Alexandra of Denmark
Photograph by Alexander Bassano, 1881
Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions; Empress consort of India
Tenure	22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910
Coronation	9 August 1902
Spouse	Edward VII
Issue
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence George V Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife Princess Victoria Maud, Queen of Norway Prince Alexander John of Wales
Full name
Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia
House	House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Father	Christian IX of Denmark
Mother	Louise of Hesse-Kassel
Born	(1844-12-01)1 December 1844 Yellow Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	20 November 1925(1925-11-20) (aged 80) Sandringham House, Norfolk
Burial	28 November 1925 St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was the wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions. As such, she was queen consort and Empress of India from 1901 to 1910.

Her family had been relatively obscure until her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the great powers to succeed his distant cousin, Frederick VII, to the Danish throne. At the age of sixteen, she was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent of Queen Victoria. They married eighteen months later in 1863, the same year her father became Christian IX of Denmark and her brother, George, was appointed King of Greece. She was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Although largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work.

On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became king-emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as queen-empress consort. From Edward's death in 1910 until her own death, she was the queen mother, being a queen and the mother of the reigning monarch, George V, though she was more generally styled Her Majesty Queen Alexandra. She greatly distrusted her nephew, German Emperor Wilhelm II, and supported her son during World War I, in which Britain and its allies fought Germany.

Early life[link]

Christian IX of Denmark with his wife and their six children, 1862. Left to right: Dagmar, Frederick, Valdemar, Christian IX, Queen Louise, Thyra, George and Alexandra

Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia, or "Alix", as her immediate family knew her, was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, right next to the Amalienborg Palace complex in Copenhagen.^[1] Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and her mother was Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel.^[2] Although she was of royal blood,^[3] her family lived a comparatively normal life. They did not possess great wealth; her father's income from an army commission was about £800 per year and their house was a rent-free grace and favour property.^[4] Occasionally, Hans Christian Andersen was invited to call and tell the children stories before bedtime.^[5]

In 1848, King Christian VIII of Denmark died and his only son, Frederick ascended the throne. Frederick was childless, had been through two unsuccessful marriages, and was assumed to be infertile. A succession crisis arose as Frederick ruled in both Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, and the succession rules of each were different. In Holstein, the Salic law prevented inheritance through the female line, whereas no such restrictions applied in Denmark. Holstein, being predominantly German, proclaimed independence and called in the aid of Prussia. In 1852, the great powers called a conference in London to discuss the Danish succession. An uneasy peace was agreed, which included the provision that Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg would be Frederick's heir in all his dominions and the prior claims of others (who included Christian's own mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife) were surrendered.^[6][7]

Prince Christian was given the title Prince of Denmark and his family moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace. Although the family's status had risen, there was little or no increase in their income and they did not participate in court life at Copenhagen as they refused to meet Frederick's third wife and former mistress, Louise Rasmussen, because she had an illegitimate child by a previous lover.^[8] Alexandra shared a draughty attic bedroom with her sister, Dagmar (later Empress of Russia), made her own clothes and waited at table along with her sisters.^[9] Alexandra and Dagmar were given swimming lessons by the Swedish pioneer of women's swimming, Nancy Edberg.^[10] At Bernstorff, Alexandra grew into a young woman; she was taught English by the English chaplain at Copenhagen and was confirmed in Christiansborg Palace.^[11] She was devout throughout her life, and followed High Church practice.^[12]

Marriage and family[link]

Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the Prince of Wales, 1863

Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were already concerned with finding a bride for their son and heir, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. They enlisted the aid of their daughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, in seeking a suitable candidate. Alexandra was not their first choice, since the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over the Schleswig-Holstein Question and most of the British royal family's relations were German. Eventually, after rejecting other possibilities, they settled on her as "the only one to be chosen".^[13]

On 24 September 1861, Crown Princess Victoria introduced her brother Albert Edward to Alexandra at Speyer, but it was not until almost a year later on 9 September 1862 (after his affair with Nellie Clifden and the death of his father) that Albert Edward proposed to Alexandra at the Royal Castle of Laeken, the home of his great-uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium.^[14]

A few months later, Alexandra travelled from Denmark to Britain aboard the royal yacht Victoria and Albert II and arrived in Gravesend, Kent, on 7 March 1863.^[15] Sir Arthur Sullivan composed music for her arrival and Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote an ode in Alexandra's honour:

Sea King's daughter from over the sea,

Alexandra!
Saxon and Norman and Dane are we,
But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee,
Alexandra!

