thumb|300px|The royal family of [[Denmark during the Queen Margrethe II's 70th birthday on 16 April 2010. From left to right: Queen Mary of Denmark (then Crown Princess), Count Felix (then Prince Felix), King Frederik X (then Crown Prince), Crown Prince Christian (then Prince Christian), Queen Margrethe II, Count Nikolai (then Prince Nikolai), Prince Henrik, Prince Joachim and Princess Isabella]]

The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. 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.

Through his mother, Margrethe II, King Frederik X and his 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.

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

Main members

The Danish royal family includes:

  • King Frederik X and Queen Mary (the King and his wife)
  • Crown Prince Christian (the King's son)
  • Princess Isabella (the King's daughter)
  • Prince Vincent (the King's son)
  • Princess Josephine (the King's daughter)
  • Queen Margrethe II (the King's mother)
  • 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

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;Note

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Extended members include the Greek royal family

Members of the extended royal family

Royal family of Greece

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.

  • 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)

Norwegian royal family

The Norwegian royal family 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

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". All four grandchildren maintain their places in the order of succession to the throne.

Counts and countesses of Rosenborg

Danish princes who marry without the consent of the Danish monarch lose their succession rights, as do their descendants. 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:

  • 15px Christian IX of Denmark (1818–1906)
  • 15px Frederick VIII of Denmark (1843–1912)
  • 15px 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
  • 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

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, 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".

Line of succession

thumb|Then-prince (now crown prince) [[Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark|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. It declared that the crown of Denmark descends by heredity to the legitimate descendants of King Frederick III, and that the order of succession follows semi-Salic primogeniture,

<sup>2</sup>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

  • Danish nobility
  • Succession to the Norwegian throne

References

  • Kongehuset.dk Official site of the Danish Monarchy.
  • Counts and Countesses of Rosenborg