Death and Funeral of Prince Henrik of Denmark: February 13 and 20, 2018

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Somebody

It must be strange for Konstantinos as well to be at the funeral of another brother-in-law. Of the three, he is the only one left... and not in good health (nor is his other brother-in-law; the emeritus king of Spain).

True. He was the first one who married on of the three danish sisters and no he ist last of the three brothers-in-law who is left.

[FasterB]

Originally Posted by Somebody

It must be strange for Konstantinos as well to be at the funeral of another brother-in-law. Of the three, he is the only one left... and not in good health (nor is his other brother-in-law; the emeritus king of Spain).

Have you noticed that the sons-in-law of late King Frederik IX and late Queen Ingrid are dying in the reverse of when they married into the DRF?
Prince Richard was the last to marry into the DRF and he was the first to die.
Prince Henrik was the second to marry into the DRF and he was the second to die.
King Konstantine was the first to marry into the DRF and he is the last one to die.

Hence the word from the Bible: The last ones will be the first and the first ones will be the last.




Other than that: I am not overjoyed with the sermon of Bishop Erik Norman Svendsen. It was a curriculum vitae over Prince Henrik. Where was the comforting words? Where was the christian message?

[dgtns]

Originally Posted by LadyFinn

Flowers also from Victoria and Daniel
https://www.svenskdam.se/wp-content/...d3-700x394.jpg

See from the Japanese royal couple too. Impressed!

[Duc_et_Pair]

Yes it was quite a businesslike timetable speech indeed. From a man of the Lutheran Church I expected words about the resurrection and seeing the Lord Creator above. It was quite light in the biblical content. But maybe this was compensated by the hymns, all religious.

[dgtns]

Originally Posted by polyesco

The royals leaving the funeral. Nice little moment between the Queen and Frederik, with her tapping his back and sharing a little smile
https://youtu.be/0JWAEX_t4Vc

Hard to watch the Crown Prince twist and turn during the service. He was struggling with his emotions. He seemed very troubled and less comfortable with his feelings. The Queen seemed to be very in sync with her feelings , Fred seemed so discomfted. Seems to be looking into his fate very uneasy.

[Duc_et_Pair]

I thought the whole family held themselves wonderfully well.

It is a bit hard to say, I do not mean it as critic, just an observation, but I found Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie pretty hard. The first one had a stern look and the second one was not very attentive to her husband, who was litterally depending on the support of an aide-de-camp. But maybe they just tried to hold their composure behind a stern face.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

Yes it was quite a businesslike timetable speech indeed. From a man of the Lutheran Church I expected words about the resurrection and seeing the Lord Creator above. It was quite light in the biblical content. But maybe this was compensated by the hymns, all religious.

Or it was in respect of PH not being particularly Christian? Perhaps really only in name?
We do know that he leaned very much to Eastern moral-philosophy.
It's a dilemma I've seen quite a few times. How does a priest give a sermon for someone who either is, or de facto is an atheist? - Just because the family prefer an ending at a church.
Well, they tend, in my experience, to give a speech about the person, rather than a sermon.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Yes, that flashed through my mind as well: it would be weird to hold a deeply religious sermon when Prince Henrik probably was -as you say- practically an atheïst. The hymns however were pretty religious.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

Yes, that flashed through my mind as well: it would be weird to hold a deeply religious sermon when Prince Henrik probably was -as you say- practically an atheïst. The hymns however were pretty religious.

Mainly a comfort for the family, I think.

And I think PH, being very musical, knew that and this was perhaps his way of comforting his family, because he would know that such a ceremony would take place, no matter what.

[Flowerbed]

Originally Posted by FasterB

Other than that: I am not overjoyed with the sermon of Bishop Erik Norman Svendsen. It was a curriculum vitae over Prince Henrik. Where was the comforting words? Where was the christian message?

Perhaps the comforting words were saved for the private moments, when there were no cameras? And I agree with Muhler, it would have been a bit weird to have a heavily Christian message for a man who probably wouldn't be Christian if he'd been free to choose.

[Stefan]

What i wondered about that the put the earth on the coffin in the Church. Was it because Prince Henrik will be cremated? In a clip from the funeral of Queen Ingrid they did this also in the church. At evangelical-lutheran funerals here in Germany this is done after the coffin has been left into the Grave and then everyone goes there and puts done a flower.

[maria-olivia]

Mr Muhler
Why no daughter of the late Count Christian ?
As far as I remember after the Funeral of the Count or the Countess, Prince Henrik who came with the Queen left the Church in another car because he went hunting ?
I hope it is not for that reason?

Who was the lady at the front row who forgot her hat at home ?

[FasterB]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

Yes it was quite a businesslike timetable speech indeed. From a man of the Lutheran Church I expected words about the resurrection and seeing the Lord Creator above. It was quite light in the biblical content. But maybe this was compensated by the hymns, all religious.

