Princess Elisabeth of Denmark

Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (Elisabeth Caroline-Mathilde Alexandrine Helena Olga Thyra Feodora Estrid Margrethe Désirée; 8 May 1935 – 19 June 2018) was a member of the Danish royal family. The only daughter and eldest child of Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, and Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark, she was a granddaughter of Christian X, niece of Frederik IX, and first cousin of Margrethe II.

In addition to undertaking occasionally royal duties, she was a career diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Early life and education Elisabeth was born on 8 May 1935 in Copenhagen to Prince Knud and Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark. Her father was the second son of Christian X. She was christened at Lyngby Church in July 1935 and confirmed there in May 1950. The family resided at Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby, where she was raised with her two younger brothers Prince Ingolf and Prince Christian.

During the 1938-39 Mørkefjord expedition, paleontologist Eigil Nielsen named the Princess Elisabeth Alps in northeastern Greenland after her.

Elisabeth began her education privately at Sorgenfri. After passing her secondary school examinations in 1952, she studied for one year at Brillantmont International School in Switzerland. Subsequently, she attended Suhr's School of Home Economics and then Margrethe-Skolen (now the Scandinavian Academy of International Fashion and Design) from 1954 to 1956. . At the time of her death, she was 12th in line. She was titled of Prinsesse til Danmark (literally translated as "Princess to Denmark", reserved for members of the Royal Family in the line of succession) with the style of Highness. She was the only one of her siblings to retain her title and succession rights, as her younger brothers married commoners without the permission of their uncle, Frederik IX.

Career In 1956, Elisabeth began her career with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was posted to the Embassy of Denmark, Washington, D.C. from 1973 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1985. Her final foreign posting was to the Danish mission to the United Nations in Geneva from 1989 to 1993. She retired from the foreign service in 2001.

After a long period of ill health, Elisabeth died on 19 June 2018, at the age of 83. Her funeral took place at Lyngby Church on 25 June 2018, where her cremated remains were interred beside Hermansen.

Honours

45px 9 September 1970: Medal for the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Christian X (M.M.26.sept. 1870–1970)

Ancestry