Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg, (Aage Christian Alexander Robert; 10 June 1887 – 19 February 1940) was a Danish prince and officer of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. 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 eldest child and 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 d'Orléans.

Early life

Prince Aage was born on 10 June 1887, in the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, immediately adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace complex in

. He was the first 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. He was baptised with the names ''Aage Christian Alexander Robert'', and was known as Prince Aage. Prince Aage and his

sibling A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

s grew up at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen and at their parent's summer residence

Bernstorff Palace Bernstorff Palace () 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, Bernstorff family until 1812. In 18 ...

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

Romance and marriage

Prince Aage carried on a passionate flirtation with Princess Marie Bonaparte, the wife of his 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 ...

, who had also enjoyed intimacies with his father. In neither case does it appear that Prince George objected, or felt obliged to give the matter any attention. In 1909 Prince Aage joined the Danish Army, and by 1913 had risen to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as an

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...

in Italy for a year. Returning home to Denmark he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Without the legally required permission of the Danish king, Aage married Matilda Emilia Francesca Maria Calvi ''dei conti di Bergolo'' (

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, 17 September 1885 –

, 16 October 1949), daughter of Carlo Giorgio Lorenzo Calvi, 5th

Count 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: ...

di Bergolo by his wife

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ess Anna Guidobono Calvalchini Roero San Severino, in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

on 1 February 1914. A few days later, he renounced his place in the line of

succession to the Danish throne The Act of Succession (Denmark), Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X of Denmark, Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. By ...

, forfeiting the title "Prince of Denmark" and the

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 ...

'' (the latter having only been granted to him and his brothers by the king on 5 February 1904).''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 Aage, ''Greve af'' (Count of) ''Rosenborg''" and the style of ''Highness'' on 5 February 1914. 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 in the Danish nobility 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 ...

with the rank and precedence (above other counts) of a '' Lensgreve'', use of the princely prefix was restricted to himself and his wife alone. Aage and Mathilde had one son: *Count Valdemar Alexander Georg Luigi Maria of Rosenborg (Villa Severino, Turin, 3 January 1915 –

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 1 April 1995), Second Lieutenant (Lifeguard) in the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods ...

Businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

in Paris, he married Baroness Marie-Josephe Floria d'Huart Saint-Mauris (Paris, 10 August 1925 - Paris, 20 August 1995) in Villefranche, Nice, on 20 April 1949, no issue. Prince Aage was among the people considered for the position of King of Finland in 1918. In the early 1920s he mentioned to Gustaf Idman, the Finnish ambassador to Denmark, that upon visiting Copenhagen in September 1918, Finnish General Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim had inquired about his willingness to accept the Finnish crown, should it be offered to him. According to Idman, he was willing to accept the offer.

Foreign Legion

In 1922, Aage received permission from the King, as required by Danish law, to leave the Danish army in order to join the

. After negotiations between the Danish and the French governments Prince Aage entered the Foreign Legion with the

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 ...

rank of

. He was sent to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

as part of the French involvement in the

Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...

within a year of service. He received the ''

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

'' after being shot in the left leg. During his seventeen years in the Foreign Legion Prince Aage attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, and also received France's highest

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

, the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

''. In 1927 he published the book ''A Royal Adventurer in the Foreign Legion'' in English about his time in the Foreign Legion.

Death

Prince Aage died of

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...

, Morocco, in 1940, and was buried at the French Foreign Legion's headquarters at Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria. Before the Foreign Legion left Algeria in 1962, it was decided that the remains of three selected soldiers should be buried near the new headquarters of the Foreign Legion at

Aubagne Aubagne (; according to the classic norm or according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2020, the commune was awarded three flowers by the ...

in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The remains of Prince Aage were selected as the representation of the foreign officers in the Foreign Legion. His remains now lie next to those of ''Général''

Paul-Frédéric Rollet Paul-Frédéric Rollet (1875–1941) was a French Army Général

(known as the Father of the Legion) and ''Légionnaire'' Zimmermann in the town of Puyloubier, France.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestors

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aage Of Denmark, Prince 1887 births 1940 deaths Officers of the French Foreign Legion People of the Rif War Princes of Denmark House of Glücksburg (Denmark) Counts of Rosenborg Disinherited European royalty 20th-century Danish military officers Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order