Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark

Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (Knud Christian Frederik Michael; 27 July 1900 – 14 June 1976), was the younger son and child of Christian X and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Knud
Hereditary Prince of Denmark
Knud in 1935
Born(1900-07-27)27 July 1900
Sorgenfri Palace, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died14 June 1976(1976-06-14) (aged 75)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Burial
Roskilde Cathedral
Spouse
IssuePrincess Elisabeth
Count Ingolf of Rosenborg
Count Christian of Rosenborg
Full name
Knud Christian Frederik Michael
HouseGlücksburg
FatherChristian X of Denmark
MotherAlexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
ReligionChurch of Denmark

From 1947 to 1953, he was heir presumptive to his older brother, Frederick IX, and would have succeeded him as king (in 1972) had it not been for a change in the Danish Act of Succession that replaced him with his niece, Margrethe II.

Early life and marriage

Prince Knud was born on 27 July 1900 at Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby north of Copenhagen during the reign of his great-grandfather, King Christian IX. His parents were Christian of Denmark, son of the heir apparent Frederick, and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Knud's only sibling, Frederick, had been born one year before him.

Christian IX died on 29 January 1906, and Knud's grandfather succeeded him as Frederick VIII. Six years later, on 14 May 1912, Frederick VIII died, and Knud's father ascended the throne as Christian X.

As was customary for princes at that time, Knud started a military education and entered the naval college. He married his first cousin, Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark, on 8 September 1933 at Fredensborg Palace. She was a daughter of Frederick VIII's son Harald. Knud and Caroline-Mathilde had three children: Princess Elisabeth, Prince Ingolf and Prince Christian.

Heir presumptive

On 20 April 1947, Christian X died, and Knud's brother Frederick succeeded to the throne as Frederick IX. Since Frederick IX had fathered no sons and the Danish Act of Succession at the time followed the principle of agnatic primogeniture, Prince Knud became heir presumptive and next in line to succeed his brother as king. Prince Knud called the electorate "a shower of bastards" for voting for the change.

Frederick IX had, however, fathered three daughters. In 1953, the Danish Act of Succession was amended to follow the principle of male-preference primogeniture. The new law made Frederick IX's thirteen-year-old daughter Margrethe the new heir presumptive, placing her and her two sisters before Knud and his family in the line of succession.

Later life and legacy

King Frederick IX died in 1972 and was succeeded by his daughter Queen Margrethe II. Prince Knud died in Gentofte on 14 June 1976. He was buried at Roskilde Cathedral. His widow died on 12 December 1995.

In 1953 a students home in Copenhagen was named "Arveprins Knuds Kollegium" in honor of Prince Knud. At the time, Prince Knud was protector of Sydslesvigsk Studie- og Hjælpefond (Study and relief fund of Southern Schleswig),(see Danish minority of Southern Schleswig), an area that could be considered the birthplace of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the royal family Knud was a part of.

The Princess Caroline-Mathilde Alps in Greenland were named by the 1938–39 Mørkefjord Expedition in his wife's honour for Prince Knud had been the patron of the expedition.[1]

Issue

Honours
Danish and Icelandic honours[2]
Foreign honours[2]

Ancestors

References
  1. "Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland". Geological Survey of Denmark. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  2. Kongelig Dansk Hof-og Statskalendar (1963) (in Danish), "De Kongelig Danske Ridderordener", p. 17
  3. "Sveriges Statskalender (1940), II, p. 7" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org.
  • Prince Knud at the website of the Royal Danish Collection at Amalienborg Palace
Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark
House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Born: 27 July 1900 Died: 14 June 1979
Danish royalty
Preceded by
Frederick
as Crown Prince		 Heir to the Danish throne
1947–1953		 Succeeded by
Princess Margrethe
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