| Prince Valdemar | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Prince Valdemar, 1936 | |
| Born | (1858-10-27)27 October 1858 Bernstorff Palace,Gentofte |
| Died | 14 January 1939(1939-01-14) (aged 80) The Yellow Palace,Copenhagen |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Glücksburg |
| Father | Christian IX of Denmark |
| Mother | Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
| Signature |  |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Denmark |
| Branch |  Royal Danish Navy |
Prince Valdemar of Denmark (27 October 1858 – 14 January 1939) was a member of theDanish royal family. He was the third son and youngest child ofChristian IX of Denmark andLouise of Hesse-Kassel. He had a lifelong naval career.
Prince Valdemar was born on 27 October 1858 atBernstorff Palace inGentofte north ofCopenhagen.[1] His father wasPrince Christian of Denmark, later King Christian IX. His mother wasPrincess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. He was baptised on 21 December 1858. He had five older siblings:Prince Frederick (1843–1912),Princess Alexandra (1844–1925),Prince William (1845–1913),Princess Dagmar (1847–1928), andPrincess Thyra (1853–1933).
Prince Valdemar grew up in an increasingly international family. Despite the fact that the family had limited resources available and lived a relatively bourgeois life by royal standards, Valdemar's siblings managed to enter into some dynastically important marriages. In March 1863, the Danish royal family, including four-year-old Valdemar, travelled to London for the wedding of his eldest sister,Princess Alexandra, to thePrince of Wales, the son and heir-apparent ofQueen Victoria. In June of the same year, Prince Valdemar's older brotherPrince William was installed asKing of Greece under the name ofGeorge I. And in November of the same year, his father succeeded to the throne of Denmark as King Christian IX following the death ofKing Frederick VII.
Prince Valdemar received his early education from tutors. In the summer of 1874, he accompanied his father during his visit toIceland for themillennium celebrations. After hisconfirmation in 1874, as was customary for princes at that time, he started a military education and entered thenaval college. In 1879, he wassub-lieutenant and in 1880lieutenant. In the following years, he participated in several naval expeditions. Valdemar was homosexual,[2] and from 1883 lived at Bernstorff Palace near Copenhagen with his nephewPrince George of Greece, who had been taken as a boy to Denmark to be enlisted in the Danish royal navy, and be consigned to the care of Valdemar, who was an admiral in the Danish fleet. Feeling abandoned by his father on this occasion, George would later describe to his fiancée the profound attachment he developed for his uncle from that day forward.[3]
He marriedPrincess Marie d'Orleans on 20 October 1885 in a civil ceremony inParis.[4] They had a religious ceremony on 22 October 1885 at theChâteau d'Eu, the residence ofPrince Philippe, Count of Paris.[4] The wedding was believed by one source to have been politically arranged, and in France, it was believed that the Count of Paris (the bride's uncle) was personally responsible for the match.[4] However, the same source claimed that "there was every reason to believe that [it was] a genuine love match".[4] At the time of their marriage, it was decided that any sons would be brought up in Valdemar's Lutheran faith, while any daughters would be raised as Catholics, the faith of their mother.[5] The couple's four sons were consequently Lutherans, while their only daughter,Margaret was raised a Catholic and married aCatholic prince.[5] In 1886, after the abdication ofAlexander of Battenberg following a coup, the Bulgarian throne was offered to Prince Valdemar, but he and Marie agreed to refuse.
Valdemar had a lifelong naval career. He was the first president of theSeamen's Association of 1856.
He died on 14 January 1939 in theYellow Palace inCopenhagen and was buried inRoskilde Cathedral. He was the last surviving child of Christian IX.
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Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of theRoyal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen,1888[7]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold,22 July 1897[8]
Principality of Bulgaria:Grand Cross of St. Alexander
France: Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour
Kingdom of Greece:Grand Cross of the Redeemer
Kingdom of Italy:Knight of the Annunciation,23 September 1891[9]
Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Chrysanthemum,26 February 1900[10]
Luxembourg:Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau
Netherlands:Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
Norway:Grand Cross of St. Olav, with Collar,6 October 1906[11]
Ottoman Empire:Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class in Brilliants
Kingdom of Portugal:Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword
Russian Empire:
Siam:
Sweden:Knight of the Seraphim, with Collar,27 May 1875[12]
United Kingdom:Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (civil),17 September 1901 – during a visit to Denmark byKing Edward VII andQueen Alexandra[13]
Kingdom of Prussia:
Anhalt: Grand Cross of theOrder of Albert the Bear
Baden:[14]
Brunswick: Grand Cross of theOrder of Henry the Lion
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of theSaxe-Ernestine House Order
Mecklenburg:Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore| Name | Birth | Death | Spouse | Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Aage of Denmark | 10 June 1887 | 19 February 1940 | Matilda Emilia Francesca Maria Calvi | Count Valdemar of Rosenborg |
| Prince Axel of Denmark | 12 August 1888 | 14 July 1964 | Princess Margaretha of Sweden | Prince Georg of Denmark Count Flemming of Rosenborg |
| Prince Erik of Denmark | 8 November 1890 | 10 September 1950 | Lois Frances Booth | Countess Alexandra of Rosenborg Count Christian of Rosenborg |
| Prince Viggo of Denmark | 25 December 1893 | 4 January 1970 | Eleanor Margaret Green | No children |
| Princess Margaret of Denmark | 17 September 1895 | 18 September 1992 | Prince René of Bourbon-Parma | Prince Jacques of Bourbon-Parma Queen Anne of Romania Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma Prince André of Bourbon-Parma |
From that day, from that moment on, I loved him and I have never had any other friend but him...You will love him too, when you meet him.
The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy byFrederick III in 1660. | ||
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1 Also prince of Norway 2 Also prince of Greece 3 Also prince of Iceland 4 Also prince of the United Kingdom 5 Not Danish prince by birth, but created prince of Denmark Princes that lost their title are shown in italics | ||
