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Count of Monpezat ( Danish: ''Greve af Monpezat'') or Countess of Monpezat (Danish: ''Grevinde af Monpezat'') when the holder is female, is a Danish hereditary title of nobility. It was granted on 30 April 2008 by
Queen Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
to her two sons,
Crown Prince Frederik Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, (Frederik André Henrik Christian; born 26 May 1968) is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. Early life Crown Prince Frede ...
and Prince Joachim, and their legitimate
patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
(male-line) descendants of both sexes. The title is based on the French title "Comte de Laborde de Monpezat" which was used by their father
Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...
. The wife of a count has the right to use countess as a
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...
, but a woman cannot pass the title to her husband or elevate her husband's status. As the title only is passed down the male line, the children of a Countess of Monpezat do not inherit the title, but those children are titled ''greve'' (for sons) or ''komtesse'' (for unmarried daughters) as a courtesy title.


History


Origins as a French title

The Laborde de Monpezat family style themselves as "comte de Laborde de Monpezat" (in English Count of Laborde of Monpezat) since somewhere late in the nineteenth century. The right to the use of that comital title is disputed; The ''Encyclopédie de la fausse noblesse et de la noblesse d'apparence'' ( en, Encyclopedia of False and Apparent Nobility) states that Prince Henrik's ancestor, Jean Laborde, received royal
letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...
of ennoblement in 1655, conditional on his reception as a noble in the
Estates Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representati ...
of the province of
Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three B ...
where his lands were located.Dioudonnat, Pierre-Marie, ''Encyclopédie de la fausse noblesse et de la noblesse d'apparence'', Paris, Sedopols, 1976–79 (2 vols), p. 208 (in French) But this condition was never fulfilled, as the Estates refused Laborde's petitions in 1703 and again in 1707. The family's surname was "Monpezat" by the time of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, without title, until 14 July 1860, when it was changed by
imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...
decree to "de Laborde-Monpezat", and legally changed again on 19 May 1861 to "de Laborde de Monpezat".Joseph Valynseele, ''Les de Laborde de Monpezat et leurs alliances'', Paris, chez l'Auteur, 1975 (in French) Although the comital title has been used by the family as if it were a courtesy title, traditionally the
royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
and French society accepted such titles when used by genuinely noble families. Before his marriage with queen
Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
,
Prince Henrik Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...
also used this French comital title.


Danish title

In 2008, the title "Count of Monpezat" (''greve af Monpezat''), was conferred by the Queen on her and Prince Henrik's two sons, this as a genuine Danish
substantive title A substantive title is a title of nobility or royalty acquired either by individual grant or inheritance. It is to be distinguished from a title shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. ...
and being hereditary in the
male line Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
. According to historian Jon Bloch Skipper, the title granted in 2008 was unrelated to the original French noble title, but was a reference to Prince Henrik and his French lineage. On 28 September 2022, the Royal Household announced that from 1 January 2023, the children of Prince Joachim will no longer be titled Prince or Princess of Denmark, though their place in the
line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
of
Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adje ...
, and will instead be styled
Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the r ...
. Queen Margrethe II said that this would enable her grandchildren to "shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves."


List of Counts of Monpezat

The family tree is based on the current
line of succession to the Danish throne The Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. Succession is by a change in the law in 2009 governed by ...
. *
Queen Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
(b.1940) ∞ Henrik, Prince Consort (1934–2018) ** (1)
Crown Prince Frederik Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, (Frederik André Henrik Christian; born 26 May 1968) is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. Early life Crown Prince Frede ...
(b. 1968) *** (2) Prince Christian (b. 2005) *** (3) Princess Isabella (b. 2007) *** (4) Prince Vincent (b. 2011) *** (5) Princess Josephine (b. 2011) ** (6) Prince Joachim (b. 1969) *** (7) Prince Nikolai (b. 1999) *** (8) Prince Felix (b. 2002) *** (9)
Prince Henrik Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...
(b. 2009) *** (10) Princess Athena (b. 2012)


Consequences

Should any of the Princes who are styled Count of Monpezat marry without consent of the Danish monarch, they will lose their dynastic rights but remain Count of Monpezat.


See also

*
House of Monpezat The House of Monpezat () is a French old bourgeois family from the Province of Béarn associated with the Danish Royal Family by marriage after 1967, when Henri de Laborde de Monpezat wed Princess Margrethe of Denmark, then the heir presumptive ...
*
Danish nobility Danish nobility is a social class and a former estate in the Kingdom of Denmark. The nobility has official recognition in Denmark, a monarchy. Its legal privileges were abolished with the constitution of 1849. Some of the families still own and ...
*
Mountbatten-Windsor Mountbatten-Windsor is the personal surname used by some of the male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Under a declaration made in Privy Council in 1960, the name '' Mountbatten- Windsor'' applies to ...


References

{{authority control Danish royalty Danish noble titles House of Monpezat Noble titles created in 2008 2008 establishments in Denmark