
Counts. Ambassadors. The Court Marshal of Denmark. The male descendants of the Counts of Rosenborg. The private secretary to the Queen. The female descendants of the Counts (and Lensgrever) Danneskiold-Samsøe, both the unmarried and married, rank in the 2nd class No. 2. The Comtesses of Rosenborg. Extraordinary and authorized ambassadors in salary bracket 40.
The Queen's Chief of Staff
The Royal Family's court marshals and chief of staffs, according to seniority. The eldest son of a Lensgreve, when they are the chamberlains. The Queen's ladies-in-waiting. The Princesses' maids of honour. The 3 female court members of the noble Diocese of Vallø.
Chamberlains. The Captain of the Royal Yacht. The Chief of the Queen's aides-de-camp. Supreme Court judges. Presidents of the High courts. The Permanent Secretaries. The Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Director-general of the Danish Railways. The Postmaster General. Major generals and rear admirals. The Attorney General. The National Police Commissioner. The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen. The Managing Director of the National Bank of Denmark. Bishops in the Church of Denmark. The Rector of the University of Copenhagen. The Royal Danish high commissioner in Greenland. The Customs Director. The High Commissioner of the Faeroe Islands. The Surgeon general. The Judge Advocate General. The Chief Public Prosecutor. The Director General of the National Board of Health. The Prioress of Vemmetofte Convent. The 35 ladies-beneficiary of the noble Diocese of Vallø.
The Master of the Horse
The Master of the Royal Hunt. The Master of Ceremonies.
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The Royal Konfessionarius (equivalent to Chaplain-in-Ordinary).
Junior ministry secretaries. Consuls general. University rectors. The Bishop of the Faroe Islands
3rd Class
Barons
High Court judges. Colonels and naval captains. Directors at Rigshospitalet. Regents Professor at the University of Copenhagen. Rectors of Business schools and Dental schools. Managing Directors of the National Museum of Denmark, the Danish National Archive and the Royal Danish Theatre. The Master of the Royal Mint
The High Court judge of Greenland
County Court judges. Lieutenant colonels and commanders. Chief Constables. Senior hospital physicians. Provosts in the Church of Denmark. University Professors. Gymnasium rectors
4th Class
Chief inspectors. Majors and Lieutenant Commanders. Senior vicars
Managing directors at the regional archives. University associate professors.
5th Class
Gymnasium associate professors. University assistant professors.
Police inspectors. Junior vicars
Captains and naval lieutenants.
Lieutenants and naval lieutenants, junior grade
Notes
References
Orders of precedence
Order of precedence
Order of precedence