Helena of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Princess Helena and Prince Harald 1909

Princess Helena Adelheid Viktoria Marie von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (born June 1, 1888 at Gut Grünholz in Thumby near Kappeln , † May 30, 1962 in Gentofte near Copenhagen ) was a German noblewoman from the Glücksburg family , a branch of the house Oldenburg , and by marriage members of the Danish royal family.

origin

Princess Helena was the third child of Duke Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg . Via her mother, Helena was a niece of the last German Empress Auguste Viktoria and a descendant of Johann Friedrich Struensee and King George II of Great Britain . Helena grew up with five siblings at Schloss Glücksburg and Gut Grünholz . Her sister Viktoria Adelheid was by marriage the last Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and also the grandmother of the reigning Swedish King Carl XVI. Gustaf (* 1946).

Princess in Denmark

On April 28, 1909, Princess Helena married her second cousin Prince Harald of Denmark (1876-1949), son of King Frederick VIII of Denmark (1843-1912) and Louise of Sweden-Norway (1851-1926) at Glücksburg Castle . This marriage is the only one that has ever been concluded between the German and Danish lines of the Glücksburg family . Princess Helena and Prince Harald first moved into the stately Jægersborghus manor in Gentofte near Copenhagen. They later moved to a Julius-Bagger-Villa built for them in the upscale Ryvangen district of Copenhagen. Princess Helena was a member of the Danish royal family through her wedding and took an active part in court life. In 1912 Helena's brother-in-law Christian X succeeded his father on the throne. From 1913 Helena got involved in charitable causes and collected money for the construction of a children's home, which opened in Gentofte in 1923 and of which she was long-term patron.

Banished from Denmark

During the Second World War , Helena, who had always been proud of her German origins, made herself very unpopular: Helena not only showed sympathy for the German occupation in Denmark , but also welcomed high officers of the Wehrmacht in her villa in Ryvangen throughout the war . This hospitality particularly annoyed her brother-in-law, King Christian X. , who refused any cooperation with the Nazis and kept all members of the occupying power at bay.

At the end of the war, Christian X. took action and banned his sister-in-law Helena from Denmark without further ado: on May 30, 1945, a military vehicle pulled up in front of Helena's villa at Svanemøllevej 25 to take her to Kastrup Airport . From there she was flown to Schleswig in a military plane and then taken to her parents' house, Glücksburg Castle . Helena's brother Friedrich had to take them in and look after them there. Christian X. had the right to expel the Danish citizen Helena without a court ruling, because members of the royal family were not subject to general legislation, but rather to the king 's "right to punishment" according to the Danish royal law .

It is certain that Christian X. also decided to exile because he wanted to signal to the public that he was systematically coming to terms with the time of occupation. The family drama that must have triggered the exile can only be guessed at. The situation was uncomfortable not least for Helena's daughter Caroline Mathilde , as she was the daughter-in-law of the man who had banished her mother through her marriage to Prince Knut . On September 7, 1946, Prince Harald asked his brother Christian about his wife's situation when he was invited to tea, but at that time the king did not give in. When Prince Harald suddenly became very ill in 1947, Christian X. gave in: on February 5, 1947, the exile was lifted. Princess Helena returned to Denmark and looked after her husband until he died two years later. Thereafter, Princess Helena lived secluded in a villa in Holte near Copenhagen until she died in 1962.

children

Princess Helena and Prince Harald had five children.

• Princess Feodora (born July 3, 1910 - March 17, 1975) ⚭ 1937 Christian Prince zu Schaumburg-Lippe (1898–1974)

• Princess Caroline-Mathilde (born April 27, 1912 - December 12, 1995) ⚭ 1933 Hereditary Prince Knut of Denmark (1900–1976)

• Princess Alexandrine-Louise (December 12, 1914 - April 26, 1962) ⚭ 1937 Count Luitpold zu Castell-Castell (1904–1941)

• Prince Gorm (born February 24, 1919 - † December 26, 1991)

• Prince Oluf (March 10, 1923; † December 19, 1990), Count von Rosenborg since 1948 , ⚭ 1948 Dorrit Puggaard-Müller (1926–2013) (divorced 1977); ⚭ 1982 Lis Wolff-Jürgensen (* 1935) (divorced 1983)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bo Bramsen: Huset Glücksborg. Europe's svigerfader and hans efterslægt. Copenhagen 2002. Volume 1, ISBN 87-553-3230-7 , p. 16. (Danish)
2. ↑ Bo Bramsen: Huset Glücksborg. Europe's svigerfader and hans efterslægt. Copenhagen 2002. Volume 1, ISBN 87-553-3230-7 , pp. 108-115. (Danish)
3. ↑ Princess Helena  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the genealogy website lundskov.dk , accessed on February 3, 2014.  
4. ↑ Bo Bramsen: Huset Glücksborg. Europe's svigerfader and hans efterslægt. Copenhagen 2002. Volume 2, ISBN 87-553-3230-7 , pp. 346-347. (Danish)
5. ↑ Bo Bramsen: Huset Glücksborg. Europe's svigerfader and hans efterslægt. Copenhagen 2002. Volume 2, ISBN 87-553-3230-7 , p. 351. (Danish)
6. ↑ Bo Bramsen: Huset Glücksborg. Europe's svigerfader and hans efterslægt. Copenhagen 2002. Volume 2, ISBN 87-553-3230-7 , pp. 351-352. (Danish)
7. ↑ Knud JV Jespersen: Rytterkongen. Et portræt af Christian 10. Copenhagen 2007, ISBN 978-87-02-04135-4 , p. 208. (Danish)