Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark

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Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the Death of Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark, who died on this day in 1995! The second child of Prince Harald of Denmark, son of King Frederick VIII of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden, and Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, daughter of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Caroline-Mathilde grew up at Jægersborghus. In 1933, she married her first cousin, Prince Knud of Denmark, the second son of King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark. The couple had three children; Princess Elisabeth, Count Ingolf and Count Christian (the only one to have children of his own). From 1947 to 1953, Prince Knud was heir presumptive of his brother King Frederick IX, however the change in the constitution in 1953 caused Prince Knud to lose his place in the succession to his niece, the now Queen Margrethe II. After the change, the couple were given the titles of Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess, but the matter caused a deep rift between the two families which has not completely healed even today. The family resided at the Sorgenfri Palace and at the Klitgården, and continued to undertake some official duties, even after Hereditary Prince Knud’s death in 1976, until the Princess died on this day in 1995.

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One thought on “Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark

  1. Well, I can see where Prince Knud and Princess Caroline felt quite put out by the new succession law. But the fact is that what happened seems to be the norm. They did the same in Sweden, right? Prince Carl Philip was removed and his sister Princess Victoria was put instead. So the people that drew up the new law wanted it to be enacted with immediate effect, which is what King Frederick wanted anyway. Why would he want to change the law of succession if it wouldn’t put his daughter on the throne? But still, I do feel bad for Prince Knud and Prince Caroline. It’s like the rug was taken out from under them. I think that this whole fiasco had something to do with the fact that Princess Elizabeth never married. She lived with a man for more than 25 years, but she never married because she didn’t want to lose her place in the line of succession. That tells a story. It’s also very sad, isn’t it?

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