Prince Henrik doubles down on his petty

Danish Royal Family

Prince Henrik doubles down on his petty

by katemiddletonreview98 Comments on Prince Henrik doubles down on his petty

While I was digging into the history of Prince Henrik‘s pettiness about his royal title, I became fascinated with the story, and Prince Henrik won’t shut up about his pettiness so there’s an update!

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As we discussed over the weekend, the Danish royal court announced last week that Henrik has decided that, due to the fact that he doesn’t understand how monarchy works, he doesn’t want to be buried next to his wife at Roskilde Cathedral and will instead be buried somewhere random in Denmark.

Henrik sees nothing wrong with taking his pettiness to the grave, so he gave another interview about how he’s just so angry at his wife and his pettiness is all her fault.

Speaking with Danish magazine Se og Hør, Henrik said:

    “My wife does not give me the respect a normal wife must give her spouse. It is her that is making a fool of me. I didn’t marry the Queen to be buried at Roskilde. My wife has decided that she wants to be Queen, and I’m very happy about that. But as a human being she needs to know that if a man and wife are married, they are equal.”

[The Local]

Henrik also said:

    “It’s my wife and not me who can do anything about that decision. If she wants me buried with her, she must make me King Consort. Finished. I do not care.”

[BT]

This man is so petty! Why is he giving interviews about his grievances with his wife? Why is he trying to blackmail Margrethe into giving him a title by refusing to be buried with her? What argument lead to this latest outburst from him? This goes beyond the gripe about titles and the systemic inequality of monarchy, this is his personal unhappiness with his wife as a human being and he’s airing all of it for public consumption. I’m fascinated by what Henrik’s true gripes are with Margrethe and why he thinks the way he does, what slights he’s perceiving she’s done to him. The full interview from Se og Hør comes out later today, so hopefully there will be even more revelations.

The Danish court communications director, Lene Balleby, is also back and she’s done talking about Henrik’s BS, saying:

    “We have no comments at all. We have communicated the Prince’s announcement that he does not wish to be buried at Roskilde Cathedral, and that this is due to the Prince’s dissatisfaction with his status. We have nothing more to say about this issue.”

[Politiken]

According to Se og Hør, Henrik has been at the Danish royal family’s Château de Cayx residence in southern France since mid-July, and Queen Margrethe joined him yesterday for a 14 day stay. That probably won’t be a pleasant vacation.


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98 thoughts on “Prince Henrik doubles down on his petty”

  1. From what I understand he has always been bitter and angry about his status. Should have thought about that before you married Daisy, you idiot. If you had expectations of power and prestige and status as King Consort, man, were you fooled!

    I wish someone would just muzzle him. I’ve also heard he and Daisy have long since lived separate lives, anyway, and he spends most of his time at Cayx.

    1. I wonder if he knew what marrying a future Queen entailed, or if he wasn’t told all the facts, or if someone told him something that wasn’t true. The way he talks about it, it’s almost like he was told that he was going to be King Consort, but then either that was a lie or the court/person changed their mind after the marriage/Daisy’s ascension. And that’s why he’s so angry, because he thinks he was lied to.

      1. I wonder if his complaining–which he has done before, in 2002, he fled because he was pissy he was the ‘third royal’ behind Frederik–has partly to due with, like, advanced dementia? I don’t know. I can’t imagine a man educated like Henrik to think that, oh, I’ll be King Consort and her equal. Not how a monarchy works, bud…

        2. The way he was speaking sounds like dementia, to me, in my inexpert opinion. Fixated on past grievances etc. If they can stop him giving interviews, they should.

          1. I wa thinking the same thing. Or, did he have heart surgery, by chance? So many men who do, become bitter and depressed.

            I really was taken by him saying that his wife did not give him the respect that a woman must! Then, in another paragraph, he says they are both equal.

            He’s one angry guy. She’s better keeping her distance and I do hope she is experiencing her own happiness. Looking at her photos — and I know so little about her — she seems like a very kind and caring person.

      2. @kmr,
        As I mentioned before I am not on Henrik’s side but I suspect that Henrik’s expectation of being named King Consort did not come out of thin air, and I don’t think that it was some random courtier who fed this belief / hope but Margrethe herself.

        Not that it is unheard of but it is interesting to me that Henrik Danish-fied his name, he was born Henri.

        Again total speculation on my part, but I think that once Margrethe’s mother died in 2000 that Henrik felt that the old guard was out of the way and that Margrethe would name him King Consort and when it did not happen that was when the dissatisfaction really took root – IIRC his first public complaint came in the early/mid 2000s. Furthermore he may have become even more dissatisfied as his role and status, both perceived and real, diminished as his sons, particularly Crown Prince Frederik, came of age and established themselves.

