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Denmark Royal Wedding Margrethe & Henrik 1967 by Jaeger French Copper Art Medal 68mm,188gr

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

Henrik was born in the French commune of Talence near Bordeaux to an old French family, the Laborde de Monpezats. He spent his early years in Tonkin in French Indochina (now part of Vietnam), where his family had lived for many years. The family spent the Second World War at the family home in Cahors, France. They returned to French Indochina after the war. However, they were forced to flee following the defeat of the French in the First Indochina War. After completing his education in France and Vietnam, Henrik served in the French Army during the Algerian War. Prior to his marriage to Margrethe, he worked in the diplomatic service. He married Margrethe at the Holmen Church on 10 June 1967 and became her prince consort when she succeeded her father, King Frederick IX, as monarch of Denmark on 14 January 1972.[3]

He had two sons, Crown Prince Frederik (born 1968) and Prince Joachim (born 1969), and eight grandchildren. Throughout his time as Prince consort, Henrik voiced his displeasure with the fact that he never received the title of king.[4]

A keen winemaker, Henrik produced his own wine 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. He died in Fredensborg Palace on 13 February 2018, after a short illness.Henrik was born in Talence, Gironde, France. He was the son of André de Laborde de Monpezat (6 May 1907 in Mont-de-Marsan – 23 February 1998 in Le Cayrou) and his wife, Renée Doursenot (26 October 1908 in Périgueux – 11 February 2001 in Le Cayrou[5]) (married in 1948[6][7][8][9]). He had two younger brothers, Étienne and Jean-Baptiste, and two older sisters, Françoise, Mme. Bardin and Maurille, Mme. Beauvillain (d. 2015). He was raised as a Catholic.[10]

He spent his first five years in Hanoi in Tonkin in French Indochina (now part of Vietnam), where his father looked after family business interests.[11] In 1939, the family returned to Le Cayrou, where they remained during the Second World War.[5] Henrik received homeschooling until 1947, when he went to a Jesuit school in Bordeaux.[11] He returned to Hanoi in Tonkin in 1950, where increasing unrest forced him to fight the Việt Minh, to protect his family's lands.[12] He graduated from the French secondary school in Hanoi in 1952.[11] Originally wanting to study to become a pianist at Conservatoire de Paris, he instead chose an education more in line with his father's wishes.[13] 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.[11]

He served as an infantry conscript in the French Army in the Algerian War between 1959 and 1962.[12] He then joined the French Foreign Ministry, working as a Secretary at the embassy in London from 1963 to 1967.[11] While there, he met Princess Margrethe, who was studying at the London School of Economics.[13] The couple secretly dated for a year before Henrik proposed.[13]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 given the title HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark. Prior to the wedding, the Prince converted to Lutheranism.[10] The Queen and Prince Henrik had two children, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, and eight grandchildren.

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

Margrethe II (pronounced [mɑˈkʁeˀtə]; born Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid; 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark, the supreme authority of the Church of Denmark and the commander-in-chief of the Danish Defence. Born into the House of Glücksburg, a royal house with origins in northern Germany, she was the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden. She became heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne.

Margrethe succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972. On her accession, she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union. In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she had two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim.

The official residences of the Queen are Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen and Fredensborg Palace. Her summer residence is Gråsten Palace near Sønderborg, the former home of her mother, Queen Ingrid, who died in 2000.

Margrethe is an accomplished painter, and has held many art shows over the years. Her illustrations—under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer—were used for Danish editions of The Lord of the Rings, which she was encouraged to illustrate in the early 1970s. She sent them to J. R. R. Tolkien who was struck by the similarity of her drawings to his own style. Margrethe's drawings were redrawn by the British artist Eric Fraser for the Folio Society's English edition of The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1977 and reissued in 2002. In 2000, she illustrated Henrik, the Prince Consort's poetry collection Cantabile. She is also an accomplished translator and is said to have participated in the Danish translation of The Lord of the Rings.[7] Another skill she possesses is costume designing, having designed the costumes for the Royal Danish Ballet's production of A Folk Tale and for the 2009 Peter Flinth film, De vilde svaner (The Wild Swans).[2][13] She also designs her own clothes and is known for her colourful and sometimes eccentric clothing choices. Margrethe also wears designs by former Pierre Balmain designer Erik Mortensen, Jørgen Bender, and Birgitte Taulow.[14] The Guardian in March 2013 listed her as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50s.[15]

Margrethe is a chain smoker, and she is famous for her tobacco habit.[16] However, on 23 November 2006, the Danish newspaper B.T. reported an announcement from the Royal Court stating that in the future the Queen would smoke only in private.[17]

Family

The Queen surrounded by her family waving to crowds on her 70th birthday in April 2010. From left to right: the Crown Princess, Prince Felix, the Crown Prince, Prince Christian, the Queen, Prince Nikolai, Prince Consort Henrik, Prince Joachim and Princess Isabella

The Queen has two children and eight grandchildren, all born at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen:

In 2008, the Queen announced that her male-line descendants would bear the additional title of Count or Countess of Monpezat, in recognition of her husband's ancestry.[18]

Queen Margrethe II in Vágur, Faroe Islands, 21 June 2005
Queen Margrethe II and her husband the Prince Consort welcome President George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush at Fredensborg Palace, 5 July 2005.
Margrethe II with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the latter's visit to Denmark, 12 September 2007.

Honours

She is the 1,188th knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain, and only the 7th Lady of the Order of the Garter since 1901, when Edward VII appointed his consort a member. She is also Colonel-in-Chief of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) in the United Kingdom.[19]

Queen Margrethe II Land in Northeast Greenland was named in her honour on 16 April 1990 on the occasion of her 50th birthday.[20]

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

National

Foreign