First Cousins: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – http://kongehuset.dk/english – photographer: Jacob Jørgensen

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (born 1940)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark was born on April 16, 1940, at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was the eldest daughter of the three daughters of King Frederik IX of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden. Her paternal grandparents were King Christian X of Denmark and Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Her maternal grandparents were King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who died before her husband became king. Queen Margrethe married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat and had two sons.

Margrethe has nine genetic first cousins and two first cousins by adoption. She shares her first cousins with her siblings Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, Queen of Greece.

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Queen Margrethe II’s Paternal Uncle: Child of King Christian X of Denmark and Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

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Queen Margrethe II’s Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught

PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Hereditary Prince Knud of Denmark and Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark

Embed from Getty Images 

Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (1935 – 2018)

Princess Elisabeth was the only daughter and the eldest of the three children of Prince Knud of Denmark, the younger son of King Christian X of Denmark, and Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark. Because she did not receive any funds from the Danish government, Elisabeth worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and retired after 45 years of employment. Princess Elisabeth never married, perhaps to retain her position within the Danish Royal Family. Until her death, she was the last person in the line of succession to the Danish throne. Elisabeth had a long-term relationship with Claus Hermansen, a videographer, until his death in 1997.

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Count Ingolf of Rosenborg with his wife Countess Sussie

Count Ingolf of Rosenborg, born Prince Ingolf of Denmark (born 1940)

Born Prince Ingolf of Denmark, he was the elder son of the two sons and the second of the three children of Prince Knud of Denmark (son of King Christian X) and Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark. Ingolf decided to marry Inge Terney, an untitled commoner, without seeking the permission of his uncle King Frederik IX because he had little chance of succeeding to the throne and it was expected that the King would not give his permission. After his marriage, he lost both his royal style and title and his place in the Danish line of succession. He was styled His Excellency Count Ingolf of Rosenborg. After the death of his first wife, Ingolf married lawyer Sussie Hjorhøy Pedersen. He had no children from either marriage.

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Count Christian of Rosenborg and his wife Countess Anne Dorte; Credit – http://danishroyalmediawatch.blogspot.com

Count Christian of Rosenborg, born Prince Christian of Denmark (1942 – 2013)

Born Prince Christian of Denmark, he was the younger son of the two sons and the youngest of the three children of Prince Knud of Denmark (son of King Christian X) and Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark. Like his brother Ingolf, Christian married Anne Dorte Maltoft-Nielsen without his uncle King Frederik IX, forfeiting his succession rights and his royal style and title. After his wedding, he was styled His Excellency Count Christian of Rosenborg. The couple had three daughters who are not in the Danish line of succession.

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Children of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Princess Margaretha of Sweden, Mrs. Ambler (born 1934)

Princess Margaretha was the eldest of the five children and the eldest of the four daughters of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her father was the son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. Her mother was the daughter of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through both of her parents. Princess Margaretha married British businessman John Ambler. Upon marriage, she lost her royal style and was styled Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler. The couple settled in England and had three children.

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Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern (born 1937)

Princess Birgitta was the second of the five children and the second of the four daughters of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her father was the son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. Her mother was the daughter of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through both of her parents. Princess Birgitta married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern and the couple had three children. Because she married a man of princely status, Birgitta retained her royal style and title as Princess of Sweden and is the only one of her sisters to remain an official member of the Swedish Royal House.

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Princess Désirée of Sweden, Baroness Silfverschiöld (born 1938)

Princess Désirée was the third of the five children and the third of the four daughters of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her father was the son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. Her mother was the daughter of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through both of her parents. The princess married Baron Nils-August Otto Carl Niclas Silfverschiöld and the couple had three children. Due to her husband’s non-royal status, Désirée lost her royal status was styled Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld.

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Princess Christina of Sweden, Mrs. Magnuson  (born 1943)

Princess Christina was the fourth of the five children and the fourth of the four daughters of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her father was the son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. Her mother was the daughter of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through both of her parents. Christina married Tord Magnuson and they had three sons. Like her sisters Margaretha and Désirée, she lost her royal style and title, becoming Princess Christina, Silfverschiöld.

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King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born 1946)

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was the fifth of the five children and the only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her father was the son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. Her mother was the daughter of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. He is a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria through both of his parents. When Carl Gustaf was only nine months old, his father died in an airplane crash. At that time, Carl Gustaf became second in the line of succession behind his grandfather. His grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf died in 1973 and Carl Gustaf became king at the age of 27. Carl Gustaf married Silvia Sommerlath, born in Germany, and the couple had two daughters and one son.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg, born Prince Sigvard of Sweden, and Sonia Robbert

Count Michael Bernadotte of Wisborg (born 1944)

Count Michael Bernadotte of Wisborg married Christine Diotima Elisabeth Wellhofer and they had one daughter.

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Maternal First Cousins:  Adopted Children of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg, born Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, and Kerstin Wijkmark

Monika Bernadotte (born 1948, adopted in 1951)

Monika Bernadotte married Count Johan Peder Bonde. They had three children and divorced after 21 years of marriage.

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Christian Bernadotte (born 1949, adopted in 1950)

Christian Bernadotte married Marianne Jenny. They have three children.

The Peerage: Christian Bernadotte, Count Bernadotte

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Works Cited

  • Lundy, D. (2019). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2019). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
  • Wikipedia. (2019). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/.  (for biographical and genealogy information)