Part of Ashes Scattered here
French-born Prince Consort of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. He was born Henri Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat in Talence, France on June 11, 1934. His family was traceable to the early seventeenth century, to one Jean Laborde who married Catherine d'Arricau, Dame de Monpezat in 1648. The family surname was legally changed to de Laborde de Monpezat in 1861. While some members of the family assumed the French title of Count (French: Comte), the family was not legally entitled to this title and are not considered members of the French nobility. He spent his early childhood in Vietnam where his father's family had business interests, but returned to France for his education, studying law and political science at the Sorbonne and Chinese and Vietnamese at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), then known as the École Nationale des Langues Orientales, augmenting his studies in Hong Kong and Saigon in the late 1950s. He completed his French military service in Algeria from 1959-1962. Following his military service, he joined the French Foreign Ministry and was stationed in London where he served as a secretary in the French embassy between 1963 and 1967. It was in London that he met Princess Margrethe of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and the heiress presumptive to the Danish throne, who was studying at the London School of Economics. They dated secretly and became engaged in October 1966. He converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism, renounced his French citizenship, and became a citizen of Denmark. The two were married June 10, 1967 at which time he was granted the title of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark, his given name having been Danicized. Prince Henrik and Princess Margrethe had two sons: Frederik (born 1968) and Joachim (born 1969). His wife succeeded to the Danish throne as Queen Margrethe II in 1972, upon the death of her father. Prince Henrik became the first male consort in Danish history. During the course of his wife's reign, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the fact that he wasn't accorded the title King Consort, thinking it unfair that the women who had married Danish kings were known as Queen Consort, but he could not be granted a similar title. When his eldest son reached adulthood, an occasion in which he outranked his father caused great distress to Prince Henrik and he fled Denmark for several weeks. It was announced on December 31, 2015 that he would relinquish most of his royal duties beginning in 2016 and he renounced the title of Prince Consort on April 14, 2016. It was announced on September 6, 2017 that he was suffering from dementia. He was hospitalized in early 2017 and diagnosed with a benign tumor in his left lung. He returned to Fredensborg Palace where he died in his sleep on February 13, 2018. He had declared in August 2017 that he did not wish to be buried next to his wife because of his long-standing grievance over not being accorded the title of King Consort. Consequently, he was cremated and his ashes were divided, a portion being scattered over Danish waters and the remainder being scattered over the private gardens of Fredensborg Palace.
French-born Prince Consort of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. He was born Henri Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat in Talence, France on June 11, 1934. His family was traceable to the early seventeenth century, to one Jean Laborde who married Catherine d'Arricau, Dame de Monpezat in 1648. The family surname was legally changed to de Laborde de Monpezat in 1861. While some members of the family assumed the French title of Count (French: Comte), the family was not legally entitled to this title and are not considered members of the French nobility. He spent his early childhood in Vietnam where his father's family had business interests, but returned to France for his education, studying law and political science at the Sorbonne and Chinese and Vietnamese at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), then known as the École Nationale des Langues Orientales, augmenting his studies in Hong Kong and Saigon in the late 1950s. He completed his French military service in Algeria from 1959-1962. Following his military service, he joined the French Foreign Ministry and was stationed in London where he served as a secretary in the French embassy between 1963 and 1967. It was in London that he met Princess Margrethe of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and the heiress presumptive to the Danish throne, who was studying at the London School of Economics. They dated secretly and became engaged in October 1966. He converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism, renounced his French citizenship, and became a citizen of Denmark. The two were married June 10, 1967 at which time he was granted the title of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark, his given name having been Danicized. Prince Henrik and Princess Margrethe had two sons: Frederik (born 1968) and Joachim (born 1969). His wife succeeded to the Danish throne as Queen Margrethe II in 1972, upon the death of her father. Prince Henrik became the first male consort in Danish history. During the course of his wife's reign, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the fact that he wasn't accorded the title King Consort, thinking it unfair that the women who had married Danish kings were known as Queen Consort, but he could not be granted a similar title. When his eldest son reached adulthood, an occasion in which he outranked his father caused great distress to Prince Henrik and he fled Denmark for several weeks. It was announced on December 31, 2015 that he would relinquish most of his royal duties beginning in 2016 and he renounced the title of Prince Consort on April 14, 2016. It was announced on September 6, 2017 that he was suffering from dementia. He was hospitalized in early 2017 and diagnosed with a benign tumor in his left lung. He returned to Fredensborg Palace where he died in his sleep on February 13, 2018. He had declared in August 2017 that he did not wish to be buried next to his wife because of his long-standing grievance over not being accorded the title of King Consort. Consequently, he was cremated and his ashes were divided, a portion being scattered over Danish waters and the remainder being scattered over the private gardens of Fredensborg Palace.
