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February 15, 2018

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Denmark’s not so much loved prince dies

Denmark’s Prince Henrik, the French-born husband of Queen Margrethe II, has died aged 83, after a half-century struggle to win the hearts of Danes that only succeeded in his later years.

The prince passed away on Tuesday night surrounded by his wife and their two sons, the palace said. He was hospitalized for a lung infection and a benign lung tumor in late January, and returned home to Fredensborg Castle on Tuesday “to spend his last days,” the palace said. He was diagnosed with dementia last September.

With a jovial face framed by understated glasses, the prince had a reputation as a bon vivant who enjoyed cooking, poetry and wine. But his frequent outbursts of anger and flamboyant style, in a country that values humility and discretion, long irritated the Danish people.

The prince moved to Denmark in 1967 ahead of his June wedding to the then-crown princess, but he found it hard being relegated to a supporting role.

Disappointed that his royal title of prince was never changed to king when his wife became queen in 1972, Henrik spoke out often in the media about his frustration, which did little to endear him to his subjects. Instead, Danes found him arrogant and hungry for recognition.

Soon after retiring from public service in 2016, he announced he would no longer use the title “Prince Consort,” asking to be known as “Prince Henrik.”

Last year, he revealed that he did not want to be buried next to his wife because he was never made her equal. Though his decision broke with the tradition of burying royal spouses together in Roskilde Cathedral west of Copenhagen, the queen accepted it, the palace said.

Born Henri Marie Jean Andre de Laborde de Monpezat on June 11, 1934 in Talence, near Bordeaux, the future Danish prince spent much of his youth in Vietnam, and other part of Southeast Asia where his father was a businessman.

He went on to become a diplomat, and met Margrethe, who was then crown princess, while he was stationed in London.




 

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