by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Valdemar of Denmark was born on October 27, 1858, at Bernstorff Palace in Gentofte, Denmark. Valdemar was the youngest of the six children of King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel.

Valdemar had five siblings. Four of Valdemar’s five siblings became a monarch or a consort of a monarch.

• King Frederik VIII of Denmark (1843 – 1912), married Princess Louise of Sweden, had issue
• Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844 – 1925), married King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, had issue
• Prince Vilhelm of Denmark, who became King George I of Greece (1845 – 1913), married Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, had issue
• Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna after marriage (1847 – 1928), married Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, had issue
• Princess Thyra of Denmark (1853 – 1933), married Crown Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, had issue

Christian IX, King of Denmark and his family by Georg Emil Hansen, albumen carte-de-visite photomontage, 1862, NPG x74402 © National Portrait Gallery, London

In 1863, when Valdemar was five years old, his father succeeded to the Danish throne. Earlier that year, Valdemar had accompanied his family to England where his sister Alexandra had married Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Valdemar was educated at home by governesses and tutors. In the summer of 1874, Valdemar accompanied his father to Iceland to celebrate 1,000 years since Iceland’s first settlement in 874.

Valdemar with his father, circa 1863-1865; Credit – Wikipedia

After his confirmation in 1874, Valdemar enrolled at the Royal Danish Naval Academy.  As a younger son, it was expected that he would have a career in the military. Valdemar participated in several naval expeditions in the 1870s and became Lieutenant in 1880. In 1883, Valdemar’s 14-year-old nephew Prince George of Greece,  the second son of his brother King George I of Greece, was enrolled at the Royal Danish Naval Academy. George lived with Valdemar at Bernstorff Palace while he attended the naval academy and having felt abandoned by his father at that time, George would later tell his fiancée the profound attachment he developed for his uncle Valdemar.

In 1885, Valdemar became engaged to Princess Marie of Orléans, the eldest child of Robert, Duke of Chartres and his wife, Françoise of Orléans,  who were both grandchildren of King Louis Philippe of France, who was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848. He lived out his life in exile in England where his great-granddaughter Marie had been born. Marie lived the first years of her life in England. After the fall of Napoleon III in 1871, her family’s rival, Marie’s family moved back to France.

Princess Marie; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Valdemar and Marie were first married in a civil ceremony in Paris, France on October 20, 1885. Two days later, an extravagant religious ceremony and reception were held at the Chateau d ‘ Eu in Normandy, France, the home of Louis Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris, a cousin of both Marie’s parents. More than 1,000 guests attended including members of the royal families of Denmark, Greece, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Valdemar remained Lutheran and Marie remained Roman Catholic. When Pope Leo XIII gave his permission for the marriage, he agreed to the provision that any daughters would be raised Roman Catholic and any sons would be raised Lutheran. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen and Valdemar’s birthplace, Bernstorff Castle in Gentofte, nearby Copenhagen.

Valdemar and Marie had four sons and one daughter. Three of their sons made unequal marriages and relinquished their position within the Danish Royal Family upon marrying without official consent from the monarch. For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: The Danish Counts of Rosenborg.

Valdemar, Marie, and their children; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

• Prince Aage of Denmark (1887 – 1940), married Matilda Calvi dei conti di Bergolo, due to the unequal marriage, he renounced his place in the line of succession to the Danish throne, forfeited the title Prince of Denmark, and was entitled Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg; had one son, divorced 1939
• Prince Axel of Denmark (1888 – 1964), married Princess Margaretha of Sweden, had two sons
• Prince Erik of Denmark (1890 – 1950), married Lois Frances Booth, a Canadian, due to the unequal marriage, he renounced his place in the line of succession to the Danish throne, forfeited the title Prince of Denmark, and was entitled Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg, divorced 1937, had one son and one daughter
• Prince Viggo of Denmark (1893 – 1970), married Eleonor Green, due to the unequal marriage, he renounced his place in the line of succession to the Danish throne, forfeited the title Prince of Denmark, and was entitled Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg had no children
• Princess Margrethe of Denmark (1895 – 1992), married Prince René of Bourbon-Parma, had three sons and one daughter including Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma who married King Michael I of Romania

Prince Valdemar and King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Thailand), taken during Valdemar’s visit in Siam in 1900; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Valdemar had a lifelong naval career which frequently caused him to be away from home. He was appointed Vice-Admiral in 1911 and Admiral in 1918. Valdemar was offered two European thrones, Bulgaria and Norway, but he rejected both offers. His wife Marie died on December 4, 1909, in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark at the age of 44 after a long illness. Unfortunately, at the time of Marie’s death, Valdemar was on a long naval voyage. Prince Valdemar survived Marie by 30 years, dying on January 14, 1939, at the age of 80 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen. Both Marie and Valdemar were buried in Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

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Works Cited

• Da.wikipedia.org. (2017). Prins Valdemar. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prins_Valdemar [Accessed 7 Aug. 2017].
• Da.wikipedia.org. (2017). Prinsesse Marie af Orléans. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prinsesse_Marie_af_Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 7 Aug. 2017].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Waldemar von Dänemark. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldemar_von_D%C3%A4nemark [Accessed 7 Aug. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Prince Valdemar of Denmark. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Valdemar_of_Denmark [Accessed 7 Aug. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Princess Marie of Orléans (1865–1909). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_of_Orl%C3%A9ans_(1865%E2%80%931909) [Accessed 7 Aug. 2017].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2017). Marie d’Orléans (1865-1909). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans_(1865-1909) [Accessed 7 Aug. 2017].