On April 20, 1947, King Christian X of Denmark died. He was succeeded by his elder son, Frederik. The new king and his wife, Princess Ingrid of Sweden were the parents of three daughters, Margrethe, Benedikte, and Anne Marie.
Seven-year-old Princess Margrethe did not become the Crown Princess due to Salic law, which barred female succession. Her father's younger brother, Prince Knud, became the heir presumptive. He was married to his first cousin, Princess Caroline Mathilde of Denmark. They had three children, a daughter, Elisabeth, and two sons, Ingolf and Christian.
HH Prince Ingolf Christian Frederik Knud Harald Gorm Gustav Viggo Valdemar Aage of Denmark was also seven years old when his grandfather died. He became second in line to the throne after his father. He was the future of the Danish monarchy.
In 1953, Prince Knud and Prince Ingolf's positions changed when the Danish Parliament amended the Constitution to allow male primogeniture. Frederik did not have any sons, but now his three daughters had succession rights. Prince Knud lost his position as heir-presumptive to Margrethe. She was not the heiress apparent because her mother, 43, might still give birth to a son.
The change in the law led to a strain between the two brothers, although both Knud and Ingolf would receive appanages for the rest of their lives. Knud was given the title Hereditary Prince. When he died on June 14, 1970, he was fourth in line to the throne after Margrethe and her two sons. (Queen Anne Marie and her descendants do not have succession rights, nor do Princess Benedikte's children.)
Ingolf lost his right of succession in 1968 when he married a Danish commoner, Inge Terney. King Frederik created him Count Ingolf af Rosenborg. Inge died in 1996. Two years later he married Sussie Hjorhøy. He has no children.
Count Ingolf, 83, carries out about 200 engagements per year. His annual appanage is 1.4 million kroner ($402,774).
Earlier today, the Count spoke to BT, a Danish newspaper. He said he had been told about Queen Margrethe's decision to abdicate.
"I and the family keep those things to ourselves, but I can say that I found out shortly before the speech," he said.
"I understand the Queen's decision."
Will the Crown Prince be able to lift the legacy of his much-loved mother?
"Yes, he will be able to do that. The new King will be able to do that, absolutely.'
How will the current sovereign and the future sovereign differ from each other?
Count Ingolf responded: "I don't want to answer that. They are so different."
He ended the interview by wishing the reporter a happy New Year.
Very interesting telling of Count Ingolf and interview. Thanks for posting this, Marlene.
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