Prince Valdemar of Denmark (27 October 1858 – 14 January 1939) was a member of the

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...

. He was the third son and youngest child of

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

Louise of Hesse-Kassel da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie , succession = Queen consort of Denmark , image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg , reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 , spouse = , issue = , house = ...

. He had a lifelong naval career.

Early life

Prince Valdemar was born on 27 October 1858 at

Bernstorff Palace Bernstorff Palace ( da, Bernstorff Slot) in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark, was built in the middle of the 18th century for Foreign Minister Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff. It remained in the possession of the Bernstorff family until 181 ...

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

., p. 69. His father was

Prince Christian of Denmark Prince Christian of Denmark, Count of Monpezat (Christian Valdemar Henri John; born 15 October 2005) is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the eldest child of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. A grandson of Queen Margrethe ...

, later King Christian IX. His mother was

Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie , succession = Queen consort of Denmark , image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg , reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 , spouse = , issue = , house = ...

. He was baptised on 21 December 1858. He had five older siblings: Prince Frederick (1843–1912), Princess Alexandra (1844–1925),

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

(1845–1913), Princess Dagmar (1847–1928), and Princess Thyra (1853–1933). Prince Valdemar grew up in an increasingly international family. Despite the fact that the family had limited resources available and lived a relatively bourgeois life by royal standards, Valdemar's siblings managed to enter into some dynastically important marriages. In March 1863, the Danish royal family, including four-year-old Valdemar, travelled to London for the wedding of his eldest sister, Princess Alexandra, to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, the son and heir-apparent of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. In June of the same year, Prince Valdemar's older brother

was installed as

King of Greece The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...

under the name of ''George I''. And in November of the same year, his father succeeded to the throne of Denmark as King Christian IX following the death of King Frederick VII. Prince Valdemar received his early education from tutors. In the summer of 1874, he accompanied his father during his visit to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

for the

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

celebrations. After his

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

in 1874, as was customary for princes at that time, he started a military education and entered the

naval college A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

. In 1879, he was

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

and in 1880

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In the following years, he participated in several naval expeditions. Valdemar was homosexual, and from 1883 lived at Bernstorff Palace near Copenhagen with his nephew

Prince George of Greece Prince George of Greece and Denmark ( el, Γεώργιος; 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 ...

, who'd been taken as a boy to Denmark to be enlisted in the Danish royal navy, and be consigned to the care of Valdemar, who was an admiral in the Danish fleet. Feeling abandoned by his father on this occasion, George would later describe to his fiancée the profound attachment he developed for his uncle from that day forward.

Marriage

La princesa Maria d'Orleans, princesa de Dinamarca

He married Princess Marie d'Orleans on 20 October 1885 in a civil ceremony in

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 ...

. They had a religious ceremony on 22 October 1885 at the

Château d'Eu The Château d'Eu is a former royal residence in the town of Eu, in the Seine-Maritime department of France, in Normandy. The Château d'Eu stands at the centre of the town and was built in the 16th century to replace an earlier one purposely de ...

, the residence of

Prince Philippe, Count of Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. ...

. The wedding was believed by one source to have been politically arranged, and in France, it was believed that the Count of Paris (the bride's uncle) was personally responsible for the match. However, the same source claimed that "there was every reason to believe that

t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

a genuine love match". At the time of their marriage, it was decided that any sons would be brought up in Valdemar's Lutheran faith, while any daughters would be raised as Catholics, the faith of their mother.Finestone, p. 199. The couple's four sons were consequently Lutherans, while their only daughter, Margaret was raised a Catholic and married a Catholic prince. In 1886 the Bulgarian throne was offered to Prince Valdemar, but he and Marie agreed to refuse.

Later life

Valdemar had a lifelong naval career. He was the first president of the Seamen's Association of 1856. He died on 14 January 1939 in the Yellow Palace in

and was buried in

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral ( da, Roskilde Domkirke), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is the most importan ...

. He was the last surviving child of Christian IX. Coat of Arms of Valdemar of Danemark (1819-1903)

Honours

;Danish orders and decorations *

Knight of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

, ''15 November 1863'' *

Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, ''15 November 1863'' * Grand Commander of the Dannebrog, ''21 July 1900'' * King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark Golden Wedding Commemorative Medal * King Christian IX Centenary Medal * Navy Long Service Medal * Danish Red Cross Badge of Honor * Commemoration Medal for Danish Prisoners-of-war for the Red Cross ;Foreign orders and decorations

Issue

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Prince Valdemar
at the website of the Royal Danish Collection at

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdemar Of Denmark, Prince 1858 births 1939 deaths House of Glücksburg (Denmark) Danish princes Burials at Roskilde Cathedral Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Sons of kings Children of Christian IX of Denmark