Prince Henrik's Plans for his Final Resting Place: August 2017

[M. Payton]

Queen or commoner, no woman deserves to go through an abusive relationship; and this is what QM is basically experiencing. Whatever problems they have it should be discussed behind closed doors. PH, for some reason, feels emasculated so he thinks he regains his manhood by trashing his wife in the press. Years of service as a royal couple does not let this donkey off the hook.

IMO the queen should strip her louse of a spouse of title and divorce. She has two sons and eight grandchildren so the succession to the Danish throne is more than secure. QM may still love him, but this looks like she has to act as a queen and make sure the royal house remains in tact. Then she should take care of herself.

I am glad that you mentioned the word *Abusive relationship* for many time over the years I have become to think that PH has in fact and now this is just IHO here, he is an abusive person who has abused his wife in an emotionally, mentality and verbally way...there is lots of ways a person can be abusive to another person without using physical means. In learning about *Abusive* there is many types of abusive, emotional, mental, physical, sexual and verbal...all can and are very damaging to another human being.

I apologize to the mods if this is to sensitive a subject to be discussed here so please let me know if my comment is not appropriate. Thank you.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Either HM the Queen is not as bothered by her husband's latest tempest as the rest of the world, or she is a consummate actress.

Any road, I predict that there will be no Royal divorce in Denmark any time soon.

 

[Pranter]

Yet another must read.

Summary of the very frank interview of PH at Chateau Cayx in Billed Bladet #32, 2017.
Interviewer Trine Larsen.

I will refrain from commenting now but let the text speak for itself. As usual formal You is with capital Y.

PH is driving in car from the entrance to the chateau when he meets our reporter, who asks how he is: “Yes, thank you (here meaning: I could be better), but I’m tired. Very tired. I’m much more tired that I use to be. I do however feel I can sense some improvement after the procedure, but it’s slow progress and I’m tired”.

Q: The whole of Denmark is upside down over Your surprising decision…
PH: “I don’t understand that! Why? A country like Denmark where we are support gender equality? What man wish to be subservient to his wife and not live like an equal”?

Q: Many don’t understand Your decision?
PH: “Oh, well then it isn’t my fault. And I don’t care anyway”.

Q: But a lot of people think You let the Queen down?
PH: “Ooh? They think so? If anyone has let me down…
I think we are fine together. But no man can accept that he isn’t at the same level as his spouse”.

Q: Some men can.
PH: “Who? Do You know many? I know no one…”.

Q: Over time it has become very modern that the women take the lead.
PH: “Modern? It has got nothing to do with that. We are talking about something that goes back ten thousand years… When you are married you must have the same rights”.

Q: Surely You have that at home, Your Royal Highness!
PH: “No, no…”.

Q: Yes, surely You decide everything at home.
PH: “Perhaps, yeah, but that’s another matter! Quite another matter”.

Q: Your Royal Highness, it sounds like You put Your personal feelings, Your honor, Your respect and everything else higher than the love to Your wife (informal word)?
PH: “No, we love each other”.

Q: But surely no one believe that! The whole of Denmark is now talking about you divorcing.
PH: “No, NO”.

Q: There is talk about You making the Queen a laughingstock and a fool and embarrassing her…
PH: “If the Queen wants to… she’s the one making me a fool. I didn’t marry her in order to be buried at Roskilde Cathedral. I don’t care”.

Q: Well, surely You married her, because You love her?
PH: “Yeah! Exactly”.

Q: And surely You still do?
PH: “Of course… and so what”?

Q: So never mind everything else. Everything else means nothing and doesn’t matter, Your Royal Highness, when you love someone…
PH: “Nooo, it doesn’t doesn’t matter. No man can accept not being equal to his spouse”.

Q: Surely love is greater than everything else.
PH: “Yes! But then ask my wife. Not me”. – He repeats the question of a title is an entirely different matter.

Q: But that doesn’t seem to have been possible…
PH: “Why? – Why”?

Q: Because you then have to redo the Constitution, change it.
PH: “But, nooo, it has got nothing to do with the Constitution. Where have You seen that? Give me an example!
My wife is after all Regent… - so what? I’m on the same level as the person I’m married to, and when she is Queen, she can make me a king consort, if she wants to.
When she haven’t done that… then…”.