Part of Ashes Scattered here
French-born Prince Consort of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. He was born Henri Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat in Talence, France on June 11, 1934. His family was traceable to the early seventeenth century, to one Jean Laborde who married Catherine d'Arricau, Dame de Monpezat in 1648. The family surname was legally changed to de Laborde de Monpezat in 1861. While some members of the family assumed the French title of Count (French: Comte), the family was not legally entitled to this title and are not considered members of the French nobility. He spent his early childhood in Vietnam where his father's family had business interests, but returned to France for his education, studying law and political science at the Sorbonne and Chinese and Vietnamese at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), then known as the École Nationale des Langues Orientales, augmenting his studies in Hong Kong and Saigon in the late 1950s. He completed his French military service in Algeria from 1959-1962. Following his military service, he joined the French Foreign Ministry and was stationed in London where he served as a secretary in the French embassy between 1963 and 1967. It was in London that he met Princess Margrethe of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and the heiress presumptive to the Danish throne, who was studying at the London School of Economics. They dated secretly and became engaged in October 1966. He converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism, renounced his French citizenship, and became a citizen of Denmark. The two were married June 10, 1967 at which time he was granted the title of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark, his given name having been Danicized. Prince Henrik and Princess Margrethe had two sons: Frederik (born 1968) and Joachim (born 1969). His wife succeeded to the Danish throne as Queen Margrethe II in 1972, upon the death of her father. Prince Henrik became the first male consort in Danish history. During the course of his wife's reign, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the fact that he wasn't accorded the title King Consort, thinking it unfair that the women who had married Danish kings were known as Queen Consort, but he could not be granted a similar title. When his eldest son reached adulthood, an occasion in which he outranked his father caused great distress to Prince Henrik and he fled Denmark for several weeks. It was announced on December 31, 2015 that he would relinquish most of his royal duties beginning in 2016 and he renounced the title of Prince Consort on April 14, 2016. It was announced on September 6, 2017 that he was suffering from dementia. He was hospitalized in early 2017 and diagnosed with a benign tumor in his left lung. He returned to Fredensborg Palace where he died in his sleep on February 13, 2018. He had declared in August 2017 that he did not wish to be buried next to his wife because of his long-standing grievance over not being accorded the title of King Consort. Consequently, he was cremated and his ashes were divided, a portion being scattered over Danish waters and the remainder being scattered over the private gardens of Fredensborg Palace.
French-born Prince Consort of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. He was born Henri Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat in Talence, France on June 11, 1934. His family was traceable to the early seventeenth century, to one Jean Laborde who married Catherine d'Arricau, Dame de Monpezat in 1648. The family surname was legally changed to de Laborde de Monpezat in 1861. While some members of the family assumed the French title of Count (French: Comte), the family was not legally entitled to this title and are not considered members of the French nobility. He spent his early childhood in Vietnam where his father's family had business interests, but returned to France for his education, studying law and political science at the Sorbonne and Chinese and Vietnamese at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), then known as the École Nationale des Langues Orientales, augmenting his studies in Hong Kong and Saigon in the late 1950s. He completed his French military service in Algeria from 1959-1962. Following his military service, he joined the French Foreign Ministry and was stationed in London where he served as a secretary in the French embassy between 1963 and 1967. It was in London that he met Princess Margrethe of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and the heiress presumptive to the Danish throne, who was studying at the London School of Economics. They dated secretly and became engaged in October 1966. He converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism, renounced his French citizenship, and became a citizen of Denmark. The two were married June 10, 1967 at which time he was granted the title of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark, his given name having been Danicized. Prince Henrik and Princess Margrethe had two sons: Frederik (born 1968) and Joachim (born 1969). His wife succeeded to the Danish throne as Queen Margrethe II in 1972, upon the death of her father. Prince Henrik became the first male consort in Danish history. During the course of his wife's reign, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the fact that he wasn't accorded the title King Consort, thinking it unfair that the women who had married Danish kings were known as Queen Consort, but he could not be granted a similar title. When his eldest son reached adulthood, an occasion in which he outranked his father caused great distress to Prince Henrik and he fled Denmark for several weeks. It was announced on December 31, 2015 that he would relinquish most of his royal duties beginning in 2016 and he renounced the title of Prince Consort on April 14, 2016. It was announced on September 6, 2017 that he was suffering from dementia. He was hospitalized in early 2017 and diagnosed with a benign tumor in his left lung. He returned to Fredensborg Palace where he died in his sleep on February 13, 2018. He had declared in August 2017 that he did not wish to be buried next to his wife because of his long-standing grievance over not being accorded the title of King Consort. Consequently, he was cremated and his ashes were divided, a portion being scattered over Danish waters and the remainder being scattered over the private gardens of Fredensborg Palace.
Bio by: CMWJR
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