          1. IIRC stands for “if I recall correctly”.

            Actually I found out that Henrik did bring up his “unequal” status in a 1990s interview he did with Queen Margrethe at his side. I don’t know though if his demeanor could be considered complaining. I don’t know if there are Danish speakers on the forum who can interpret both his words and tone. I ran the article through Google translate and got the gist of it but there are parts that I am pretty sure are not properly translated. I will try and locate the link.

        2. I agree. I am wondering if QM lied to Henrik about that, and that’s why he feels it is such a personal thing that QM did to him.

          2. I never thought of this angle. Not knowing anything about how the Danish government works, I now wonder if maybe she thought she could do it and then when the time came the government said no way. He could feel that she should do it anyway.

            Or it could be that he is just a big jerk!

  2. How can he be so petty?! That’s just hoe monarchy works! The spouse who was born royal is of course ‘higher’ in rank than the spouse who married into the royal family. Look at the UK: When Kate married William, she became Princess William of Wales, Duchess of Cambridge, etc. She did not become Princess Kate, her own name got totally lost. Yet no one complains about that.

    1. Same goes for Princess Michael of Kent – I have no clue what her actual Christian name is as it is never used and got totally erased when she married into the BRF…

      Henrik is just an arrogant whining French man who never really connected with the dignity of his role or the Danish people.

      1. I don’t understand. Her legal name is Catherine. Kate is a nickname. If she chose to drop the nickname, then that’s her prerogative. It’s not her fault that everyone in the press/public still calls her by her nickname.

  4. KMR, with this line “Henrik has decided that, due to the fact that he doesn’t understand how monarchy works, … ” you have shown yet again why you are so hilariously spot-on about these people.

    This Henrik stuff is cracking me up. His line of ‘she’s my wife so I am entitled to everything that is hers’ can’t be going down too well with the Danish at the moment … she is Queen thanks to the Danish people allowing her to be Queen, and perhaps they wouldn’t want him to be more than just the sperm donor anyway!! He should show that he truly ‘doesn’t care’ by just getting over it!!

    On another note, being Australian, I heard all sorts of things about how dysfunctional and cold this family is, and even though those stories are intended to generate Australian sympathy for Australian-born Crown Princess Mary there is always a chance the stories have an element of truth. So maybe Queen Margrethe is a nasty piece of work … maybe Henrik is and he fits right in and this is his latest attempt to get the recognition he things he deserves. Who knows.

    How embarrassing for the rest of the family, though, and how utterly awkward. Entertaining to read about though, I have to say!!

    Thanks KMR for continuing to cover this story. An interesting comparison with British Royal Family stories about eg Elizabeth and Philip, Camilla technically being Princess of Wales but not pushing her luck with the people, and so on.

    1. There definitely is at least some truth to the DRF being cold: Margarethe did not take care of or raise her sons most of the time, she left it to Henrik who beat them (Frederik has publicly said something similar to ‘It is a saying that you discipline/hit those who you love. In that context, I have never doubted your love’).

      1. Oh no, how horrible 🙁
        I often got the impression too, that the danish royals aren’t a happy family.It’s sad to see how the whole family suffers if the parents are cold-hearted.

      2. Hi M! Wow, I’m shocked at how Margarethe treated her children, after hearing how she tried to be a second mother to CP Mary, who lost her mother some years ago, I assumed that she was at least a caring, compassionate woman but it sure doesn’t sound like it.

      3. Yeah, I think it’s obvious due to his behavior Frederik was abused. He seems like a depressed, miserable person. He’s well known to have alcohol problems. I feel bad for him.

  5. I think Hendrik is an alien from another planet or a total jerk living in his own world. Prince Philip will never do this to the Queen & neither would The late Prince Clause do this to ex Queen Beatrix. They love & respect their Royal wives & accept what comes after that. Initially there might be a struggle in ego, self- worth etc but in the end love conquers all. Philip, Claus & Hendrik should have formed the Prince Consort Club where they could complain, comfort & support one another. Wouldn’t that be cool? Anyway, poor Daisy. Hendrik is embarrassing & humiliating her, not to mention their sons & their families!

