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Danish Royal Court announces Prince Henrik does not wish be buried in Roskilde Cathedral with his wife

The Danish Royal Court announced today that Prince Henrik, the husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, does not wish to be buried in Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site of the Kings and Queens of Denmark. This also means that a joint sarcophagus, which has already been made by sculptor  Bjørn Nørgaard, will either not be used at all, or will only be used by Queen Margrethe II when the times comes.

Her Majesty The Queen has known about the Prince’s decision for a while and is in agreement with it. It had been suggested by Danish media that the Prince might wish to be buried in his native France, but that is incorrect. The Danish Royal Court confirms that the Prince will be buried in Denmark but gives no further details.

In an interview with BT Lene Balleby, Head of Communications at the Court, says that the decision of the Prince has its root in him not being given the titles and position he feels entitled to and since he’s not treated as an equal to the Queen he doesn’t want to rest beside her.

Prince Henrik of Denmark has been married to the then Princess Margrethe since 1967, and the couple has two sons, Crown Prince Frederik (born 1968) and Prince Joachim (born 1969) and eight grandchildren. Margrethe II succeeded as Queen of Denmark upon the death of her father in 1972. Prince Henrik has often complained about not being King, as the wives of Kings are usually Queens. In 2005, he was given the title “Prince Consort”, which he gave up in 2016 as part of his retirement. Henrik said in an interview, “It angers me that I am discriminated against. Denmark, which is seemingly known as an avid defender of gender equality, apparently, is ready to be considered useless husbands their wives.”

The change in title was at first not officially announced, but he was listed on his biography page of the Danish Royal Family’s official website as simply ‘Prins Henrik’ and also on the guest list for the Mexican state visit gala. It was later confirmed by Lene Balleby, to TV2.

Prince Henrik in his desire – in continuation of his retirement – changed his title to the less formal Prince Henrik. HRH seems that the title is better suited to his current situation as a pensioner,” she told the media outlet. 

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