Royal family of Denmark

The **royal family of Denmark** consists of the dynastic family of the current monarch, Margrethe II of Denmark. All members of the royal family, except Margrethe, hold the title of *Prince/Princess of Denmark*. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent, Frederik, are accorded the style of *His/Her Royal Highness*, while other members of the dynasty are addressed as *His/Her Highness*. Margrethe is styled *Her Majesty*.

Margrethe and her siblings belong to the House of Glücksburg, a branch of the House of Oldenburg. Her children and male-line descendants belong agnatically to the House of Monpezat, and were given the concurrent title *Count/Countess of Monpezat* by royal decree on 30 April 2008.

The royal family enjoys remarkably high approval ratings in Denmark, ranging between 82% and 92%.

## Main Members

The Danish Royal Family includes:

* HM The Queen
	+ TRH The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess
		- HRH Prince Christian
		- HRH Princess Isabella
		- HRH Prince Vincent
		- HRH Princess Josephine
	+ TRH Prince Joachim and Princess Marie
		- HE Count Nikolai
		- HE Count Felix
		- HE Count Henrik
		- HE Countess Athena
* HRH Princess Benedikte
* HM Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

## Members of the Extended Royal Family

### Royal Family of Greece

*Main article: Royal family of Greece*

Most of the members of the deposed royal family of Greece hold the title of *Prince/Princess of Greece and Denmark* with the qualification of *His/Her Highness*, pursuant to the Royal Cabinet Order of 1974 and as agnatic descendants of George I of Greece, who, as the son of Christian IX of Denmark, was a "Prince of Denmark" prior to his accession to the throne of Greece in 1863. Until 1953, George's dynastic male-line descendants remained in Denmark's order of 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/Princess of Denmark* with the qualification of *His/Her Highness.*

* Marina, Consort of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark
	+ Princess Alexandra of Greece
	+ Princess Olga, Duchess of Apulia

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 Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie.

* HM Queen Sofía of Spain
* HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

### Royal Family of Norway

*Main article: Royal family of Norway*
The royal family of Norway descends in the legitimate male line from Frederick VIII of Denmark, Margrethe II's great-grandfather. Haakon VII of Norway, Frederick 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. However, unlike the Greek dynasts, they discontinued the use of Danish royal titles upon ascending to their foreign throne in 1905.

### Count & Countess of Rosenborg

Danish princes who marry without the consent of the Danish monarch lose their dynastic rights, including their royal titles. These ex-dynasts are then usually accorded the hereditary title *Count of Rosenborg.*

Those living, along with any living spouses and legitimate male-line descendants are as follows.

* TE Count Ingolf and Countess Sussie
* HE Countess Josephine
* HE Countess Camilla
* HE Countess Feodora
* TE Count Ulrik and Countess Judi
	+ HE Count Philip
	+ HE Countess Katharina
* HE Countess Charlotte
* TE Count Axel and Countess Jutta
	+ HE Countess Julie
	+ HE Count Carl Johan
	+ HE Countess Désirée
	+ HE Count Alexander
* TE Count Birger and Countess Lynne
	+ HE Countess Benedikte
* TE Count Carl Johan and Countess Lisa Jeanne
	+ HE Countess Caroline
	+ HE Countess Josephine
* HE Countess Désirée
* HE Countess Karin
	+ HE Count Valdemar
		- HE Count Nicolai
		- HE Countess Marie
	+ HE Countess Marina

## Line of Succession

*Main article: Succession to the Danish throne*
The first law governing the succession to the Danish throne as a hereditary monarchy was the *Kongeloven* (*Lex Regia*), enacted 14 November 1665 and published in 1709. It declared that the crown of Denmark would descend by heredity to the legitimate descendants of Frederick III and that the order of succession shall follow semi-Salic primogeniture. According to this, the crown is inherited by an heir, with preference among the monarch's children to males over females; 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 was no eligible surviving male dynasts born in the male line.

As for the duchies of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg, where the king ruled as duke, these lands adhered to Salic law, meaning that only males could inherit the ducal throne, and by mutual agreement were permanently conjoined. The duchies of Schleswig (Danish fief), Holstein, and Lauenburg (German fiefs) were joined in personal union with the crown of Denmark.

This difference caused problems when Frederick VII proved childless, making a change in dynasty imminent, and causing the lines of succession for the duchies and Denmark to diverge. That meant that the new king of Denmark would not also be the new Duke of Schleswig or Duke of Holstein. To ensure the continued adhesion of the Elbe duchies to the Danish Crown, the line of succession to the duchies was modified in the London Protocol of 1852, which designated Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg as the new heir apparent, although he was, strictly speaking, the heir neither to the crown of Denmark nor to the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, or Lauenburg by primogeniture. Originally, 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 Parliament.

This order of succession remained in effect for a hundred years until the Salic law was changed to male-preference primogeniture in 1953, meaning that females could inherit, but only if they had no brothers. In 2009, the mode of inheritance of the throne was once more changed, this time into an absolute primogeniture. However, this imposed no immediate change on the line of succession.

The current line of succession is as follows.

1. Crown Prince Frederik
2. Prince Christian
3. Princess Isabella
4. Prince Vincent
5. Princess Josephine
6. Prince Joachim
7. Prince Nikolai
8. Prince Felix
9. Prince Henrik
10. Princess Athena
11. Princess Benedikte1

1Princess Benedikte's children have no succession rights. 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 only have succession rights if they had applied for naturalization upon reaching adulthood and had 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 her children continued to be educated in Germany well past the mandatory schooling age, they are deemed to no longer have succession rights.
## Privileges & Restrictions

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* established reign "by the grace of God" to Frederick III and his posterity. Of the articles of this law, all except Article 21 and Article 25 have since 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". 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 forfeit their royalty in Denmark, nor are they bound to obtain prior permission to travel abroad or to marry from the sovereign. However, since 1950, those not descended in male-line from Christian IX are no longer in the line of succession to the Danish throne. Those who do reside in Denmark or its territories continue to require the monarch's prior permission to travel abroad and to marry.

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." The wording excludes those whose blood cannot be traced to a Danish monarch (e.g. the present Crown Princess).

## External Links

* Official website: Danish, English, French

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