Q: I actually think the Queen would have liked to, but she hasn’t been able to! Due to the legislation…
PH: “The legislation has got nothing to do with it. Where does it say so? Where did You read that? I’m listening”.

Q: In any circumstances, isn’t it a bit late, when one is 83, to change that?
PH: “Nooo… but I don’t care now”.

Q: But people do think… people get angry and that affects You as well. You become unpopular and that is not deserved after so many years. You have earned all the respect You would so much like to have!
PH: “But I get no respect”.

Q: Does it affect You that Your wife will be sad that You don’t want to be buried next to her?
PH: “I don’t know if she is. I believe that if she wants to have me buried next to her, she should make me a king consort. Finito/basta! But I don’t care.. But no man surely can, if he isn’t equal to his wife, be buried next to her. That’s impossible.
Well. That’ll do. Bye, bye and have a nice day”.


---------------


And here are the scans for verification and further study:
BB #32, 2017

Holy cow is this for real?

 

[wyevale]

I suppose that, if you put yourself in Henrik's position, it must feel humiliating to him that Máxima or Mathilde have the style of "Majesty" whereas he is only a "Royal Highness"

Only a deeply immature, weak or fragile ego would be 'humiliated' at the rank others in OTHER Countries,in centuries old systems,long pre-dating both oneself and 'modern thought'.
ALL systems take time to evolve, and Monarchy will be slower to do so than EVEN Prince Henrik, whose views seem positively prehistoric !
Whatever his status once was [or will be] he is assured of the Title 'Wingeing, ungrateful, windbag'.

*May he have joy of it*...

 

[maria-olivia]

Arm in Arm , what I wrote before and the Queen smiles as always.

 

[dbarn67]

Wow he's come off as a jerk. It seems like he's very domineering. He's used to having absolute say over everything except this one issue. Good on Margrethe for not caving. Again, he asked to name a MAN who puts up with being lower than his wife...Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's marriage was similar with him having total control at home. Prince Philip has never EVER disrespected his wife The Queen in public this way.

 

[Pranter]

He must really look down his nose at Prince Phillip. Mercy.


LaRae

 

[camelot23ca]

I know that Prince Philip for example, who is in a similar position and has hosted several queen consorts during his life (most recently, Queen Letizia) has never expressed similar thoughts, but maybe he just keeps to himself and is not as outspoken as PH has now chosen to be.

This gets to the heart of what I see as Henrik's problem. Can you really imagine that Philip felt humiliated in any way by the fact that, to use your example, Letizia is called Queen and he's not called King? That he for one second felt inferior to her, or for that matter to anyone else in the room, including his wife? IMO, if he were able to give his thoughts on the Danish matter, Philip would say, amongst many other things, that if a title is given to you just because of the person you happen to marry, what does it matter if it IS King instead of Prince? You're still outranked by your spouse. Everyone still knows there's a difference between the two of you. And, most important, it doesn't add to your worth as a person or automatically increase the esteem in which people hold you, which is why I believe Philip has worked so hard throughout the years to establish his own meaningful legacy.

Does anyone know why Henrik contradicts her when TL says to make him King would require a change to the constitution? Is he ignoring reality or am I misunderstanding the situation? I thought it would require changing the constitution, which is something I would hope no serious government would consider doing. Henrik seems to be pinning all the responsibility on Margrethe.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I would have more sympathy and understanding for him(Henrik) if he went into the marriage with the Heiress Presumptive of the Danish throne sincerely believing that in time he would be made King Consort, and that later on some change in the Constitution had been made that deprived him of that title and therefore his wife made him Prince Consort as a consolation.

But that's not even close to the truth. I am to believe that this allegedly erudite, sophisticated and worldly diplomat married the future queen completely ignorant of Danish Royal history and constitutional law??

Sorry. All my sympathy is mostly with Henrik's children and grandchildren and to a somewhat lesser degree with Queen Margrethe. I've no idea why she seems to appease this tiresome old man as if he was a cranky but adorable infant, surly from teething difficulties.

Maybe she simply finds it hard to assert herself with him. It's all just so strange.

