Prince Harald of Denmark


Prince Harald of Denmark was a member of the Danish Royal Family. He was the third son and fourth child of Frederick VIII of Denmark and his wife, Lovisa of Sweden, and thus brother to Christian X of Denmark.
The prince served in the Royal Danish Army for most of his life, and reached the rank of Lieutenant General.

Early life

Prince Harald was born on 8 October 1876 at Charlottenlund Palace north of Copenhagen. His father was Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, the eldest son of Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. His mother was Crown Princess Louise, the only daughter of Charles XV of Sweden and Princess Louise of the Netherlands.
At the age of 17, Prince Harald entered a military career as was customary for princes at the time. He later served with the Guard Hussar Regiment.

Marriage

At the age of 33, on 28 April 1909 at Glücksburg Castle in Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Harald married his second cousin Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, daughter of Frederick Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.
After their marriage, Prince Harald and Princess Helena lived at the Jægersborghus country house north of Copenhagen which Prince Harald had purchased in 1907. Here their five children were born between 1910 and 1923.

Later life

Like other members of the Danish royal family, his economic situation was influenced by the failure of Den Danske Landmandsbank in 1923. Until 1935, however, he and his family were able to stay at Jægersborghus but then moved to a villa in the northern part of Copenhagen.
At the age of 50, Prince Harald retired from active service with the rank of Major General. In 1933, however, his brother King Christian X appointed him Lieutenant General.
During World War II, Princess Helena became very unpopular because of her sympathy for the German occupation of Denmark and the Nazi party. Because of this, she was reportedly not on speaking terms with her sons.
After the war, Princess Helena was not brought to trial, being a member of the royal family who did not wish any publicity on the matter, but was exiled from Denmark 30 May 1945 and placed under house arrest at the Glücksburg Castle in Germany. She was allowed to return to Denmark in 1947, when Prince Harald fell gravely ill. She stayed with her spouse until his death two years later.
Prince Harald died on 30 March 1949 in Copenhagen. He was buried at Roskilde Cathedral. Princess Helena survived her husband by 13 years and died on 30 June 1962.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

National decorations
Foreign decorations
Harald and Helena had five children:
NameBirthDeathNotes
Princess Feodora3 July 191017 March 1975married her first cousin, Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe and had issue.
Princess Caroline-Mathilde27 April 191212 December 1995married her first cousin Prince Knud of Denmark and had issue.
Princess Alexandrine-Louise12 December 191426 April 1962married Count Luitpold of Castell-Castell and had issue.
Prince Gorm24 February 191926 December 1991Unmarried and without issue.
Prince Oluf10 March 192319 December 1990Lost his title and became HE Count Oluf of Rosenborg after marrying without consent to Annie Helene Dorrit Puggard-Müller and to Lis Wulff-Juergensen. He has issue.

Ancestry