Princess Margrethe
Princess René of Bourbon-Parma
Born(1895-09-17)17 September 1895
Bernstorff Palace, Gentofte, Denmark
Died18 September 1992(1992-09-18) (aged 97)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1921; died 1962)​
IssuePrince Jacques
Anne, Queen of Romania
Prince Michel
Prince André
Names
Margrethe Françoise Louise Marie Helene
HouseGlücksburg
FatherPrince Valdemar of Denmark
MotherPrincess Marie d'Orleans
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Princess Margaret of Denmark (Margrethe Françoise Louise Marie Helene; 17 September 1895 – 18 September 1992) was a Danish princess by birth and a princess of Bourbon-Parma as the wife of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma. She was the youngest grandchild of Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise.

Biography

Family and background

Princess Margaret was born on 17 September 1895, in Bernstorff Palace north of Copenhagen.[1] She was the fifth child and only daughter of Prince Valdemar of Denmark, and his wife Princess Marie of Orléans.[2] She was named for her mother's sister Princess Marguerite d'Orléans.[3]

Bernstorff Palace: Princess Margaret's birthplace

Margaret's connections to European royalty were extensive and extraordinary. Her father, Prince Valdemar, was one of the six children of King Christian IX of Denmark. He had two older brothers and three sisters. His brothers were, respectively, King Frederick VIII of Denmark and King George I of Greece, while his sisters were Queen Alexandra of the UK, Empress Dagmar of Russia and Thyra, titular queen of Hanover.

Margaret's mother was the eldest daughter of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres and Princess Françoise of Orléans. Her parents' marriage had been arranged by their families, as was the custom among European royalty in that era.[4] It had been agreed at the time of her parents' wedding that all their sons would be raised Lutheran, their father's creed, and all their daughters Roman Catholic, their mother's faith. Margaret, the only daughter, thus became the first Danish princess since the Reformation to be raised a Roman Catholic. She was only fourteen years old when her mother died in 1909.

Marriage

Princess Margaret on her wedding day in 1921

Raised a catholic, Margaret married a Catholic prince, her mother's relative, Prince René of Bourbon-Parma (Schwarzau, 17 October 1894 – Hellerup, Copenhagen, 30 July 1962) on 9 June 1921 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Copenhagen. His father was Robert I, Duke of Parma. His mother was the Duke's second wife Princess Maria Antonia, daughter of the exiled King Miguel I of Portugal. René was the brother of Empress Zita of Austria and of Felix, the consort of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

René and Margaret had four children:

Later life

The family was poor compared to other royalty. They chiefly resided in France, where all of their children were born.[5] In 1939 the family fled from the Nazis and escaped to Spain. From there they went to Portugal and then to the United States. There, in New York, Margaret made a living making hats while her husband worked at a gas company and her daughter as a shop assistant.[6] Her sons were studying in Montreal.[7] They returned to Paris after the war.[5] In June 1951, Margaret was travelling in a car her husband was driving when they ran over a 22-year-old man, Jaja Sorensen, who died soon after being taken to hospital.[8] She died one day after her 97th birthday, on the 69th birthday of her daughter Anne. She was the last surviving child of Prince Valdemar and the longest lived and last surviving grandchild of Christian IX.

Ancestors

References

Citations

  1. ^ McNaughton, C. Arnold (1973). The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy. Vol. 1. London, U.K.: Garnstone Press. p. 451.
  2. ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (1977). Burke's Royal Families of the World. Vol. 1. London, U.K.: Burke's Peerage Ltd. p. 70.
  3. ^ Beéche, Arturo E.; Miller, Ilana D. (2015). Royal Gatherings, Volume II: 1914–1939. California: Eurohistory. p. 98. ISBN 9780985460389.
  4. ^ "Royal Marriage Bells". The New York Times. Eu, France. 22 October 1885.
  5. ^ a b Beéche, p. 93
  6. ^ "Queen Anne of Romania – obituary". Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  7. ^ Bernier Arcand, Philippe, « Les Bourbon-Parme dans les institutions d’enseignement du Québec », Histoire Québec, 202, p. 24-28 (lire en ligne [archive])
  8. ^ See http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.es of 19 June 1951

Bibliography

  • Bramsen, Bo (1992). Huset Glücksborg. Europas svigerfader og hans efterslægt [The House of Glücksburg. The Father-in-law of Europe and his descendants] (in Danish) (2nd ed.). Copenhagen: Forlaget Forum. ISBN 87-553-1843-6.
  • Lerche, Anna; Mandal, Marcus (2003). A royal family : the story of Christian IX and his European descendants. Copenhagen: Aschehoug. ISBN 9788715109577.
Categories