 

[countess felicitas]

Prins Henrik bliver dronning | RokokoPosten

OK - I couldn't resist. First I was truly shocked - but then I read the article (English translation). And started to laugh. This is the right answer ?

 

[Lee-Z]

Imo there must have been fiery discussions in private and in the end Q.Margrethe basically refused to discuss it anymore and then P.Henrik decided to go public (unfortunately, you'd think that after the Charles&Diana media exploits all royals would not use that route, because once you take it, there's no going back, but he's probably totally done with it all)

just my 2cts ofcourse

 

[Osipi]

I am glad that you mentioned the word *Abusive relationship* for many time over the years I have become to think that PH has in fact and now this is just IHO here, he is an abusive person who has abused his wife in an emotionally, mentality and verbally way...there is lots of ways a person can be abusive to another person without using physical means. In learning about *Abusive* there is many types of abusive, emotional, mental, physical, sexual and verbal...all can and are very damaging to another human being.

I apologize to the mods if this is to sensitive a subject to be discussed here so please let me know if my comment is not appropriate. Thank you.

One thing that none of us are is being in a position to be able to analyze a personal relationship between these two people. In this respect, I don't think any of us can honestly pin "abuse" on anyone in this scenario.

Just my take on it.

 

[Muhler]

(shortened)

Does anyone know why Henrik contradicts her when TL says to make him King would require a change to the constitution? Is he ignoring reality or am I misunderstanding the situation? I thought it would require changing the constitution, which is something I would hope no serious government would consider doing. Henrik seems to be pinning all the responsibility on Margrethe.

PH is actually correct. QMII can give him the title of king consort. However, she cannot give him the title of king, only the head of state, is called king, or in QMII's case she's a "female king".
For reasons unknown, PH has not been made king consort. It may be not to confuse matters, but more likely because there is no tradition among norther European monarchies to give the husband of a reigning queen the title of king consort. As I understand it, even the title of prince consort is unusual in this part of Europe.
Another matter may be political advise.
The third and just as important matter is that while the public readily accepted PH getting the title of prince consort, the court may have believed that title of king consort may have been too much for the public to swallow.

- And what is a king consort anyway? A majesty or a royal highness? I ask because I don't know. And isn't a king consort a king in his own right, who just happens to be married to a fellow monarch?

--------------------

Anyway, PH's dream of becoming a king consort is IMO now out the window.
The public will simply not accept it! We show respect for the DRF because we want to and because we believe they deserve the titles they have. That's after all part of the show.
But PH is here forcing QMII to give him the title of king consort. Are we Danes then supposed to respect him for that and call him his majesty?!?

I'm a monarchist to the bone, but dammit if I'm going to nod my head to a blackmailer and call him your majesty!
Respect is something you earn, especially a royal, you don't get it with a fancy title.

-----------------------

There are now more and more commentators expressing the view that PH is having some sort of mental issue, whatever most have caused it. And they now call for the court to come out and say so if that be the case.
Because that means PH can be forgiven and sheltered from what is also for him a public humiliation. Surely we would all like to shield those dear to you, when they become irrational say from Alzheimers.
The press would back off if PH is sick in his mind, but as long as he is supposedly of sound mind, everything he says, is justifiably classified as news.
And I agree with that sentiment. If PH is tilting, the court should say so, soon! Because that is something we can relate to - and without PH realizing it in his state of mind, he would be a living focus on the issues of dementia and other age-related conditions, and thus do some good.

If he is not going down with dementia or something like that, then we have a serious problem!
QMII's usual tactic about saying nothing and moving on as normal won't work in this case. This can't be silenced to death.
If PH persists, and surely he will! QMII will as I have said before be faced with option of divorcing PH or abdicating. The people cannot accept PH's behavior while QMII continues to do nothing.
Because what will he come up with next?

--------------

Let me ask a question for those of you who live in republics with a representative president with functions similar to QMII's:
Say you have a female president, whose husband behaves like PH.
Would the public in your countries accept a president whose husband behaves like this? Or would there be a public call for the president to either divorce her husband or resign in the interests of the country?
You need not answer here in this thread, but instead reflect on it. - That's the point where we are now in Denmark.

