Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from his wife's accession on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving royal consort in history.
Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II has today, 14 January 2024, signed a declaration of her abdication in the Council of State. It happened in the presence of the future king, the future heir to the throne and the government as well as the cabinet secretary.
According to the Succession to the Throne Act, His Majesty King Frederik X is now King of Denmark and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Christian is the new heir to the throne.
📸 The portrait was taken by Dennis Stenild shortly before His Majesty the King (as Crown Prince) drove from Amalienborg to Christiansborg Castle.
Found this lovely photo of a very young Princess Irene of Greece and her elder sister, the future Queen of Spain, Sofia.
•King of Beasts greeted by Royalty…Athens,Greece. Princess Irene, 11 smiles with delight as she holds a baby lion at the Apollo Circus in Athens. Princess Irene, the daughter of king Paul and Queen Frederika of Greece and her sister Princess Sophie. 16. (Center background) were permitted backstage during their visit to the west German circus performance in the Greek capital. 1/10/54•
Billie — the story of the dog that kept King Alexander I of Greece and his younger sister, Helen, Queen Mother of Romania, united even after the former’s tragic death.
"The next morning, the family visited his [Alexander’s] grave in the Tatoi cemetery. With her soul torn by an unknown pain until then, Helen stood and looked at the flower covered tomb — she did not see a grave , but her brother, with whom she had rejoiced so often during their childhood right around that place, laughing happily and lovingly. A few days later, while I was walking around the Tatoi grounds with a group of cousins and friends, she recounts, a dog approached me and began jumping around. For a moment, I was overcome with fear, but it was clear that it did not intend on attacking me, because, barking excitedly, it started to lick my hands, then even tried to lick my face. When the others tried to chase it away, it got away then returned to me. Stunned, I asked a nearby gardener if he knew whose dog it was, and he told me it had belonged to Alexander. I could not understand why it had come to me since I had never seen it before. Feeling grateful, I decided to keep it. Alexander had named him Billie, after the actress Billie Burke, and from that moment, for eight years, he was my faithful companion.”
"Around that time, her dog, Billie, was ailing and soon died. Losing him pained Helen beyond measure. She loved the dog because not only had Alexander petted it, but also because it had stuck by her side for eight years. She had revealed to him her most intimate secrets during her long hours of solitude. Billie sat still, listening, as if he understood every word, his eyes full of adoration and devotion. Helen suffered for weeks on end because of his loss.”
Source: “Helen, Queen Mother of Romania” by Arthur Gould Lee.
King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece attend a reception at the Hôtel de Ville, during a visit to the International and Universal Exposition in Montréal, September 1967.
Maria Feodorovna (26 November 1847 – 13 October 1928), known before her marriage as Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was Empress of Russia from 1881 to 1894 as spouse of Emperor Alexander III. She was the daughter of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Maria's eldest son became the last Russian monarch, Emperor Nicholas II. Maria lived for 10 years after Bolshevik functionaries killed Nicholas and his immediate family in 1918.
The First Official Gala Portrait of King Frederik X of Denmark and his Australian-born wife Queen Mary
The portrait, which shows the couple wearing the Order of the Elephant on chains, will be displayed in state institutions, including at Danish embassies and consulates around the world.
Taken at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, it is the first photo of Mary wearing the crown jewels as queen since ascending the throne in January.
In the portrait, Mary wears an emerald set with a tiara, necklace earrings, and a large broach.
The set was designed by jeweller CM Weisshaupt and was a gift from Christian VIII to Queen Caroline Amalie, the Royal House states on its website.
The set’s emeralds and diamonds are partly reused items from the jewellery collection of Christian VI’s Queen Sophie Magdalene and from older bracelets, combined with newly purchased stones, the Royal House website states.
Mary also wears a diamond miniature portrait of the king in a bow of Order of Dannebrog ribbon, in keeping with the tradition of female members of the royal family wearing a portrait of the sovereign.