 Margrethe and Henri (Henrik) leave Holmen Church | |
| Date | 10 June 1967 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Holmen Church |
| Location | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Participants | Princess Margrethe of Denmark (later Queen Margrethe II) Henri de Laborde de Monpezat (later Prince Henrik of Denmark) |
The wedding of Princess Margrethe of Denmark (later Queen Margrethe II) and Henri de Laborde de Monpezat (later Prince Henrik of Denmark) took place on Saturday, 10 June 1967, at the Holmen Church in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Princess Margrethe, eldest daughter and heiress presumptive of King Frederik IX of Denmark, first met French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat at a dinner at the French embassy in London in 1965 while the princess was a student at the London School of Economics. The couple were seen embracing at Copenhagen Airport in September 1966. Their engagement was announced on 4 October 1966. [1]
That same day, the Folketing granted their consent to the union. [2] On the morning of 5 October, the King asked the Council of State for their formal consent to the marriage, which was granted. The couple and their families appeared on the balcony of the Amalienborg and drove in open cars through the streets of Copenhagen to a luncheon at Fredensborg Palace. [3]
Henri presented Princess Margrethe with a toi et moi style diamond engagement ring made by Van Cleef & Arpels. The ring features two square-cut diamonds mounted diagonally on a yellow gold band. [2]
The wedding was set for 25 May 1967, the day after Margrethe's parent's 32nd wedding anniversary, but was pushed back to June as her sister, Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, was expecting. Her son, Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, was born on 20 May 1967. [3] [1]
Henri moved full-time to Copenhagen at the end of May 1967, he also converted from the Roman Catholicim to Lutheranism and changed the spelling of his name from the French Henri to the Danish Henrik. [1]
Several pre-wedding dinners, balls and galas were held in the couple's honour. This began when the King and Queen hosted a gala for the diplomatic corp at Christiansborg Palace on 30 May, followed by a special performance by the Royal Danish Ballet at the Royal Danish Theatre on 31 May, a gala for the Danish government at Christiansborg Palace on 2 June, a dinner at Fredensborg Palace to celebrate the engagement of Margrethe's sister, Princess Benedikte, to Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg on 5 June, and a ball at the French Embassy on 7 June. [3]
Princess Margrethe and Henri de Laborde de Monpezat were married on Saturday, 10 June 1967, at 17:00 local time at the Holmen Church. The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark ceremony was performed by Erik Jensen, Bishop of Aalborg and Chaplin of the Royal Court. The ceremony lasted just 20 minutes. [1] [4]
Princess Margrethe and her father walked down the aisle to a sixteenth-century musical setting of Psalm 42. Two hymns were sung during the service. The couple left the church to Charles-Marie Widor's "Toccata" from Symphonie pour orgue No. 5 . [3]
Princess Margrethe wore a silk wedding gown with a six-meter train by Danish fashion designer Jørgen Bender. She wore the Irish lace veil her maternal grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, wore at her wedding in 1905. She also wore the diamond tiara by Cartier her grandmother had received as a wedding gift from the Khedive of Egypt and a diamond daisy brooch belonging to her mother made with diamonds that had belonged to Margaret of Connaught. [5]
Henri wore evening dress with the riband and star of the Order of the Elephant, which King Frederik IX had bestowed upon him that day. [3]
Princess Margrethe had four teenage bridesmaids: Kristin Dahl, Countess Désirée of Rosenborg (daughter of Count Flemming of Rosenborg), Anne and Carina Oxholm Tillisch. Henri's best man was his brother Etienne de Laborde de Monpezat. [3]
The wedding reception for 400 guests was held at Fredensborg Palace. [4] The now Prince Henrik gave a speech where he stated his new wife was the "single most beautiful adornment" in the "blooming garden" that is Denmark. This was referenced during his funeral when he requested floral arrangements in the Christiansborg Palace Chapel be arranged like a blooming garden. [6]
The wedding was attended by members of the couple's families, foreign royal families, and Danish and French dignitaries. The bride's sister and brother-in-law, Queen Anne-Marie and King Constantine II of Greece, were notably absent due to political instability in their country following a coup d'état on 21 April 1967. [1] Queen Ingrid placed photos of the Greek royal couple around Fredensborg Palace during the reception to ensure their absence was felt. [7] Notable guests in attendance included: [3] [1]
The King and Queen of the Belgians, the bride's paternal second cousin and his wife
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, the bride's maternal third cousin once removed and paternal second cousin
The Queen of the Netherlands, the bride's paternal first cousin twice removed Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands, the bride's paternal second cousin once removed and her husband
The King of Norway, the bride's paternal first cousin once removed The Crown Prince of Norway, the bride's paternal second cousin
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the bride's paternal second cousin once removed (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom) Captain Alexander Ramsay of Mar and the Mistress of Saltoun, the bride's maternal first cousin once removed and his wife
Margrethe II is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she was the second-longest reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV.
