Princess Benedikte of Denmark

Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid, born 29 April 1944) is a member of the Danish royal family.

She is the second daughter and child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark.

She is the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and therefore the aunt of Margrethe's son, the current King of Denmark, Frederik X.

She is also an older sister of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

Princess Benedikte often represents the Danish monarch at official or semi-official events.

She and her late husband, Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, had three children.

Princess Benedikte is currently tenth and last in the line of succession to the Danish throne.

Princess Benedikte was born on 29 April 1944 at Frederik VIII's Palace, her parents' residence at the Amalienborg palace complex, the principal residence of the Danish royal family in the district of Frederiksstaden in central Copenhagen.

She was the second child and daughter of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Ingrid née Princess Ingrid of Sweden.

Her father was the eldest son of King Christian X of Denmark and Queen Alexandrine née Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; and her mother was the only daughter of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden (later King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden) and his first wife Crown Princess Margareta née Princess Margaret of Connaught.

Her birth took place during Nazi Germany's Occupation of Denmark.

The day after the birth of the princess, members of the Danish resistance group Holger Danske performed a salute of 21 bombs in the Ørstedsparken public park in central Copenhagen as a reference to the traditional 21-gun salute performed by the Danish Army and Navy at the occasion of royal births.

She was baptised on 24 May 1944, her parents' 9th wedding anniversary, in the Holmen Church in Copenhagen.

Her godparents were King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (her paternal grandparents); Prince Gustav of Denmark (paternal grand-uncle); King Gustav V of Sweden (maternal great-grandfather), Sigvard Bernadotte (maternal uncle); Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark (paternal aunt by marriage); Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (paternal grand-aunt); Princess Margaretha of Sweden (her father's first cousin); Sir Alexander Ramsay (maternal grand-uncle by marriage) and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.

Princess Benedikte has one elder sister, Margrethe, former Queen of Denmark, and a younger sister, Anne Marie, who was born in 1946 and married Constantine II of Greece.

Princess Benedikte and her sisters grew up in apartments at Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and in Fredensborg Palace in North Zealand.

She spent the summer holidays with the royal family at her parents' summer residence at Gråsten Palace in Southern Jutland.

On 20 April 1947, King Christian X died and Benedikte's father ascended the throne as King Frederik IX.

At the time of her father's accession to the throne, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark.

As her parents had no sons, it was assumed that her uncle Prince Knud would one day assume the throne.

The popularity of Frederik IX and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life paved the way for a new Act of Succession in 1953 which permitted female succession to the throne following the principle of male-preference primogeniture, where a female can ascend to the throne if she has no brothers.

Benedikte's elder sister Margrethe therefore became heir presumptive, and Princess Benedikte and Princess Anne-Marie became second and third in the line of succession.

Princess Benedikte was educated at N. Zahle's School, a private school in Copenhagen, followed by stays at a boarding school (Benenden School) in England and a Swiss finishing school.

In 1965 she took a class at the Margrethe-Skolen, a private fashion and design school in Copenhagen.

Benedikte was married on 3 February 1968 at Fredensborg Palace Church to Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1934–2017).

They had three children:

The King had decreed that Princess Benedikte's children would need to be raised in Denmark in order to have succession rights.

Since the condition was not met, Princess Benedikte's three children are not in line to succeed to the throne.

The children of Princess Benedikte are styled as Highnesses by a Danish Order in Council.

Princess Benedikte is very much involved in the Scout/Guide organization in Denmark as well as internationally.

When she was a child, a special Scout unit was created so that she could join the Guides.

Now her involvement is more at the organisational level as she is chairman for Pigespejdernes Fællesråd Danmark (Joint Committee of Girl Guides in Denmark).

She is patron of De grønne pigespejdere (The Green Girl Guides, Denmark) and Det Danske Spejderkorps (The Danish Guide and Scout Association).

In addition, she is patron of the Olave Baden Powell Society (OB-PS), a support organisation for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

She is an honorary member of the St George's Guilds in Denmark.

In 2006, she ran in an election for president of the International Equestrian Federation, but she was heavily defeated, earning only 16 votes and placing last out of the three candidates.

As Princess of Denmark, Benedikte is entitled to the style "Her Royal Highness".

In 2007 she was awarded with a prize of honour by this Scout association for adults.

She is also involved in equestrian sport, and has acted as an honorary patron of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses.