Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (George Valdemar Carl Axel; 16 April 1920McNaughton, C. Arnold, ''The Book of Kings'', vol.1, p.187 – 29 September 1986) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

prince. He was a

second cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

Early life

Prince George was the eldest son of

Prince Axel of Denmark Prince Axel of Denmark, ( Danish: ''Prins Axel Christian Georg til Danmark''; 12 August 1888 – 14 July 1964) was a member of the Danish royal family. He was the second son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orléans, and a gr ...

(himself a 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 li ...

) therefore a great-grandson of

King Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

and

Princess Margaretha of Sweden Princess Margaretha of Sweden (Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg; 25 June 1899 – 4 January 1977) was a member of the Swedish Royal Family by birth and the Danish Royal Family by marriage. She was the elder sister of Crown Princess Märtha of No ...

. As a result of the

Danish Act of Succession The Act of Succession of 27 March 1953 ( da, tronfølgeloven) was adopted after a 1953 referendum in Denmark and dictates the rules governing the succession to the Danish throne. The 1953 referendum changed the act so that it became possible for a ...

of 1953, which restricts the throne to those descended from

Christian X Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was List of Danish monarchs, King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only List of rulers of Iceland, King of Iceland as ...

and his wife,

Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (24 December 1879 – 28 December 1952) was Queen of Denmark from 1912 to 1947, as well Queen of Iceland from 1918 to 1944 as the spouse of King Christian X. She was the paternal grandmother of the current reig ...

, through approved marriages, he lost his place in the line of succession.

Marriage

On 16 September 1950, at

Glamis Castle Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis (, ) in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, thoug ...

, he married Anne, Viscountess Anson, the divorced wife of Thomas, Viscount Anson, and daughter of Hon. John Bowes-Lyon and Hon. Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis. His wife was a

first cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. Prince George himself was a

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

and

. He served as defence

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and military, naval and air attaché at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The marriage was opposed by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, because, at that time, the church did not permit the remarriage of a divorced person who had a prior spouse living. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Consort of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, later the Queen Mother, had announced her intention to attend the wedding, but the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

intervened, ordered the withdrawal of the Scottish Episcopal clergyman, and “advised” the Queen Mother not to attend. The Queen Mother stated that she would join the wedding party only for the reception and would remain in an adjoining drawing room while the ceremony took place.

Wealth

His will was sealed in London after his death in 1986. His estate was valued at £785,000 (or £1.8m in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).

Title and style

*16 April 1920 – 29 September 1986: ''His Highness'' Prince George Valdemar of Denmark

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Danish princes House of Glücksburg (Denmark) 1920 births 1986 deaths Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Honorary Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order {{Denmark-bio-stub