Prince Henrik of Denmark was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 until his death in 2018.
Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. The younger son of Queen Margrethe II, he is fifth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, following the four children of his elder brother King Frederik X.
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.
Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the eldest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Margrethe II. He became Crown Prince of Denmark following his grandmother's abdication and his father's subsequent ascension to the Danish throne on 14 January 2024.
Princess Isabella of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second child and elder daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary.
Count Ingolf of Rosenborg is a Danish count and former prince. Born Prince Ingolf of Denmark, he appeared likely to some day become king until the constitution was changed in 1953 to allow females to inherit the crown, placing his branch of the dynasty behind that of his first cousin Princess Margrethe and her two younger sisters. He later gave up his princely rank and his rights to the throne in order to marry a commoner.
Count Christian of Rosenborg was a member of the Danish royal family. Born Prince Christian of Denmark, from 1947 he was third in the line of line of succession until the constitution was changed in 1953 to allow females to inherit the crown, placing his branch of the dynasty behind that of his cousin Margrethe and her two younger sisters. He later gave up his princely rank and his rights to the throne in order to marry a commoner.
The House of Monpezat is a French old bourgeois family from the province of Béarn associated with the Danish royal family by marriage after 1967, when Henri de Laborde de Monpezat wed Princess Margrethe of Denmark, then the heir presumptive of the ruling House of Glücksburg, who was subsequently the Queen of Denmark as Margrethe II. The current Danish monarch, King Frederik X is agnatically a Laborde de Monpezat.
Princess Josephine of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the fourth and youngest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, and the seventh grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. She is the twin sister of Prince Vincent. Josephine is fourth in line to the Danish throne, after her older siblings, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, and her elder twin brother, Prince Vincent.
The wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson took place on 14 May 2004 in the Copenhagen Cathedral.
The wedding of Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy took place on 19 and 20 October 2012. A civil ceremony was held on 19 October followed by a Roman Catholic wedding ceremony at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City the next day. The 2012 wedding marked the largest event for the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg and the country in years. More than 120 international media organisations requested accreditation for the event, including TV channels and newspapers from China, Morocco, Russia and the US. Guillaume was the last unmarried heir apparent of a monarchy in Europe prior to the wedding.
Count of Monpezat, or Countess of Monpezat when the holder is female, is a hereditary title of Danish nobility. It was granted on 30 April 2008 by Queen Margrethe II to her two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, and their legitimate patrilineal (male-line) descendants of both sexes. The title is derived from the French title of "comte de Laborde de Monpezat", which was used by Frederik and Joachim's father, Prince Henrik.
The wedding of Princess Alexandra of Kent and The Honourable Angus Ogilvy took place on Wednesday, 24 April 1963 at Westminster Abbey. Princess Alexandra was the only daughter and second child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, while Ogilvy was the second son and fifth child of the 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke.
The wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Katharine Worsley took place on Thursday, 8 June 1961, at York Minster in York, England. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, was the eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, while Katharine Worsley was the only daughter and fourth child of landowner Sir William Worsley, 4th Baronet.
The wedding of Constantine II, King of the Hellenes, and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark took place on Friday, 18 September 1964, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.
The wedding of Juan Carlos, Prince of Asturias, and Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark took place on Monday, 14 May 1962. The couple was married in three ceremonies: one according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, the groom's faith, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite; one according to the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church, the bride's faith, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens; and a third civil ceremony that was held upon their return to the Royal Palace. Don Juan Carlos was the eldest son of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, pretender to the Spanish throne, and Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, while Princess Sofía was the eldest daughter of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece. Juan Carlos and Sofía were king and queen of Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014.
The wedding of Harald, Crown Prince of Norway, and Sonja Haraldsen took place on Thursday, 29 August 1968, at Oslo Cathedral. The wedding was the culmination of a nine-year courtship as King Olav V, Harald's father, was reluctant to permit his son and heir to marry a commoner.
The wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Princess Ingrid of Sweden took place on Friday, 24 May 1935 in Storkyrkan.
Danish royal weddings | |
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| 21st century | |
