Princess Elisabeth, Current Events Part 1: April 2004 - June 2018

[kbk]

Is she active in the Royal Family life and does some duties on behalf of her cousin the Queen?

 

[Sternchen]

Not really, she worked for the state and is retired now.

The Danish Monarchy - The Royal House - HH Princess Elisabeth

Princess Elisabeth was employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1956 to 2001.
While employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Princess Elisabeth was posted to the Danish Embassy in Washington in October 1973 - 1976 and in August 1981 - 1985 as well as to the Danish UN Mission in Geneva in May 1989 -1993.

 

[Muhler]

Summary of a Q&A in Billed Bladet #24, 2011.
Where a Gudrun Møller ask why Princess Elizabeth don't step in as Rigsforstander from time to time.

Jon Bloch Skipper replies that as far as he is aware, Princess Elizabeth have never been ask to sign a declaration in which she pledge to obey the Danish Constitution. That is one of the demands for being a Rigsforstander.
Why that is the case is open to speculation, hes adds.

Such a declaration and a copy is saved in the archives.

- Both Mary and our Marie have signed such a pledge.

 

[FasterB]

Is that true that Pss Elizabeth never has signed that? I find that hard to believe, since she is in line for the throne and aren´t you obliged to sign that pledge when turning 18 and still wants to be in the throneline?

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

This isn't really a current event, but according to Noblesse & Royautes, Princess Elisabeth has sold her villa in Holte, in the north of Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark. Noblesse & Royautes also had a photo of the villa, which can be viewed here: http://www.noblesseetroyautes.com/nr01/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/villa.jpg.

Here's the full article:
Google Translate

It looks like a lovely villa; I wonder who has bought it.

 

[Viv]

Princess Elisabeth laments: 'It's been a horrible year'

78-year old Princess Elisabeth is interviewed in this week's Billed Bladet:

The heading goes: I've had a horrible year!
A recap:
Princess Elisabeth has put her patrician villa North of Copenhagen on the market, because it's become too expensive for her. 'You've got to move house if you can't afford to stay put! I don't see anything embarrasing in admitting that, it's the same for many other people.'
At first she hated the thought of moving and spent many a sleepless night worrying which of her cherised possessions would fit into the flat where she's likely to end up.
Some eight paintings are put up for auction along with an old secretary and the dining room suite of her parents. She adds that ' some items have been returned to Amalienborg, so the Queen knows that I'm about to move out'.
It's also difficult for the Princess to come to terms with the demise of Count Christian, her younger brother. 'We were close, but I'm yet to visit his grave, so far I haven't been able to'. The loss of a few friends adds to Princess Elisabeth's sadness. 'It's been an annus horribilis, so 2014 has got to be better!', she adds.
The Princess had various health issues in recent years, an aching foot among them. The actual nature of the problem is not revealed, however she states that 'If my foot doesn't improve I'll have to make my excuses regarding the official New Year's levees. 'I cannot arrive in these' says the Princess and points to her sandals, the only comfortable footwear for the time being.
'My mother kept telling me that I didn't have any sense of humour, and God knows that there hasn't been much to laugh at recently. But never the less it's been a comfort that I've been able to see the grotesque (sic) amidst all the sad events.'
Princess Elisabeth is celebrating Christmas with friends in Copenhagen.

One comment from me:
Princess Elisabeth is last in the line of succession. It would take a catastrophe of cosmic proportions for her to accede to the throne! However she's been loyal to HM throughout her life and IMO it would be nice and proper of HM to give the Princess a suitable place to live for the rest of her life. I'm sure that the Royal Court has something at their disposal somewhere!

viv

 

[ashelen]

Viv:
I agree with you I am sure the Royal family has a suitable place for her, and it is sad at this point to loose her possestions!

 

[Tarlita]

I have always admired this lady and feel sad she is doing it tough at this time of her life. Growing old and suffering health complaints can't be easy. I wish her well and a better 2014.

 

[Jacknch]

Oh I do hope that 2014 will be a better year for Princess Elisabeth and that her health improves. I admire her greatly for her honesty concerning the cost of living and that it is not embarrassing to admit to having to sell things and down-size. I hope she finds a great new place to live soon!

 

[Tarlita]

Prss Elizabeth still owns the Coronation brooch from 1881. A gift to Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna from her cousin Tsar Alexander III [Sasha]. This brooch then passed down to her daughter Alexandrine Queen of Denmark then to Caroline Mathilde and her daughter Prss Elizabeth. Because this brooch has such a wonderful Royal easily traceable provenance it could be worth quite a bit now as so many Russian Oligarchs are hunting down treasures from the Imperial period for the Kremlin Armoury or for personal use. Apparently there are not too many of these brooches around and they are considered scarce. I bet Geoff Munz [Royal jewel evaluator for Antiques roadshow] could put a nice estimate on it. The sale of this brooch may well be a way out of the financial doldrums for the Princess.