  6. Wow!! Thanks for spilling the tea on this KMR- this is some crazy drama! I’m shocked he would air this dirty laundry so publicly.
    He’s never going to be equal to his wife in terms of the monarchy. I don’t see how that would every happen and I’m not sure why he would expect that. As you stated in your previous post about this KMR, the blood royal is always “higher” than the one that marries in. Why would he expect that to be any different? Does he expect to be equal in terms of the monarchy simply because he’s a man? Because it is understood that if a woman marries into a royal family she’s not going to be as high as her spouse. I don’t know, I’m super confused by his pettiness.

  7. Prince Henrik is a clown; an actual clown. I’m starting to feel less and less pity for Margethe though; an absentee mother who spoiled her husband never gets cool points in my book. Fred seems stable but now I’m curious about his treatment of Mary and the kids; they seem very happy but you never know.

    The CP couple are wrapping up summer vacation.

    https://twitter.com/crownprincely/status/895052163314995200

    2. I was thinking the same thing Jessica, how does Frederick treat his family? Any pictures I’ve seen of him with Mary tell me that he adores her and she him. It’s not uncommon for children who’ve suffered at the hands of their parents to raise their children in completely different ways, so I’m hoping that Frederick is the caring, compassionate parent to his children that his parents never where to him.

    1. I know that Diana could be a bit of a lightening rod but I would like to see coverage of her in addition to when the William and Harry mention her, particularly I would like to see coverage of the Diana related exhibitions.

  9. Anyone else hear that whooshing noises? That’s all the women Henrik pursued before he married Daisy breathing a sigh of relief that they dodged that bullet.

    1. Poor Maxima. It was so sad that her father was not allowed to attend her wedding 🙁 I know there were reasons for the ban, but still… he was ‘only’ the minister for agriculture (in a military dictatorship unfortunately) and despite his past should have been allowed to walk his daughter down the aisle and give her away at the altar! Must have been horrible for Max not to be able to sit next to her dad and hold his hand during the last few hours of his life..

      1. I think she was there when he passed, photos show her leaving her mother’s house where I assume he was. Also, even though he couldn’t be present for her wedding he was at the christenings for all 3 of his granddaughters.

          1. How very sad. I am also sorry to hear of her loss. He must have been very proud of his lovely, bright, caring daughter and of his lovely granddaughters.

          2. She was in Argentina and the whole family will be there for the funeral. Whatever else he did…I don’t know the details…having lost my Mother recently I know how hard it is to lose a parent. She is a wonderful if colourful woman, so I imagine her parents were great parents. May he RIP.

  13. Good Lord. Besides the fact that this is humiliating for Queen M and a really crappy thing to do. Does Henrik not realise that coming to a tabloid magazine to speak like this makes him look like a bumbling bafoon? He comes across as a disrespectful cad.
    Say what you will about Philip, but he would never do this to the Queen.

  14. I am not familiar with the Danish royal family but I’ll second the thought of earlier posters here about a possible dementia/Alzheimer’s case for Prince Henrik. Anyone who has dealt with this kind of disease, like me with my mother before she was treated and eventually passed, knows that this sort of behaviour is a usual symptom. Sufferers can be stuck in the past, speak with hyperbole and even have aggressive language.
    If this is the case with Henrik, his family should intervene towards the right medical/psychological treatment and not let him become the laughing stock of the merciless press/media.
    Part of the stigma around mental disease is caused when cases are left untreated and patients are wrongly accused of antisocial or irrational behaviour while iit’s the disease itself that distorts the patients’ personality.

    I feel I had to explain the above because in the past this site has been very sensitive to mental health problems. It would be a pity and wrong from our part not to show the same kind of sensitivity towards an elderly -and quite possible a patient- person, irrespective of his status.

    On the other hand, as KMR has said, it could be by all means the case of a grumpy and petty old man, I wouldn’t really say. But for some reason, I find it a little difficult to believe this can happen in the Danish RF. Shouldn’t Henrik and Margrethe have already separated/divorced if they had such a long grievance between them?

    Thank you KMR for this post.

      1. Hhm, I don’t know. One would think so, yes, and I’m not claiming I’m a mental health expert but what happens sometimes is patients can easily fool carers and even doctors about their intentions and demeanour. They may seem rational one time and then change to totally unpredictable behaviour, with actually no reason at all.

        Again, Henrik’s unbelievable statements may have nothing to do with any pathological condition, but seriously, after 50 years of being a royal who can believe that he didn’t or doesn’t know how monarchy works? And even if he had expressed grievances in the past, wouldn’t this be settled by now, especially on the morbid issue of the common burial?

    2. Dear Elina:

      I’m sorry of the experiences you and your mother experienced with Alzheimer’s. It is such a very sad and cruel illness. Oh, how a cure is needed.