 

[sesa]

The man is a mental case,a frustrated creature to say the very least.A q+++n without a crown that time after time knows how to draw attention to his poor figur of a husband,father & consort & nasty & extremely childish human.Denmark is big enough to find a far away spot to bury him.He's the risée the tout Europe Royale,and extremely embarrassing for his poor wife and children,well at least for Frederik,the other takes after his dad too much...what a situation.An eye-opener?no...not really,we all got a pretty good picture of this man over time,and he never failed to dissappoint us....discusting ...

???????????
OMG!!! Lucien.....Don't hold back my dear! Tell us how you really feel!!!!!!
You made my day with this response. I love the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!!!!!

 

[Lee-Z]

The truth is only known within the DRF, we can only see impressions and give opinions...

 

[Mbruno]

Only a deeply immature, weak or fragile ego would be 'humiliated' at the rank others in OTHER Countries,in centuries old systems,long pre-dating both oneself and 'modern thought'.
ALL systems take time to evolve, and Monarchy will be slower to do so than EVEN Prince Henrik, whose views seem positively prehistoric !
Whatever his status once was [or will be] he is assured of the Title 'Wingeing, ungrateful, windbag'.

*May he have joy of it*...

Again, I go back to my previous point which most people here insist on ignoring: the "centuries-old" system in continental Europe was for the husband of a reigning queen to take the rank and style of his wife, rather than the current system of demoting him to a "prince".

Of course, it is no longer acceptable today that the husband be made a "co-monarch" because women are not deemed capable of ruling alone, nor is it acceptable under any constitution (other than that of Andorra, I guess) to have two Heads of State at the same time. However, there should be no problem whatsoever IMHO to create a title of "king consort " with no actual powers, as it was already done for example, over 170 years ago, for the husband of Queen Isabella II of Spain.

Furthermore, I find it hypocritical that, when women fight for gender equality, they are considered "progressive", whereas, when men do the same, they are called "arrogant", "chauvinistic", or "pre-historic", just to quote a few adjectives that have been used on this forum to refer to PH.

 

[Pranter]

PH is actually correct. QMII can give him the title of king consort. However, she cannot give him the title of king, only the head of state, is called king, or in QMII's case she's a "female king".
For reasons unknown, PH has not been made king consort. It may be not to confuse matters, but more likely because there is no tradition among norther European monarchies to give the husband of a reigning queen the title of king consort. As I understand it, even the title of prince consort is unusual in this part of Europe.
Another matter may be political advise.
The third and just as important matter is that while the public readily accepted PH getting the title of prince consort, the court may have believed that title of king consort may have been too much for the public to swallow.

- And what is a king consort anyway? A majesty or a royal highness? I ask because I don't know. And isn't a king consort a king in his own right, who just happens to be married to a fellow monarch?

--------------------

Anyway, PH's dream of becoming a king consort is IMO now out the window.
The public will simply not accept it! We show respect for the DRF because we want to and because we believe they deserve the titles they have. That's after all part of the show.
But PH is here forcing QMII to give him the title of king consort. Are we Danes then supposed to respect him for that and call him his majesty?!?

I'm a monarchist to the bone, but dammit if I'm going to nod my head to a blackmailer and call him your majesty!
Respect is something you earn, especially a royal, you don't get it with a fancy title.

-----------------------

There are now more and more commentators expressing the view that PH is having some sort of mental issue, whatever most have caused it. And they now call for the court to come out and say so if that be the case.
Because that means PH can be forgiven and sheltered from what is also for him a public humiliation. Surely we would all like to shield those dear to you, when they become irrational say from Alzheimers.
The press would back off if PH is sick in his mind, but as long as he is supposedly of sound mind, everything he says, is justifiably classified as news.
And I agree with that sentiment. If PH is tilting, the court should say so, soon! Because that is something we can relate to - and without PH realizing it in his state of mind, he would be a living focus on the issues of dementia and other age-related conditions, and thus do some good.

If he is not going down with dementia or something like that, then we have a serious problem!
QMII's usual tactic about saying nothing and moving on as normal won't work in this case. This can't be silenced to death.
If PH persists, and surely he will! QMII will as I have said before be faced with option of divorcing PH or abdicating. The people cannot accept PH's behavior while QMII continues to do nothing.
Because what will he come up with next?