Yes, maybe the hymns compensated for it, but still ... I'm missing something.

Originally Posted by Muhler

Or it was in respect of PH not being particularly Christian? Perhaps really only in name?
We do know that he leaned very much to Eastern moral-philosophy.
It's a dilemma I've seen quite a few times. How does a priest give a sermon for someone who either is, or de facto is an atheist? - Just because the family prefer an ending at a church.
Well, they tend, in my experience, to give a speech about the person, rather than a sermon.

But the sermon is not to the deseased, it is to the familiy and friends attending the funeral. And so the comforting words are to the famlily and friends.

Originally Posted by Stefan

What i wondered about that the put the earth on the ciffin in the Church. Was it because Prince Henrik will be cremated? In a clip from the funeral of Queen Ingrid they did this also in the church. At evangelical-lutheran funerals here in Germany this is done after the coffin has been left into the Grave and then everyone goes there and puts done a flower.

Yes, it's because PH is being cremated. Otherwise we Danes also do the "earth-thing" at the grave.
I too wondered about this being done in Roskilde Cathedral at Queen Ingrid's funeral. Perhaps that was the most practical way to do it with cameras and so ...?

[princess carmen]

He planned his funeral , so he probably let it be known what kind of service he wanted and what he wanted to be said. His wishes were followed and that is all that matters .
Sometimes the music can say more than just words.

[principessa]

Originally Posted by princess carmen

He planned his funeral , so he probably let it be known what kind of service he wanted and what he wanted to be said. His wishes were followed and that is all that matters .
Sometimes the music can say more than just words.

Maybe he had also done a guestlist with all the people he wanted to participate.

Is it known where his coffin was brought after the service?

[MidwestMom]

Originally Posted by Muhler

But, what is your foreign perspective on this? What worked?
Do you thing other European royal families might be inspired? In other words will PH wish for a more low key funeral be an acceptable, even desirable, option to other royal families? Say Prince Phillip, who in a number of ways is comparable to PH.
Would it work in other monarchies you think?

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I believe that people should have whatever kind of funeral service they want - or none, if that is their wish. PH's funeral struck a good balance, I think. It was intimate and dignified, yet the family allowed the public to show their respect. I was a little surprised that it was televised. As for the French side of the family, maybe some of the service was translated into French (or English) and printed in the service booklet.

Other royal families may take note of this. As I mentioned in a previous post, Prince Phillip has expressed the desire for a simple service.

Now I'm wondering if there will be a larger memorial service at a later date, with extended family and other royals. Maybe on the 6-month or 1-year anniversary.

[Muhler]

A gallery from Berlingske: https://www.b.dk/nationalt/billedser...henrik#slide-1

Originally Posted by maria-olivia

Who was the lady at the front row who forgot her hat at home ?

That was Pia Kjærsgaard, the Chairman of the Parliament. She had just come from the Parliament where she gave a speech about PH, in which she teared up. - She is usually particular about how she dress.

Originally Posted by maria-olivia

Mr Muhler
Why no daughter of the late Count Christian ?
As far as I remember after the Funeral of the Count or the Countess, Prince Henrik who came with the Queen left the Church in another car because he went hunting ?
I hope it is not for that reason?

I simply don't know.
I cannot imagine they would be petty in such a situation. Perhaps they simply didn't make it on PH's short list?
Or brutally speaking: They were not important enough for PH personally to be invited? That is, he had little, if anything to do with them personally.

[Osipi]

Unfortunately, I fell asleep an hour before the funeral started this morning and I'm just now catching up on things. I plan on watching the entire thing in a short while here and thanks to those that have posted the link.

Reading what I have, one thing did impress me. Not only was the entire funeral about Henrik but the essence of his soul very much permeated everything from start to finish. He was a man that had given this time a lot of thought and that, to me, shows a man that reflected deeply on death and what it meant for him and his funeral service reflected that man.

It wasn't about being Catholic, or Lutheran or any earthly belief system but about his own spirituality and his personal relationship with his Creator. It was about emotions and about love and about caring. The "blooming garden" said it all for me. Henrik incorporated a way to comfort his wife and remind her of something very close and personal between the two of them. What better way of stating that although he is gone, memories and emotions don't die but are still there to comfort.

This was a funeral service that went beyond the proper protocols and the requisite prayers and hymns and deeply reflected the man that Henrik was. It was almost as if he was definitely a presence felt throughout the entire thing.

[princess carmen]

Osipi beautifully stated.

[An Ard Ri]

The queen is such a dignified lady ,the Dames blessed to have Her Majesty as monarch and all the royal children were so well behaved.Its was nice to see the (very frail) Greek King and Queen as well as Prince Henriks family.

Here's a video from Euronews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-9e8MHxLks