Prince Vincent of Denmark

Prince Vincent
Count of Monpezat
Vincent and his twin sister Josephine in 2023
Born (2011-01-08) 8 January 2011 (age 13)
Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Names
Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander
FatherFrederik X
MotherMary Donaldson

Prince Vincent of Denmark, Count of Monpezat,[1] RE (Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander; born 8 January 2011) is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the third child and younger son of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, the sixth grandchild and youngest grandson of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the older twin brother of Princess Josephine.

Vincent is third in line to the Danish throne, after his older brother, Crown Prince Christian, and older sister, Princess Isabella.

Birth and early life

21-gun salute from Kronborg Castle at the occasion of the birth of Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine on 8 January 2011

Prince Vincent was born on 8 January 2011 at Rigshospitalet, the Copenhagen University Hospital, in Copenhagen, at 10:30 am local time, 26 minutes before his twin sister.[2][3] Shortly after the birth, while speaking to the press, the Crown Prince joked about calling his newborn son Elvis,[4] as the twins share a birthday with Elvis Presley. At noon on 8 January, a 21-gun salute was fired from the Sixtus Battery at Holmen Naval Base in the Port of Copenhagen and from Kronborg Castle in Elsinore in North Zealand to mark the arrival of the royal children.[5]

Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine in January 2012

Vincent and his sister were baptized by the royal confessor, the Bishop of Copenhagen Erik Norman Svendsen, on 14 April 2011 at the Church of Holmen in central Copenhagen.[6] The twins were baptised at the royal baptismal font which has been used for the baptism of royal children in Denmark since 1671.[7] Prince Vincent wore the royal christening gown which was made for his great-great-grandfather, King Christian X, in 1870, while his sister wore a gown found among Queen Ingrid's belongings.[8] His name was announced as Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander. His third name, Minik, is Greenlandic and means "earwax".[9] His godparents are his maternal uncle, John Stuart Donaldson; his father's first cousin, the Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (then the Hereditary Prince); his mother's lady-in-waiting, Caroline Heering; and friends of his parents, the King of Spain (then the Prince of Asturias), Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and Baroness Helle Reedtz-Thott.[10]

In 2009, the Danish constitution was altered, granting absolute primogeniture to the Danish throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of gender, takes precedence in the line of succession.[citation needed] Under the old system of male-preference primogeniture, Vincent would have displaced his elder sister Isabella in the line of succession; with the new law, he comes directly after her instead.

On 15 August 2017, Vincent and his younger twin sister started school at Tranegårdsskolen in Gentofte – the same public school as their elder siblings.[citation needed]

Titles, styles, and honours

Royal Monogram of Prince Vincent of Denmark

Vincent is styled as His Royal Highness Prince Vincent of Denmark, Count of Monpezat.[11]

Honours

See also: List of honours of the Danish Royal Family by country

National honours

Orders and appointments
Medals and decorations
  • 14 January 2012: Queen Margrethe II's Ruby Jubilee Medal[citation needed]
  • 16 April 2015: Queen Margrethe II's 75th Birthday Medal[citation needed]
  • 10 June 2017: Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik's Golden Wedding Anniversary Medal[citation needed]
  • 11 June 2018: Prince Henrik's Memorial Medal[13]
  • 16 April 2020: Queen Margrethe II's 80th Birthday Medal[citation needed]
  • 14 January 2022: Queen Margrethe II's Golden Jubilee Medal[14]

Ancestry

See also: Family tree of Danish monarchs


References

  1. ^ "Tvillingernes navne". Kongehuset. Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  2. ^ "A Prince and a Princess are born". Archived from the original on 11 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Kronprinsesse Mary har født" (in Danish). 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Kronprinsen: Vi kan kalde ham Elvis". Berlingske (in Danish). Ritzau. 8 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Royale tvillinger får kort kanonsalut" [Royal twins receive short cannon salute] (in Danish). Netavisen Artilleriet.dk. 30 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Barnedåb i Holmens Kirke den 14. april 2011" [Baptism in the Church of Holmen on 14 April 2011] (in Danish). Monarchy of Denmark. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. ^ Hindø, Lone; Boelskifte, Else (2007). Kongelig Dåb. Fjorten generationer ved Rosenborg-døbefonten [Royal Baptisms. Fourteen generations at the Rosenborg baptismal font] (in Danish). Forlaget Hovedland. p. 13. ISBN 978-87-7070-014-6.
  8. ^ "Dåbskjolerne" [The baptismal dresses] (in Danish). Monarchy of Denmark. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Hvad betyder Minik og Ivalo?". Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Faddere" [Godparents] (in Danish). Det Danske Kongehus. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  11. ^ "His Royal Highness Prince Vincent". Danish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  12. ^ "The King and Queen's three youngest children become Knights of the Order of the Elephant". kongehuset.dk. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Mindemedaille for Prins Henrik" [Prince Henrik's Memorial Medal]. Kongehuset.dk (in Danish). 11 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023. Hendes Majestæt Dronningen har i dag den 11. juni 2018 tildelt en mindemedaille for Prins Henrik til den kongelige familie, hoffets medarbejdere og personer, der har bistået på særlig vis ved Prinsens sygdom, død og bisættelse. [Her Majesty the Queen has today, 11 June 2018, awarded Prince Henrik's Memorial Medal to the royal family, court employees and persons who have assisted in a special way during the Prince's illness, death and funeral.]
  14. ^ "Commemorative medal in connection with the 50th anniversary of HM The Queen's accession to the throne". Kongehuset.dk. 14 January 2022. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023. ... the Royal Family, the Court's employees and other individuals have received the Commemorative Medal in connection with the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's accession to the throne.
Prince Vincent of Denmark
Born: 8 January 2011
Lines of succession
Preceded by Succession to the Danish throne
3rd position 		Succeeded by