--------------

Let me ask a question for those of you who live in republics with a representative president with functions similar to QMII's:
Say you have a female president, whose husband behaves like PH.
Would the public in your countries accept a president whose husband behaves like this? Or would there be a public call for the president to either divorce her husband or resign in the interests of the country?
You need not answer here in this thread, but instead reflect on it. - That's the point where we are now in Denmark.

Prior to this latest interview he gave I leaned to 'possibly dealing with early stages of dementia' ...now I just think he's a jerk. He doesn't seem to be suffering any cognition issues and you can bet the reporter would of noted anything like that as well.

If we had a woman president and her husband behaved in a inappropriate way like Prince Henrik I can't imagine asking for her to step down unless he did something to jeopardize the safety of the country and Madam President covered it up etc.

We've had plenty of Kings/Queens AND Presidents who have behaved very badly in public....everyone seems to survive the situation at least in the modern era!

I will say with this situation if he becomes to big of an embarassment he could for sure start effecting how people view his wife. Much like Hillary Clinton when Bill cheated on her while he was president ...she took a LOT of heat over staying married to him after that....and it still comes up 20 years later.


LaRae

 

[M. Payton]

One thing that none of us are is being in a position to be able to analyze a personal relationship between these two people. In this respect, I don't think any of us can honestly pin "abuse" on anyone in this scenario.

Just my take on it.

I understand what you are saying and I know none here are privileged to be in on or hear the conversations that take place between them, yet in *seeing* his behavior, his fits of temper, his running to France, his being furious at PF for being no 2 in the realm and the way he gives interviews degrading his wife and his queen in public no less is abusive to me, this is just MHO, nothing else for that is what I *see* of PH. No sane decent man would do those type of things, he says *I love my wife* okay yet that does not give him the privilege or right to treat her less then him. He wants to be *equal* he is already equal to his wife, they are married and have a family yet he wants to be *Head* of the Danish people, that will never happen. He wants to be King Henrik of Denmark on his tomb and in what is left of his life........Not going to happen. I find him to be a man who will do anything to get what he wants and be dam** to others, that is abusive and damaging to all around him. You do not treat the people you say you love in this manner period.

 

[Muhler]

Mbruno, you are talking about a system that is based on being anything but egalitarian.
That's the whole point with having a monarch and having a royal family.

The public has to accept the point of making a consort - a gene-infusion with representative duties - equal to the monarch. If the public don't see the point or need for such a change, there won't be any.

But what is PH's problem? If he is of sound mind, he can just sign out. Divorce QMII. Then he'll be alone, and no longer subservient to his wife.
He'll be monsieur Henri de Montpezat.

I will ask a question I've asked before: If PH was the monarch would he just a eager to ensure his wife, Margrethe, was totally equal to him?

Also: By the time PH married princess Margrethe there were at least two other men around married to female monarchs. Were they less men than he is? Or is PH worth more than they were/are since he cannot live with being a mere prince consort?

 

[Lee-Z]

Let me ask a question for those of you who live in republics with a representative president with functions similar to QMII's:
Say you have a female president, whose husband behaves like PH.
Would the public in your countries accept a president whose husband behaves like this? Or would there be a public call for the president to either divorce her husband or resign in the interests of the country?
You need not answer here in this thread, but instead reflect on it. - That's the point where we are now in Denmark.

Interesting, but what i think should be added:
And now imagine the spouse is a woman who acts like this (and the monarch or president can be a male or female).....

 

[Muhler]

That would be a similar problem. And Mary would get a similar hard time, if she wanted to equal to king Frederik.

The ever practical Germans have solved the problem: König and Königin.

