Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg (''Viggo Christian Adolf Georg''; 25 December 1893 – 4 January 1970) was a Danish prince. He was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

the youngest son of

Prince Valdemar of Denmark Prince Valdemar of Denmark (27 October 1858 – 14 January 1939) was a member of the Danish royal family. He was the third son and youngest child of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. He had a lifelong naval career. Early l ...

and Princess Marie of Orléans. He was also the youngest grandson of Christian IX of Denmark.

Biography

Prince Viggo was born on 25 December 1893, in the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, immediately adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace complex in

. He was the fourth child of

, and his wife Princess Marie of Orléans. His father was a younger son of

King Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently List of dukes of Schleswig, Duke of Schleswig, List of dukes of Holstein, Holstein and Saxe-Laue ...

and Louise of Hesse-Kassel, and his mother was the eldest daughter of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres and Princess Françoise of Orléans. His parents' marriage was said to be a political match. He was christened on 24 February 1894 and his godparents were: King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark (his paternal grandparents); Prince Christian of Denmark (his paternal first cousin);

Prince George of Greece and Denmark Prince George of Greece and Denmark (; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of his cousin the future Em ...

(his paternal first cousin); Grand Duke Adolphe and Grand Duchess Adelheid-Marie of Luxembourg; Anna, Landgravine of Hesse; and Princess Marie of Anhalt. He was an

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. Without the legally required permission of the Danish king for a dynastic marriage, Viggo married Eleanor Margaret Green (

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 5 November 1895 –

, 3 July 1966), in

on 10 June 1924. As became customary in the Danish

royal house A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

upon marriage to a commoner, prior to the wedding Viggo renounced his place in Denmark's line of succession to the Crown, forfeiting his title of ''Prince of Denmark'', and his

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

of ''

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...

''.''Almanach de Gotha'' (Gotha:

Justus Perthes Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749 – 2 May 1816) was a Germans, German publisher and founder of Justus Perthes (publishing company), the publishing house that bears his name. Life He was born in the Thuringian town of Rudolstadt, t ...

, 1944), pages 43, 529 With the king's authorisation, he assumed the title "Prince Viggo, ''Greve af'' (Count of) ''Rosenborg''" and the style of ''Highness'' on 21 December 1923. Although the

comital Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

title was made hereditary for all of his legitimate descendants 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 inheritanc ...

, the princely title was restricted to himself and his wife alone (i.e. "Prince and Princess Viggo", etc.). The couple had no children. They took part in the ship tour organized by King

Paul of Greece Paul (; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964. Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Constantine I of Greece, Crown Prince Constantine and Sophia of Prussia, Crown Princess ...

and Queen Frederica in 1954, which became known as the " Cruise of the Kings" and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe. Prince Viggo died in Ebeltoft in 1970. He was the last surviving grandson of Christian IX.

Honours

Prince Viggo received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestors

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viggo Of Rosenborg, Count 1893 births 1970 deaths People from Ebeltoft Princes of Denmark House of Glücksburg (Denmark) Counts of Rosenborg Burials at Roskilde Cathedral Disinherited European royalty Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour