Prince Henrik’s memorial medal is made of silver with a crown. On one side of the medal is the Queen’s portrait and the inscription “MARGARETA II – REGINA DANIÆ”. On the other side, the medal is marked with Prince Henry’s crowned monogram and the inscription “11.6.1934 – 13.2.2018” which represents his date of birth and his date of death.
In previous years, the grants of the Prince Henrik Fund were announced on 11 June, the Prince’s birthday, and this year was no different. The Court declared that Queen Margrethe replaced her late husband as Chairwoman in the Board of Directors of the foundation.
“Le Lycée Français Prince Henrik de Copenhague” (Copenhagen’s Prince Henrik French High School) received two bronze sculptures which are two meters high and were created by Prince Henrik.
In addition, the Board decided to award a number of fellowships to causes that were close to Prince Henrik’s heart such business, culture, humanitarian and social initiatives, Greenland, sports, health, research, and education. The Court also announced that these fellowships would be distributed during the rest of the year. At the end of the year, the Prince Henrik Fund will officially be dissolved.
However, the Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik Fund will still go on, with Queen Margrethe as sole Chairwoman. The couple’s foundation awarded its annual grants earlier this month. The foundation aims to financially support cultural, scientific and social projects that are not yet underway. Among all the other projects chosen this year, Queen Margrethe decided to awards grants to the Danish Dementia Research Center for their project of a book titled “Get the best of life with dementia” and to the Danish Alzheimer Association for their plan of a 5 days course for people with a dementia disease with several creative workshops. These are significant for the Queen as Prince Henrik suffered from dementia.
The Court has not yet announced what would happen to Prince Henrik’s patronages. Members of the royal family will most likely take over them, but the Court said it would take some time to determine who will take over which patronage as Prince Henrik had over 60 patronages at the time of his death. The official announcement of the ending of the Prince Henrik Fund seems like the first step in this difficult process for the Royal Family and the Court.