 

[sesa]

Personally, I do not think he is ill in any manner.
I just think the "chip" he has on his shoulder has gotten bigger and bigger over the years and has finally gotten the better of him. His sense of "entitlement" has now taken over any rational thought he may have had.
I think he went into this marriage thinking he would eventually be given the title of King Consort. When that did not play out the way he wanted, he started throwing attitude and having little hissy fits in the way toddlers have little hissy fits when they want something and it's not given to them. they scream, cry, throw themselves down on the ground and the parents finally, begrudgingly, give in to avoid any further embarrassment.
And as much as he has dug his heels in to get his way, the Queen (bless her heart) has dug her heels in to NOT give in.
He liked the perks of being married to a Princess/Queen gave him. And he feels he is entitled to more perks. He must have thought they would hand over the "king" title once he proved he was an asset to the monarchy. But I see this whole situation very differently and never would have expected him to have the title.
I know I'm just rattling on, and probably not making much sense, so I'll shut up. (been up over 24hrs)
But my last comment: He was "nothing" before the marriage. He is basically a commoner with a courtesty title of Count. He was NOT royal.
The Queen, is a born and bred, blue blood Queen, born into Royalty and a heritage that goes way back in time/history. Her title was not "given". She was Born with that title. Why should he have the title of king?? He knows nothing about being a King or how a King should act.
Ok...I'm done..I'm going away now.?

 

[Lee-Z]

That would be a similar problem. And Mary would get a similar hard time, if she wanted to equal to king Frederik.

The ever practical Germans have solved the problem: König and Königin.

In dutch it's Koning and Koningin, but if she is the monarch, he is not a Koning but a Prins.

Nope, no equality in a monarchy

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Well, Königin means Königsgemahlin in case of a consort, everyone is aware.
Officially all those Queens should be called Queen consorts but nobody does.
But even Daily Mail often refers to those Queens as monarchs, what is wrong. Maybe they don't get it because their own Queen is a monarch.

I wonder if Henrik would be able to stomach seeing his son crowned King and his DIL styled as Queen consort!

 

[camelot23ca]

Interesting, but what i think should be added:
And now imagine the spouse is a woman who acts like this (and the monarch or president can be a male or female).....

I've always found it funny that Henrik whines about gender equality, (and anyone who thinks his arguments are coming from a place of true concern about gender equality needs to give their head a shake), while continuing to benefit from the age old system that privileges men. Henrik has had multiple concessions made for him to try and assuage his ego, which wouldn't have been made for a woman. His wife has taken some of the blame for his bad behaviour by pointing out her own faults and how she may have contributed to the situation. Most likely not something even a very loving husband in her position would have done. Henrik gained some measure of popularity back pretty easily with the Danes even after multiple fits of pique. It would have been much harder for a woman to regain the same, especially in the absence of any expression of remorse. And so on...

The issue of his title is likely literally the only time in his very long life Henrik has been disadvantaged because he's a man. Maybe that's why he has no sense of perspective above it.

 

[M. Payton]

Muhler: This comment by you:

Respect is something you earn, especially a royal, you don't get it with a fancy title.

-----------------------

Most of my life I have to come believe this for it came from someone I love dearly:

*Respect is not given because of money, position, power nor title a person has, it is given only by how you treat others in life*....That is something I personally believe in deeply.

A person's behavior/actions says a lot about the type of person that you are when being in the public eye.

Even though I can not speak for the Danish people nor anyone else in life, PH does not deserve the respect of the Danish people for the way he is treating their queen and them.

Just know that I and I am sure everyone here really do appreciate all that you have brought forth and helped us to understand the mindset of the Danish people during this difficult time for the royal family.

 

[Grandma828]

PH does not seem to understand the difference between equality within the marriage and rank on the job. I understand that he has been in charge at home, but he can never be equal on the job. Doesn't work that way. Never has and never will. He will forever be in a supporting role on the job.

 

[Mbruno]

I've always found it funny that Henrik whines about gender equality, (and anyone who thinks his arguments are coming from a place of true concern about gender equality needs to give their head a shake), while continuing to benefit from the age old system that privileges men. Henrik has had multiple concessions made for him to try and assuage his ego, which wouldn't have been made for a woman.

Again, I don't want to condone the way PH is acting, especially with respect to his choice of resting place and giving embarassing interviews that become public. However, let's keep in mind that this is a man who had to give up his career as a diplomat, leave his country of birth, change his name, convert to another religion, and learn a foreign language, just to marry his wife who, truth be said, never attempted to give him the rank and precedence that QEII for example gave to Prince Philip , even if he is not called "king".