—A Welcome to Alexandra, Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The couple were married on 10 March 1863 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by Thomas Longley, the Archbishop of Canterbury.^[16] The choice of venue was criticised in the press (as it was outside London, large public crowds would not be able to view the spectacle), by prospective guests (it was awkward to get to and, as the venue was small, some people who had expected invitations were not invited) and the Danes (as only Alexandra's closest relations were invited). The court was still in mourning for Prince Albert, so ladies were restricted to wearing grey, lilac or mauve.^[17] As the couple left Windsor for their honeymoon at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, they were cheered by the schoolboys of neighbouring Eton College, who included Lord Randolph Churchill.^[18]

By the end of the following year, Alexandra's father had ascended the throne of Denmark, her brother George had become King of the Hellenes, her sister Dagmar was engaged to the Tsarevitch of Russia,^[19] and Alexandra had given birth to her first child. Her father's accession gave rise to further conflict over the fate of Schleswig-Holstein. The German Confederation successfully invaded Denmark, reducing the area of Denmark by two-fifths. To the great irritation of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, Alexandra and Albert Edward supported the Danish side in the war. The Prussian conquest of former Danish lands heightened Alexandra's profound dislike of the Germans, a feeling which stayed with her for the rest of her life.^[20]

Alexandra's first child, Albert Victor, was born two months premature in early 1864. Alexandra was devoted to her children: "She was in her glory when she could run up to the nursery, put on a flannel apron, wash the children herself and see them asleep in their little beds."^[21] Albert Edward and Alexandra had six children in total: Albert Victor, George, Louise, Victoria, Maud and John. All of Alexandra's children were apparently born prematurely; biographer Richard Hough thought Alexandra deliberately misled Queen Victoria as to her probable delivery dates, as she did not want the Queen to be present at their births.^[22] During the birth of her third child in 1867, the added complication of a bout of rheumatic fever threatened Alexandra's life, and left her with a permanent limp.^[23]

In public, Alexandra was dignified and charming; in private, affectionate and jolly.^[9][24] She enjoyed many social activities, including dancing and ice-skating, and was an expert horsewoman and tandem driver.^[25] She also enjoyed hunting, to the dismay of Queen Victoria, who asked her to stop, but without success.^[26] Even after the birth of her first child, she continued to socialise much as before, which led to some friction between the Queen and the young couple, exacerbated by Alexandra's loathing of Prussians and the Queen's partiality towards them.^[20]

Princess of Wales[link]

Alexandra, circa 1889

Albert Edward and Alexandra visited Ireland in April 1868. After her illness the previous year, she had only just begun to walk again without the aid of two walking sticks, and was already pregnant with her fourth child.^[27] The royal couple undertook a six-month tour taking in Austria, Egypt and Greece over 1868 and 1869, which included visits to her brother King George I of Greece, to the Crimean battlefields and (for her only) to the harem of the Khedive Ismail. In Turkey she became the first woman to sit down to dinner with the Sultan (Abdülâziz).^[28]

The Waleses made Sandringham House their preferred residence, with Marlborough House their London base. Biographers agree that their marriage was in many ways a happy one; however, some have asserted that Albert Edward did not give his wife as much attention as she would have liked and that they gradually became estranged, until his attack of typhoid fever (the disease which was believed to have killed his father) in late 1871 brought about a reconciliation.^[29] This is disputed by others, who point out Alexandra's frequent pregnancies throughout this period and use family letters to deny the existence of any serious rift.^[30] Nevertheless, the Prince was severely criticised from many quarters of society for his apparent lack of interest in her very serious illness with rheumatic fever.^[31] Throughout their marriage Albert Edward continued to keep company with other women, among them the actress Lillie Langtry; Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick; humanitarian Agnes Keyser; and society matron Alice Keppel. Most of these were with the full knowledge of Alexandra, who later permitted Alice Keppel to visit the King as he lay dying.^[32] Alexandra herself remained faithful throughout her marriage.^[33]