      I agree with your assessment of this man. How very sad for all. If indeed, this is the case.

        1. And you are also very kind, Elina.
          Thank you for asking about my little one. She is thriving. Non-stop antics from Madeleine Juliet. I don’t know where she gets the energy! I’m in the middle of cooking dinner and keeping her out of trouble, so let me sign off. Stay well!!

    3. This is very well put, his comments seem so over the top. Possibly this is his character, possibly not. He’s not filtering his thoughts at any rate which is very unfortunate. Often it is not until these kind of episodes/behaviours occur that a diagnosis is made, and that takes time. Obviously this is a long held view of his if he was complaining about it in 2002, however to fixate on it to the point that he won’t be buried with her, that seems different.

  15. (Please excuse “telegrapic” style – dealing with broken wrist and sprained other hand.) Agree with all about his unseemly conduct. Just to understand: a change in title would have been solely Queen M’s decision? And would not have meant any real-world change in his role? I looked at text of Danish constitution, found no mention of “consort.” Just trying to understand what the down side of acceding to his wishes would have been.

    2. A title change like that would have been revolutionary. QM couldn’t have done that all on her own; she would have needed parliament to sign off on it and actually make that change. So Henrik is either coming up with his own BS or he was legitimately lied to if he thinks it’s solely QM’s decision about which title he has.

      2. Either way this is just pure ego.. He can sulk in private, kick and scream, leak stories etc. But the I don’t want to be burried next to my wife the queen and then the interview, is like burning down your house to kill 1 spider. But I secretly love the drama

        1. It is very dramatic. If my husband was in sound mind and pulled that stunt I’d divorce him so he could all alone and without me well before he was dead 🙂

    3. Oh, Constance. Sorry to hear of your wrist and hand problems. I wish you a safe and good healing. How did you hurt yourself, if I may ask? Take care and I hope things get better with each day,

      1. Thank you, Jenny! I appreciate your kind thoughts. I stepped backwards from my garden onto the sloping verge of wet grass and – schwupp! – went down backwards with most weight going onto my hands. Well, better than a broken hip, anyway! I’m 71 so broken bones are a concern.

        1. Oh, Constance. I am sure you have been in pain and I hope things are getting better for you. Please take care and I hope you are receiving help around the house and many good wishes from family and friends.

    4. Constance

      Ouch! Both hands semi out of action? I feel for you Constance after having a slip on a double flight of stairs and smashing up my hand I know what it is like! I hope you recover quickly! And I am happy to hear that you did not damage a hip too! Make sure you do go to the physio afterwards as the exercises you will be given will be well worth the trouble.

      I’ve never heard of a “King Consort” before so wonder where he came up with that title. Even if he had been promised he would get the new title and he hasn’t received it, it’s still bad manners to be airing his dirty laundry in public. This sort of conversation should happen behind closed doors, it’s embarassing for the Queen, the Royal Family and Denmark too. If it is dementia then he should be watched more carefully and shouldn’t be giving interviews? Not terribly impressed with the section of the Press who are promoting this story either, do they have a hidden agenda with telling this story?

      1. Cathy, thank you for the good wishes. I will definitely follow your advice about the physiotherapy – I hope to get back to playing the piano!

  16. I just want to let you know that there now is a public debate here in Denmark about whether Prince Henrik may be suffering form dementia. This is the first time that anybody has raised this in the media and it certainly lends another perspective on his sudden retirement and some of his more recent antics (like not attending his wife’s birthday party, etc.

    It is true that he has been bitter about his title for a long time. However, he has never lashed out against his family in public before in the sense that he is making this so very personal between him and his wife.

    The story has primarily been framed as him being petty and spiteful – and I’m not denying that I find his actions petty. However, there may be something more going on behind closed doors and he is an old man.

    3. ArtHistorian,

      Would you be willing to explain how he received his title? Did the King/Queen give it to him or does your government decided or a combination of both.

      Thank you for the input.

  18. Is it just me or is anyone else tired of the all the “new” Diana stories popping up on the DM every day? It seems like someone new comes out of the woodwork to retell stories we’ve heard a thousand times almost daily and if I have to see Paul (her butler) or Ken (her RPO) one more time selling their tales to make a quick buck I’m going to scream!

    Sorry just needed to vent a bit 🙂

    4. W+H opening the new gardens with a simple statement for people to enjoy in memory of their mother would have been dignified and enough. No public statue, no tv program, no need for W+H to educate younger generations about Diana. It’s unreasonable to think that young people should revere someone who does not exist in their lives. As for media outlets, they will exploit Diana’s memory simply in pursuit of money.

