When she introduced her abdication throughout a reside new yr TV deal with firstly of this yr, Queen Margrethe II despatched shockwaves by Denmark as the primary Danish monarch to abdicate in virtually 900 years.
The Queen will formally step down this Sunday, paving the way in which for her son, Crown Prince Frederik, to take her place as Denmark’s reigning monarch.
A relentless all through a lot of Queen Margrethe’s reign was her husband, Prince Henrik, who handed away in 2018. The prince was a flamboyant and eccentric character whose later life specifically was marred by controversy.
© GettyHe was a bon vivant with a penchant for poetry, cooking and wine who grew to become infamous for his unpredictable outbursts, which earned him the title of “Whiner of the Year” from one Danish TV channel.
Born Henri de Laborde de Montpezat in 1934 at Talence, Gironde in France, the prince spent a lot of his childhood in Hanoi, the place he grew to become fluent in Vietnamese, earlier than transferring to Paris to check legislation and political science on the Sorbonne.
He moved to London to work as a diplomat, the place he first met the then Princess Margrethe in 1967. Within a yr of their marriage, they welcomed their first son and inheritor to the Danish throne, Prince Frederik.
© GettyAccording to Wim Dehandschutter, royal reporter at DPG Media, the prince made a optimistic first impression on the Danish folks. “In the beginning, generally he was greeted with big emotions and love,” Wim completely advised HELLO!. “He was a young handsome French man who took the young Princess Margrethe by storm.”
The prince’s behaviour in later life grew more and more erratic as he opted to candidly share a lot of his private frustrations with the press, earlier than being identified with dementia shortly earlier than his loss of life.
He was a polarising determine who evoked delight and disapproval in equal measure from the Danish public. “Prince Henrik had a love-hate relationship with the Danish people,” Wim stated. “They loved to hate him.”
Join us as we glance again at among the standout moments within the vibrant and controversial lifetime of Prince Henrik.
Mid-life disaster
Prince Henrik sparked controversy in 2002 when he aired his frustrations with his life within the shadows, deeming himself ineffective, relegated and within the “midst of a mid-life crisis”.
This revelation got here following experiences that he had been demoted to the third rank within the Danish royal household, after he had been the visitor of his son Frederik, who Queen Margrethe selected to signify her as an alternative of her husband, at an official New Year’s reception in Copenhagen earlier that yr. The prince advised Danish newspaper BT that these circulating feedback have been the “final straw”.
He blamed the press for what he described to be the “worst crisis” of his life, and denied that his son was in any respect liable for his bruised shallowness. “He’s a wonderful boy,” he stated. “It’s not his fault. I think he’s timid and he isn’t content with the current situation. I want to make that clear. I’m not jealous of my own son. He’s not the one trying to change the order.”
In the midst of this, Henrik fled to his chateau within the South of France to take a step away from royal life.
© GettyAversion to royal life
When Margrethe grew to become queen in 1972, the title of Prince Consort was instantly bestowed on her husband, as is conference. Henrik needed to overhaul his life when his spouse grew to become queen: he needed to change his faith, language and identify to adapt to Danish royal life.
However, the prince, who maintained in his writings that he nonetheless noticed the Frenchman Henri when he seemed within the mirror, didn’t draw back from voicing his displeasure with among the changes that royal life demanded.
In specific, he brazenly criticised his Prince Consort title. Traditionally, when a queen is topped, her husband is called prince, whereas if a king ascends to the throne, his spouse instantly turns into often known as queen.
He advised the French newspaper, Le Figaro, that he deemed this to be a type of gender discrimination: “Denmark, which is otherwise known as an avid defender of gender equality, is apparently willing to consider husbands as worth less than their wives.”
There was additionally criticism of the prince’s failure to completely embrace Danish tradition and combine himself in Danish society. “It’s been said that Henrik, a French-born royal, was never truly accepted, because he never learned to speak proper Danish. If he had made more effort, this could have been the first step in full recognition,” Wim stated.
“Furthermore, Danish people had the feeling that Prince Henrik did not make huge efforts to integrate himself. For example, he stated unabashedly that he would choose French wine over Danish beer, the French car brand Citroën above Scandinavian Volvo.”
During the queen’s seventy fifth birthday celebrations, Prince Henrik brought about fairly the stir when he was noticed on vacation in Venice regardless of claims that he was unwell.
© GettyControversial burial plans
Shortly earlier than his loss of life in 2018, Prince Henrik marked his lifelong grievance with his title by asserting that he didn’t want to be buried subsequent to his spouse.
In an interview with Se og Hor, he stated: “I didn’t marry the Queen to be buried at Roskilde. My wife has decided that she wants to be Queen, and I’m very happy about that. But as a human being she needs to know that if a man and wife are married, they are equal.”
“It’s my wife and not me that can do anything about this matter. If she wants me buried with her, she has to make me King Consort,” Henrik added. “End of story – I couldn’t care less.”
Danish custom dictates that the partner of a monarch is buried with them in Denmark’s Roskilde Cathedral. However, as per his needs, the prince was cremated, with half of his ashes scattered in Danish waters, and the opposite half interred within the non-public gardens at Fredensborg Castle.
© GettyAccording to Wim, though a lot of his views and fight factors have been thought to be “childish” by the Danish public, “his popularity improved in his final years”. ” Perhaps because times have changed,” Wim stated. “Because they realised that he was important to the Queen and for fulfilling her role.
“After his loss of life, folks have been very unhappy and acknowledged him and his function. My associates remembered how folks have been in enormous traces to see the coffin […] the Queen wouldn’t have been the Queen she has been if it weren’t for Prince Henrik. We owe him a giant thanks in addition to the Queen.”
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