An increasing degree of deafness, caused by hereditary otosclerosis, led to Alexandra's social isolation; she spent more time at home with her children and pets.^[34] Her sixth and final pregnancy ended in tragedy when her infant son died after only a day of life. Despite Alexandra's pleas for privacy, Queen Victoria insisted on announcing a period of court mourning, which led to unsympathetic elements of the press to describe the birth as "a wretched abortion" and the funeral arrangements as "sickening mummery".^[35]

Alexandra (right) with her mother (centre) and eldest daughter, Princess Louise (left), 1893

For eight months over 1875–76, the Prince of Wales was absent from Britain on a tour of India, but to her dismay Alexandra was left behind. The Prince had planned an all-male group and intended to spend much of the time hunting and shooting. During the Prince's tour, one of his friends who was travelling with him, Lord Aylesford, was told by his wife that she was going to leave him for another man: Lord Blandford, who was himself married. Aylesford was appalled and decided to seek a divorce. Meanwhile, Lord Blandford's brother, Lord Randolph Churchill, persuaded the lovers against an elopement. Now concerned by the threat of divorce, Lady Aylesford sought to dissuade her husband from proceeding but Lord Aylesford was adamant and refused to reconsider. In an attempt to pressure Lord Aylesford to drop his divorce suit, Lady Aylesford and Lord Randolph Churchill called on Alexandra and told her that if the divorce was to proceed they would subpoena her husband as a witness and implicate him in the scandal. Distressed at their threats, and following the advice of Sir William Knollys and the Duchess of Teck, Alexandra informed the Queen, who then wrote to the Prince of Wales. The Prince was incensed. Eventually, the Blandfords and the Aylesfords both separated privately. Although Lord Randolph Churchill later apologised, for years afterwards the Prince of Wales refused to speak to or see him.^[36]

Alexandra spent the spring of 1877 in Greece recuperating from a period of ill health and visiting her brother King George of the Hellenes.^[37] During the Russo-Turkish War, Alexandra was clearly partial against Turkey and towards Russia, where her sister was married to the Tsarevitch, and she lobbied for a revision of the border between Greece and Turkey in favour of the Greeks.^[38] Alexandra and her two sons spent the next three years largely parted from each other's company as the boys were sent on a worldwide cruise as part of their naval and general education. The farewell was very tearful and, as shown by her regular letters, she missed them dreadfully.^[39] In 1881, Alexandra and Albert Edward travelled to Saint Petersburg after the assassination of Alexander II of Russia, both to represent Britain and so that Alexandra could provide comfort to her sister, who was now the Tsarina.^[40]

Alexandra undertook many public duties; in the words of Queen Victoria, "to spare me the strain and fatigue of functions. She opens bazaars, attends concerts, visits hospitals in my place ... she not only never complains, but endeavours to prove that she has enjoyed what to another would be a tiresome duty."^[41] She took a particular interest in the London Hospital, visiting it regularly. Joseph Merrick, the so-called "Elephant Man", was one of the patients whom she met.^[42] Crowds usually cheered Alexandra rapturously,^[43] but during a visit to Ireland in 1885, she suffered a rare moment of public hostility when visiting the City of Cork, a hotbed of Irish nationalism. She and her husband were booed by a crowd of two to three thousand people brandishing sticks and black flags. She smiled her way through the ordeal, which the British press still portrayed in a positive light, describing the crowds as "enthusiastic".^[44] As part of the same visit, she received a Doctorate in Music from Trinity College, Dublin.^[45]

The death of her eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, in 1892 was a serious blow to Alexandra, and his room and possessions were kept exactly as he had left them, much as those of Prince Albert were left after his death in 1861.^[46] She said, "I have buried my angel and with him my happiness."^[47] Surviving letters between Alexandra and her children indicate that they were mutually devoted.^[48] In 1894, her brother-in-law Alexander III of Russia died and her nephew Nicholas II of Russia became Tsar. Alexandra's widowed sister, the Dowager Empress, leant heavily on her for support; Alexandra slept, prayed, and stayed beside her sister for the next two weeks until Alexander's burial.^[49]

Queen Alexandra[link]

Alexandra was an enthusiastic amateur photographer.^[50] Queen Alexandra's Christmas gift book, frontispiece shown above, contained royal photographs and was published to raise money for charities.

