Prince Henrik of Denmark

Prince Henrik of Denmark (Danish pronunciation; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat (11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018), 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.

Spouse Margrethe II of Denmark (m. 1967)-2018

Issue Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Prince Joachim House Monpezat 

Father André de Laborde de Monpezat (da)

Mother Renée-Yvonne Doursennot (da)

Religion Church of Denmark prev. Roman Catholic

Early life

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). He was raised Catholic.

He spent his first five years in Hanoi (Vietnam), where his father looked after family business interests. In 1939, the family returned to Le Cayrou, where they remained during the Second World War. Henrik received homeschooling until 1947, when he went to a Jesuit school in Bordeaux. He returned to Hanoi in 1950, where he fought the Việt Minh. He graduated from the French secondary school in Hanoi in 1952. 

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.

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.

Marriage and issue

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.

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

• Crown Prince Frederik, born on 26 May 1968 at Rigshospitalet, with Crown Princess Mary:
  • Prince Christian, born on 15 October 2005 at Rigshospitalet
  • Princess Isabella, born on 21 April 2007 at Rigshospitalet
  • Prince Vincent, born on 8 January 2011 at Rigshospitalet
  • Princess Josephine, born on 8 January 2011 at Rigshospitalet
• Prince Joachim, born on 7 June 1969 at Rigshospitalet, with Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg:
  • Prince Nikolai, born on 28 August 1999 at Rigshospitalet
  • Prince Felix, born on 22 July 2002 at Rigshospitalet
• Prince Joachim, with Princess Marie:
  • Prince Henrik, born on 4 May 2009 at Rigshospitalet
  • Princess Athena, born on 24 January 2012 at Rigshospitalet

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 joked about his grasp of Danish and his thick French accent.

Difficulties within the Danish monarchy

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" 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. 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. 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" (Danish: Greve af Monpezat) on both of her sons and made it hereditary for their male-line descendants, both male and female. 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."

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'". 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.'" 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.

In August 2017, he announced that he would not be buried next to his wife in Roskilde Cathedral, where Danish royals have been buried since 1559. Queen Margrethe who had a specially designed sarcophagusmade for the couple, accepted Henrik's decision, according to a royal house spokeswoman.

Death

On 6 September 2017, it was announced that Prince Henrik was suffering from dementia. On 28 January 2018, he was hospitalized at Rigshospitalet, following a visit to Egypt. It was later revealed that he had a benign tumor in the left lung. His health however worsened, causing Crown Prince Frederik to cut short his visit to South Korea where he was to attend the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. 

On 13 February 2018, Prince Hernik was transferred from the Rigshospitalet to Fredensborg Palace, where the Danish Royal Court stated he wished to spend the remaining days of his life. The Royal Court added that the condition of the Prince remained serious.

On 14 February 2018, it was announced that Prince Henrik had died in his sleep at Fredensborg Palace late on 13 February, in the presence of his wife and sons.

Poetry

Henrik wrote many poems in his native language French, some of which have been published in the 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."

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles Styles of Prince Henrik of Denmark Royal Highness Alternative style Sir

• 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

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

French title controversy

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 (English: Encyclopedia of False and Seeming Nobility) states that Prince Henrik's ancestor, Jean Laborde, received royal letters patentof ennoblement in 1655, conditional on his reception as a noble in the Estatesof the province of Béarn where his lands were located. But this condition was never fulfilled, as the Estates refused Laborde's petitions in 1703 and again in 1707. The family's surname was "Monpezat" by the time of the French Revolution, without title, until 14 July 1860, when it was changed by imperialdecree to "de Laborde-Monpezat", and legally changed again on 19 May 1861 to "de Laborde de Monpezat". 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. 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

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 presumptive, Princess Margrethe, in June 1967. 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.

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 See also: List of honours of the Danish Royal Family by country National honours and awards

His national honours are:

•  Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (R.E.)
•  Denmark: Grand Commander of the Order of Dannebrog(S.Kmd.)
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog (D.Ht.)
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of Queen Margrethe II
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 50th Anniversary Medal of the Wedding of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 75th Birthday Medal of Queen Margrethe II
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Ruby Jubilee Medal of Queen Margrethe II
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 70th Birthday Medal of Queen Margrethe II
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 75th Birthday Medal of HRH the Prince Consort
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Silver Jubilee Medal of Queen Margrethe II
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 100th Anniversary Medal of the Birth of King Frederik IX
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Queen Ingrid Commemorative Medal
•  Denmark: Recipient of the 50th Anniversary Medal of the arrival of Queen Ingrid to Denmark
•  Greenland: Recipient of the Greenland Medal for Meritorious Service, in Gold
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Defence Medal for Excellent Service
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Homeguard Medal of Merit
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Red Cross Medal of Honour
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Danish Red Cross Medal for Merit
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Medal of Honour of the League of Civil Defense
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Medal of Honor of the Reserve Officers League
•  Denmark: Recipient of the Military Athletic Medal of Honour

Foreign honours and awards

His foreign honours are]

•  Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
•  Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold I
•  Brazil: Grand Cross of Order of the Southern Cross
•  Bulgaria: Grand Cross of the Order of the Balkan Mountains
•  Croatia: Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Jelena
•  Egypt: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile
•  Estonia: Member 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
•  Finland: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose
•  France: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour
•  France: Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit
•  France: Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit
•  France: Recipient of the North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal
•  Germany: Grand Cross Special Issue of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
•  Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour
•  Iceland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon
•  Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
•  Japan: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers
•  Jordan: Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance
•  Latvia: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars
•  Lithuania: Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great
•  Luxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
•  Morocco: Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite
•  Mexico: Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
•  Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
•  Nepalese Royal Family: Member of the Royal Order of Ojaswi Rajanya
•  Norway: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Olav
•  Poland: Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
•  Portugal : Grand Cross of the Order of Christ
•  Romania: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania
•  Slovakia: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Double Cross
•  South Korea: Grand Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit
•  Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
•  Sweden: Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 85th Birthday Medal of King Gustaf VI Adolf
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Ruby Jubilee Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf
•  Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Chula Chom Klao
•  United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
•  United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
•  United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

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.