 

[tommy100]

I'd like to hope the rest of the DRF are supporting Elisabeth. Maybe her new 'apartment' is in a royal palace somewhere.

 

[Muhler]

And that is exactly what has happened. - In fact she got an entire building at a manor.

Summary of article in Billed Bladet #15, 2014.
Written by Anna Johannesen.

A while back Princess Elisabeth put her house up for sale, it hasn't been sold yet, though.
A few days ago the court informed her that she could move in at Damebygningen at Sorgenfri Manor. (You can see more about that somewhere under residencies). Which must be considered a very generous accomodation.
That particular building as the one she grew up in, so Elisabeth is pretty delighted: "I'm looking very much back to returning to Sorgenfri and it means a lot to me that Damebygningen now remains in the family. I must say a stone has fallen from my heart, (*) because now I know where I will be moving in".

She did indeed phone her kusine (female cousin) Margrethe to say thanks the next day.

Q: What did the Queen say when you (informal you) phoned and said thanks?
E: "That she was really pleased".

Elisabeth turns 79 in May.

(*) Idiom, meaning very relieved.

ADDED: I see she has changed her mind, Princess Elisabeth has previously stated very clearly that she had no plans of moving in at Sorgenfri, in fact she didn't even want to.

 

[FasterB]

ADDED: I see she has changed her mind, Princess Elisabeth has previously stated very clearly that she had no plans of moving in at Sorgenfri, in fact she didn't even want to.

But wasn´t that before Count Christian and Countess Anne-Dorthe passed away?

 

[Muhler]

But wasn´t that before Count Christian and Countess Anne-Dorthe passed away?

After, I think.
The quote appears in BB #9, 2014, after their deaths.

 

[kbk]

So, did she move in to Christian and Anne-Dorthe's place?

 

[Tarlita]

Wherever she moves to I hope she can settle in and be comfortable with friends and family closeby. It can't be easy in your twilight years to be uncertain of where you are to live. I wish her the very best and hope she will be well enough for us to see her on occasion.

 

[kbk]

Can you name the people on the photo? This is christening of Princess Elisabeth... Prinsesse Elisabeths liv i billeder | www.bt.dk

http://i59.tinypic.com/2uyq4oo.jpg

 

[Viv]

It's almost impossible to identy each person in this family group without solid reference. However in the front row to the right of the Princess Knud and Princess Mathilde you see Queen Alexandrine, King Christian X, Crown Princess Ingrid, Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Viggo and Prince Viggo. Princess Viggo was American Eleanor Green by birth and was technically speaking only a countess of Rosenborg, because her husband lost his royal privileges after marrying a commoner. However they were known as Prince and Princess Viggo, and - who knows- maybe the bride's fortune had something to do with it ?

I'm almost certain that Prince Valdemar is in back to the left.

viv

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

HH Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (daughter of Prince Knud, once the Hereditary Prince until the change of the succession) has sold her beautiful house in Holte to a younger married couple. The house has been on the market for 18 months. The new owners will get the keys on June 1st.

At the 8th of May Princess Elizabeth will reach her 80th birthday. After this she will move to Sorgenfri Castle in Lyngby. That was her birth house and so the circle will become round. Her brother Ingolf (died in 2013) and her sister-in-law Anne-Dorte (died in 2014) lived at Sorgenfri. Because the castle became empty, it was possible for Queen Margrethe II to ask her cousine to reside at Sorgenfri.

The 288 square meter house in Holte was the Princess' residence for 33 years. The Princess put it on the market for 13,9 million Danish Crowns (around 2 million US Dollar). It is not known what the agreed selling price was.


The house in Holte which has been sold.

Sorgenfri Castle, the birth house and new residence of the Princess.

Sorgenfri Castle, central house

 

[Muhler]

Thanks, Duc et Pair.

Princess Elisabeth has now sold her house.

BB informs us in this weeks magazine edition that Princess has sold her house to a "younger and sweet couple".
They will take over the house 1. June.

But as Elisabeth turns 80 on the 8th May, she will wait to complete the move until after the birthday. And then she will move to Sorgenfri.

The 288 square meter house (*) was put up for sale for the price 13.9 million DKK. Later on that price was lowered to 11 million DKK. The final price is unknown. (The prices are going up again, so she may have got a satisfactory price in the end).