Alexandra (right) with her daughter Victoria

Queen consort[link]

With the death of her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, in 1901, Alexandra became queen-empress consort to the new king. Just two months later, her surviving son George and daughter-in-law Mary left on an extensive tour of the empire, leaving their young children in the care of Alexandra and Edward, who doted on their grandchildren. On George's return, preparations for the coronation of Edward and Alexandra were well in hand. Just a few days before the scheduled coronation in June 1902, however, the King became seriously ill with appendicitis. Alexandra deputised for him at a military parade, and attended the Royal Ascot races without him, in an attempt to prevent public alarm.^[51] Eventually, the coronation had to be postponed and Edward had an operation performed by Frederick Treves of the London Hospital to drain the infected appendix. After his recovery, Alexandra and Edward were crowned together in August: he by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, and she by the Archbishop of York, William Dalrymple Maclagan.^[52]

Despite now being queen, Alexandra's duties changed little, and she kept many of the same retainers. Alexandra's Woman of the Bedchamber, Charlotte Knollys, served Alexandra loyally for many years. On 10 December 1903, Charlotte, the daughter of Sir William Knollys, woke to find her bedroom full of smoke. She roused Alexandra and shepherded her to safety. In the words of Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, "We must give credit to old Charlotte for really saving [Alexandra's] life."^[53]

Alexandra again looked after her grandchildren when George and Mary went on a second tour, this time to British India, over the winter of 1905–1906.^[54] Her father, King Christian IX of Denmark, died that January. Eager to retain their family links, to both each other and to Denmark, in 1907 Alexandra and her sister, the Dowager Empress of Russia, purchased a villa north of Copenhagen, Hvidøre, as a private getaway.^[55]

Biographers have asserted that Alexandra was denied access to the King's briefing papers and excluded from some of his foreign tours to prevent her meddling in diplomatic matters.^[56] She was deeply distrustful of Germans, and invariably opposed anything that favoured German expansion or interests. For example, in 1890 Alexandra wrote a memorandum, distributed to senior British ministers and military personnel, warning against the planned exchange of the British North Sea island of Heligoland for the German colony of Zanzibar, pointing out Heligoland's strategic significance and that it could be used either by Germany to launch an attack, or by Britain to contain German aggression.^[57] Despite this, the exchange went ahead anyway. The Germans fortified the island and, in the words of Robert Ensor and as Alexandra had predicted, it "became the keystone of Germany's maritime position for offence as well as for defence".^[58] The Frankfurter Zeitung was outspoken in its condemnation of Alexandra and her sister, the Dowager Empress of Russia, saying that the pair were "the centre of the international anti-German conspiracy".^[59] She despised and distrusted her nephew, Wilhelm II of Germany, calling him in 1900 "inwardly our enemy".^[60]

In 1910, Alexandra became the first queen consort to visit the British House of Commons during a debate. In a remarkable departure from precedent, for two hours she sat in the Ladies' Gallery overlooking the chamber while the Parliament Bill, a bill to reform the role of the House of Lords, was debated.^[61] Privately, Alexandra disagreed with the bill.^[62] Shortly afterward, she left to visit her brother, King George I of Greece, in Corfu. While there, she received news that King Edward was seriously ill. Alexandra returned at once and arrived just the day before her husband died. In his last hours, she personally administered oxygen from a gas cylinder to help him breathe.^[63] She told Frederick Ponsonby, "I feel as if I had been turned into stone, unable to cry, unable to grasp the meaning of it all."^[64] Later that year, she moved out of Buckingham Palace to Marlborough House, but she retained possession of Sandringham.^[65] The new king, Alexandra's son George, soon faced a decision over the Parliament Bill. Despite her personal views, Alexandra supported the King's decision to help force the bill through Parliament at the Prime Minister's request but against the wishes of the House of Lords when the reforming party won elections to the House of Commons.^[66]

Queen mother[link]

