Princess Benedikte of Denmark
Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg RE, SKmd, D.Ht. (Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid, born 29 April 1944) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second daughter and child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. She is the younger sister of the previous Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, and therefore the aunt of Margrethe's son, the current King of Denmark, Frederik X. She is also the older sister of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Princess Benedikte often represents the Danish monarch at official or semi-official events. She and her late husband, Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, had three children.
Princess Benedikte is currently tenth and last in the line of succession to the Danish throne.
Early Life-Birth and Family
Princess Benedikte was born on 29 April 1944 at Frederik VIII's Palace, her parents' residence at the Amalienborg palace complex, the principal residence of the Danish royal family in the district of Frederiksstaden in central Copenhagen. She was the second child and daughter of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Ingrid nee Princes Ingrid of Sweden. Her father was the eldest son of King Christian X of Denmark and Queen Alexandrine nee Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; and her mother was the only daughter of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden (later King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden) and his first wife Crown Princess Margareta nee Princess Margaret of Connaught.
Her birth took place during Nazi Germany's Occupation of Denmark. The day after the birth of the princess, members of the Danish resistance group Holger Danske performed a salute of 21 bombs in the Orstedsparken public park in central Copenhagen as a reference to the traditional 21-gun salute performed by the Danish Army and Navy at the occasion of royal births.
She was baptized on 24 May 1944, her parents' 9th wedding anniversary, in the Holman Church in Copenhagen. Her godparents were King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (her paternal grandparents); Prince Gustav of Denmark (paternal grand-uncle); King Gustav V of Sweden (maternal great-grandfather), Sigvard Bernadotte (maternal uncle); Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark (paternal aunt by marriage); Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (paternal grand-aunt); Princess Margaretha of Sweden (her father's first cousin; Sir Alexander Ramsey (maternal grand-uncle by marriage) and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.
Princess Benedikte has one elder sister, Margrethe, former Queen of Denmark, and a younger sister, Anne Marie, who was born in 1946 and married Constantine II of Greece.
Childhood and Education
Princess Benedikte and her sisters grew up in apartments at Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and in Fredensborg Palace in North Zealand. She spent the summer holidays with the royal family at her parents' summer residence at Grasten Palace in Southern Jutland. On 20 April 1947, King Christian X died and Benedikte's father ascended the throne as King Frederik IX.
At the time of her father's accession to the throne, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark. As her parents had no sons, it was assumed that her uncle Prince Knud would one day assume the throne. The popularity of Frederik IX and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life paved the way for a new Act of Succession in 1953 which permitted female succession to the throne following the principle of male-preference primogeniture, where a female can ascend to the throne if she has no brothers. Benedikte's elder sisters Margrethe therefore became heir presumptive, and Princess Benedikte and Princess Anne-Marie became second and third in the line of succession.
Princess Benedikte was educated at N. Zahle's School, a private school in Copenhagen, followed by stays at a boarding school (Benenden School) in England and a Swiss finishing school. In 1965 she took a class at the Margrethe-Skolen, a private fashion and design school in Copenhagen.
Titles
29 April 1944-3 February 1968 Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte of Denmark
3 February 1968-13 March 2017 Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