      1. I agree completely Jen. I think your idea about the garden and a simple statement is lovely and much less likely to generate the kind of articles we’re seeing now, on a daily basis. I think W&H really opened a can of worms and unfortunately I can see it quickly getting out of control, for themselves and the monarchy.

        1. Lauri, you’re right; no good will come from this. Both W+H naturally see their mother through the very personal lens of loss. But they can’t elevate the Diana-as-victim narrative without her own behaviours being re-examined, now viewed with a lack of emotional detachment that time brings. Plus of course, peripheral players squeezing yet another 15 minutes of fame and cash from Diana’s death.

          Unsurprisingly, W+H think want to conjure again the immense depth of loss they and people felt at the time. I suspect they find it cathartic to go to such a place. It reinforces their mother’s importance to others, allowing them to forgive or dispense with her flaws. I fear they will be disappointed with this approach as time passes, with Diana’s hold on the public imagination fading. With empathy I say that both men need therapy that allows them, as adults, to see and accept their mother – and father – clearly as flawed humans who often made poor decisions. They need to give themselves permission to lay the ghosts of what was said/left unsaid as boys at the time of her death.

          1. Yes, they really need therapy. They need to recognize their mother was a human being, with flaws, who loved them very much. That she wasn’t just naughty and fun but a lot of other stuff, too. I’m sure they have tons of baggage, perhaps guilt on William’s end as he was livid with mother for cavorting around with her lovers, the paparazzi encouragement, etcetera (I don’t blame him!). I’m sure he carries around a lot of guilt and grief regarding all that, but he was just a teenager who was probably embarrassed and angry she was courting all this attention. They focus that she was fun and loved them, instead of anything else; do they realize all the good stuff she did? Probably not. :/ They act like they had one parent (and even Harry admits she wasn’t around very much! of course not, she wouldn’t do the hard graft of actual parenting!), and she died, and poor them.

            I feel bad for them but everyone infantalizing them as ‘the boys’ when they are grown men sure doesn’t help nor does the BRF trying to bridge the gap and be there for them by coddling them so much.

          2. God, I hate that people still refer to William and Harry as “boys”. They are 30-something men. They need to be treated as adults, not as “boys” who lost their mother. And even then, they weren’t single digits when she died, they were teenagers. People talk about how they were “so young” when their mom died like they were very little children, they were not, they were teenagers at the time. Everyone needs to stop infantilizing them.

          3. KMR: +10103984728472842

            It drives me insane the media and people in general infantalize them and how W&H encourage this because then it means they’re not responsible for jack sh*t.

          4. The infantalising of two men approaching middle age is pathetic. It drives me insane too, though I also cynically view it as a ploy, a shield to excuse W+H from taking responsibility for their lives. Unfortunately it sustains their arrested development. I pity the women who end up with these men.

    5. Let the poor woman rest in peace. But it doesn’t benefit the media, or W&H.

      And it’s damaging to the monarchy, bringing up all this crap for scandal (conveniently forgetting Diana’s many affairs and troubles, since she was the victim).

      I’m seeing a lot of hateful stuff towards Charles again and how William should take over, let’s start petitions, etcetera… Can’t change the law, idiots…

      1. I wonder if people that were once on the fence about the need for a monarchy are now slipping off that fence and asking why are we spending so much for a family that really doesn’t do much?

        1. And lets not forget the members of that family who need a new outfit every time they leave the house?

          Also, I’m with you Lauri, I don’t want to see one more article from Paul Burrell and Ken the bodyguard either. Nor do I want to see “The War of the Wales” replayed all over again.

    6. So I was wondering what the work totals were for this year so far? Has there been an increase of attendances since last year? There was supposed to be a push to do more, but it doesn’t seem like anything has changed.

    7. ABC TV in the US is airing a program titled ‘The Story of Diana’ in two parts; yesterday 8-10pm and today 8-10pm. Except if you live in Washington DC. Tonight’s program will not be shown because ‘so that we can bring you the Washington Redskins vs. Baltimore Ravens preseason football game live.’ Instead it will be on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 — not prime time. LOL. Football beats dredged up stories about a person who has been dead 20 years. I’ve only watched parts of the program because I have other things to do in the evening this week. I haven’t seen anything that hadn’t already been told – and some things have been left out after she lost her HRH.
      Back to laundry.

  20. Has anyone seen the photo of Marge shopping with her wicker basket? I don’t know who the woman is with her. Other shoppers had umbrellas and they did not. I would never have recognized her if she passed me in the street.

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