Queen Alexandra, 1923

Alexandra did not attend her son's coronation in 1911 since it was not customary for a crowned queen to attend the coronation of another king or queen, but otherwise continued the public side of her life, devoting time to her charitable causes. One such cause included Alexandra Rose Day, where artificial roses made by the disabled were sold in aid of hospitals by women volunteers.^[67][68] During the First World War, the custom of hanging the banners of foreign princes invested with Britain's highest order of knighthood, the Order of the Garter, in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, came under criticism, as the German members of the Order were fighting against Britain. Alexandra joined calls to "have down those hateful German banners".^[69] Driven by public opinion, but against his own wishes, the King had the banners removed but to Alexandra's dismay he had down not only "those vile Prussian banners" but also those of her Hessian relations who were, in her opinion, "simply soldiers or vassals under that brutal German Emperor's orders".^[69] On 17 September 1916, she was at Sandringham during a Zeppelin air raid,^[70] but far worse was to befall other members of her family. In Russia, her nephew Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and he, his wife and children were killed by revolutionaries. Her sister the Dowager Empress was rescued from Russia in 1919 by HMS Marlborough and brought to England, where she lived for some time with Alexandra.^[71]

Alexandra retained a youthful appearance into her senior years,^[72] but during the war her age caught up with her.^[73] She took to wearing elaborate veils and heavy makeup, which was described by gossips as having her face "enamelled".^[9] She made no more trips abroad, and suffered increasing ill-health. In 1920, a blood vessel in her eye burst, leaving her with temporary partial blindness.^[74] Towards the end of her life, her memory and speech became impaired.^[75] She died on 20 November 1925 at Sandringham after suffering a heart attack, and was buried in an elaborate tomb next to her husband in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.^[1]

Legacy[link]

The Queen Alexandra Memorial, situated opposite St James's Palace

After Alexandra married the Prince of Wales in 1863, a new park and "Palace of the People", a huge public exhibition and arts centre under construction on a hilltop overlooking north London, were renamed the Alexandra Palace and park to commemorate her.^[76]

The Queen Alexandra Memorial by Alfred Gilbert was unveiled on Alexandra Rose Day 8 June 1932 at Marlborough Gate, London.^[77] An ode in her memory, "So many true princesses who have gone", composed by the then Master of the King's Musick Sir Edward Elgar to words by the Poet Laureate John Masefield, was sung at the unveiling and conducted by the composer.^[78]

Alexandra was highly popular with the British public.^[9][79] Unlike her husband and mother-in-law, she was not castigated by the press.^[80] Funds that she helped to collect were used to buy a river launch, called Alexandra, to ferry the wounded during the Sudan campaign,^[81] and to fit out a hospital ship, named The Princess of Wales, to bring back wounded from the Boer War.^[82] During the Boer War, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, later renamed Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, was founded under Royal Warrant.

She had little understanding of money.^[83] The management of her finances was left in the hands of her loyal comptroller, Sir Dighton Probyn VC, who undertook a similar role for her husband. In the words of her grandson, Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor), "Her generosity was a source of embarrassment to her financial advisers. Whenever she received a letter soliciting money, a cheque would be sent by the next post, regardless of the authenticity of the mendicant and without having the case investigated."^[84] Though she was not always extravagant (she had her old stockings darned for re-use and her old dresses were recycled as furniture covers),^[85] she would dismiss protests about her heavy spending with a wave of a hand or by claiming that she had not heard.^[86]

She hid a small scar on her neck, which was likely the result of a childhood operation,^[87] by wearing choker necklaces and high necklines, setting fashions which were adopted for fifty years.^[88] Alexandra's effect on fashion was so profound that society ladies even copied her limping gait, after her serious illness in 1867 left her with a stiff leg.^[89] She used predominantly the London fashion houses; her favourite was Redfern's, but she shopped occasionally at Doucet and Fromont of Paris.^[85]

Queen Alexandra has been portrayed on British television by Deborah Grant and Helen Ryan in Edward the Seventh, Ann Firbank in Lillie, Maggie Smith in All the King's Men, and Bibi Andersson in The Lost Prince. Helen Ryan also portrayed her in the 1980 film The Elephant Man, and Julia Blake played her in the 1999 film Passion. In a 1980 stage play by Royce Ryton, Motherdear, she was portrayed by Margaret Lockwood in her last acting role.