Much has been said e.g. about QMII making her sons and their male line descendants "Counts of Monpezat", but that is no different from Queen Beatrix's sons being "jonkheer van Amsberg" and is merely a normal transmision of a title of nobility in paternal line (QMII simply recognized the title, incorporating it into the Danish nobility). I don't interpret it as the name Monpezat being officially added to the name of the Danish royal dynasty, as it should beBTW if the "centuries-old" tradition of naming dynasties according to patrilineal descendent were followed.

PH does not seem to understand the difference between equality within the marriage and rank on the job. I understand that he has been in charge at home, but he can never be equal on the job. Doesn't work that way. Never has and never will. He will forever be in a supporting role on the job.

I think that you and other posters are misrepresenting PH's demands. He is not asking to be equal "on the job" to his wife. He is only asking to be made a king consort, meaning he will be as equal (or unequal) to his wife as Mathilde, Máxima, or Letizia are to their respective husbands. Sharing his wife's title and style (i.e. becoming "Majesty" rather "Royal Highness") doesn't mean that he will share her job as Head of State or become some sort of "co-monarch". It is all about male consorts getting the same treatment as female ones.

Historically, the reason why husbands of queens were demoted to princes only, e.g. in England with Queen Anne and Queen Vicoria, was that local politicians didn't want a foreign prince ruling the country as co-monarch, as Kings jure uxoris normally did prior to do that and continued to do in same countries, e.g. Portugal, even as late as the 19th century. Nowadays, we don't need to worry about that anymore. The constitution makes it clear everywhere that there is only one Head of State and there is no possibility of a spouse being a co-monarch. King consort or queen consort are then innocuous, courtesy titles, but they make a difference to the consort personally and to the respect and precedence he or she is awarded (a foreign princess e.g. would curstsy to a queen consort, but not to a prince consort, as we've seen with Princess Diana when she met Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus in their state visit to the UK).

 

[Osipi]

Muhler: This comment by you:

Respect is something you earn, especially a royal, you don't get it with a fancy title.

-----------------------

Most of my life I have to come believe this for it came from someone I love dearly:

*Respect is not given because of money, position, power nor title a person has, it is given only by how you treat others in life*....That is something I personally believe in deeply.

A person's behavior/actions says a lot about the type of person that you are when being in the public eye.

Even though I can not speak for the Danish people nor anyone else in life, PH does not deserve the respect of the Danish people for the way he is treating their queen and them.

Just know that I and I am sure everyone here really do appreciate all that you have brought forth and helped us to understand the mindset of the Danish people during this difficult time for the royal family.

Beautifully stated, sis, and I echo your sentiments of appreciation.

Even should Henrik be created King Consort at this time, it would be looked at as a farce to placate someone's ego. Henrik has been so busy pointing the finger of blame anywhere he can that he's not realized that his other three fingers are pointing back at himself.

 

[Winnie]

Again, I go back to my previous point which most people here insist on ignoring: the "centuries-old" system in continental Europe was for the husband of a reigning queen to take the rank and style of his wife, rather than the current system of demoting him to a "prince".

Of course, it is no longer acceptable today that the husband be made a "co-monarch" because women are not deemed capable of ruling alone, nor is it acceptable under any constitution (other than that of Andorra, I guess) to have two Heads of State at the same time. However, there should be no problem whatsoever IMHO to create a title of "king consort " with no actual powers, as it was already done for example, over 170 years ago, for the husband of Queen Isabella II of Spain.

Furthermore, I find it hypocritical that, when women fight for gender equality, they are considered "progressive", whereas, when men do the same, they are called "arrogant", "chauvinistic", or "pre-historic", just to quote a few adjectives that have been used on this forum to refer to PH.

You might be correct in all you say but this is not how the country of Denmark wants their country to be. They apparently don't give a hoot what went on hundreds of years ago. Me either or America would still have slavery. They only care about now. Period. As far as gender equality, I don't know if either sex is being sat upon in Denmark. Never heard either the Queen or her husband or sons spouting off on the subject. I would have assumed if it was a great horror to the citizens, something surely would have been printed about it now and explained how Denmark was a backwards country with outdated government or ruler. Which I can't believe it is. We are not a global world that must follow the same exact systems. Each country is entitled to their views and rules. It is what make us all special. JMO