Elisabeth tells BB that she looks forward to moving back to her childhood home.

(*) 288 square meters means that the house is about twice as big as the average Danish family house, typical some 120-160 square meters. You can convert here: Convert Area

 

[An Ard Ri]

Princess Elisabeth's Holte residence looks very beautiful,its a shame she had to sell it but I can imagine the costs of running such a house were quite high.

 

[Muhler]

Indeed. And Holte, especially Gammel (Old) Holte is a very posh neighborhood!
In fact they have a very distinct accent there and they rarely open their mouths more than a few millimeters when speaking - presumably for fear of getting a golf ball in the mouth...
Gammel Holte is where one lives, if one lives a life where money is something one just has - and has had for several generations!
One's butler naturally lives in Hellerup or Charlottenlund (also posh neighborhood), anything less simply wouldn't do!

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Holte sounds as the equivalent of Wassenaar, near The Hague (where King Willem-Alexander has his private villa on the royal domain). A veeeeeeery posh municipality too but not thát extreme they do not move their teeth when speaking... There it is more speaking with a hot potato in the mouth...

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I understand that Sorgenfri Castle is owned by the State, administered by the Styrelsen for Slotte & Kulturejendomme (Agency for Castles and Culture Properties) and is made available to the Civil List. I understood that the late Count Christian and Countess Anne-Dorte did not live at the main house itself but in a side-wing called Damebygningen. I assume Princess Elisabeth will reside in that side-wing now?

I wonder why the State of Denmark, however I do admire its generosity, now gives the usufuct of Sorgenfri to Princess Elisabeth while she had her own independent living and housing? I mean, Sorgenfri becomes empty and suddenly Princess Elisabeth, almost 80, sells her properties and move into that castle. Who made that decision? The Danish Government? The Queen? I can imagine that it would have been a great residence for Prince Joachim, to name someone...

 

[Muhler]

Well, Sorgenfri is one of the places that is at disposal for the DRF and in fact the main building is being used as storage for predominantly furnitures, I understand. Furnitures that are too sensitive just to end up in an attic somewhere.

The question should perhaps be: What will happen to Sorgenfri when Princess Elisabeth dies? Count Ingolf has his own estate and he is unlikely to move into Sorgenfri later on.
We should also keep in mind that Princess Elisabth do not receive an apanage and perhaps her means are far from unlimited? So now at least she's financially secure while still living in a way that befits her status.
To the state it doesn't make that much difference as long as Sorgenfri is predominantly a storehouse (and IIRC) an HQ for the local Home Guard company. Having Elisabeth living in an apartment in one of the buildings only means that there at least are someone more to keep an eye on the place.

I believe it's likely that Sorgenfri will be retained for the next generation of DRF-members growing up.
With eight children it's not unlikely some of them will move in there. Except for Christian. He is almost certain to end up at Amalineborg. Probably taking over the Regent Couple's mansion when he marries in twenty years tie or so.

And thanks for the introduction to the Wassenaar accent. Danes in general are said to talk as we have a hot potato in our mouths, so...

 

[maria-olivia]

kbk, You provide a great picture about Princess Elisabeth's Christening. Thanks

Princess Elisabeth's Mother Princess Caroline Mathilde was prince Harald of Denmark's Daughter.
Behind her, her Mother Princess Harald ( Helena) and left Princess Dagmar (the former owner of Princess Marie's tiara), and Caroline Mathilde Siblings: Feodora (Schaumberg-Lippe), Alexandrine Luise (Castel Castel) , Princes Gorm and Oluf.

 

[maria-olivia]

Who is living at the late Count Christian and Countess Anne-Dorte's House ?

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I have seen all episodes of 1864, (what a fabulous series), and good heavens, all those Danes indeed speak with a peculiar tone, like I have a cold and all sounds are muted in my ears... Haha...

(The series also showed the Danish and Prussian monarchs and -of course- famous names as Von Moltke, De Meza, Du Plat, Von Bismarck, etc.) The pictures of Sorgenfri reminded me to the house of "the Baron" (no surname was mentioned). Didrich (the son of the Baron) and Monrad (the Prime Minister) were true creeps... Fantastic series.

Who is living at the late Count Christian and Countess Anne-Dorte's House ?

From 1 July 2015 on, Princess Elisabeth will live there.

 

[maria-olivia]

Now I understand you said Ingolf . The Princess Will live in the late Count Christian's House or part of it ?.
Where are living Ingolf and Sussie ?

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I believe Count Ingolf lives the life of a large landowner and has a mansion on Egeland Estate near Egtved (East-Jutland).