Titles, styles, honours and arms[link]

As a Lady of the Garter, Alexandra's banner of arms hung in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, during her lifetime despite the objections of Garter Principal King of Arms, Sir Albert Woods. When Woods complained that placing her banner in the Chapel would be unprecedented, "the King promptly ordered the banner to be put up."^[90]

Titles and styles[link]

• 1 December 1844 – 31 July 1853:^[2] Her Serene Highness Princess Alexandra of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
• 31 July 1853 – 21 December 1858:^[2] Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark
• 21 December 1858 – 10 March 1863: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark
• 10 March 1863 – 22 January 1901: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
• 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910: Her Majesty The Queen
  • in India: Her Imperial Majesty The Queen-Empress
• 6 May 1910 – 20 November 1925: Her Majesty Queen Alexandra

Honours[link]

Queen Alexandra's coat of arms

In 1901, she became the first woman to be made a Lady of the Garter since 1488.^[91] Other honours she held included Member First Class of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, Lady of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, and Lady of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.^[92]

Arms[link]

Queen Alexandra's arms upon the ascension of her husband in 1901 were the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom impaled with the arms of her father, King Christian IX of Denmark.^[93][94] The shield is surmounted by the imperial crown, and supported by the crowned lion of England and a wild man or savage from the Danish royal arms.^[93]

Issue[link]

Ancestry[link]

See also[link]

Listen to this article (info/dl)

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• Crown of Queen Alexandra

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Battiscombe, Georgina (1969). Queen Alexandra (London: Constable) ISBN 0-09-456560-0
• Bentley-Cranch, Dana (1992). Edward VII: Image of an Era 1841-1910 (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office) ISBN 0-11-290508-0
• Duff, David (1980). Alexandra: Princess and Queen (London: Collins) ISBN 0-00-216667-4
• Ensor, R. C. K. (1936). England 1870–1914 (Oxford University Press)
• Hough, Richard (1992). Edward & Alexandra: Their Private And Public Lives (London: Hodder & Stoddart) ISBN 0-340-55825-3
• Priestley, J. B. (1970). The Edwardians (London: Heinemann) ISBN 0-434-60332-5
• Windsor, The Duke of (1951). A King's Story: The Memoirs of H.R.H. The Duke of Windsor K.G. (London: Cassell and Co.)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom

• Archival material relating to Alexandra of Denmark listed at the UK National Register of Archives
• Alexandra Rose Day official site

v t e Danish princesses 1st generation Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom Dagmar, Empress of Russia Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale 2nd generation Louise, Princess Frederick of Schaumburg-Lippe Ingeborg, Duchess of Västergötland Princess Thyra Princess Dagmar, Mrs. Jørgen Castenskiold Alexandra, Grand Duchess Paul Alexandrovich of Russia* Maria Grand Duchess George Mikhailovich of Russia* Princess Olga* Margaret, Princess René of Parma 3rd generation Feodora, Princess Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe Caroline-Mathilde, Princess Knud of Denmark Alexandrine-Louise, Countess Luitpold of Castell-Castell Helen, Queen of Romania* Irene, Queen of Croatia and Duchess of Aosta* Lady Katherine Brandram* Eugénie, Duchess of Castel Duino* Olga, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia* Elizabeth, Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach* Marina, Duchess of Kent* Margarita, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg* Theodora, Margravine of Baden* Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine* Sophie, Princess George William of Hanover* 4th generation Margrethe II Benedikte, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Anne-Marie, Queen of the Hellenes Princess Elisabeth Alexandra, Queen of Yugoslavia* Sofía, Queen of Spain* Princess Irene* 5th generation Princess Alexia, Mrs. Carlos Morales* Princess Theodora* 6th generation Princess Isabella Princess Josephine Princess Athena Princess Maria-Olympia* * also a princess of Greece

Kingdom of Denmark Kongeriget Danmark
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: (Royal) "Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke"[1][a]  "God's Help, the People's Love, Denmark's Strength"
Anthem: Der er et yndigt land    "There is a lovely country" Royal anthem: Kong Christian stod ved højen mast    "King Christian stood by the lofty mast"
Location of  Denmark[b]  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark (shaded green)
Capital (and largest city)		Copenhagen 55°43′N 12°34′E / 55.717°N 12.567°E / 55.717; 12.567
Official language(s)		Danish[c]
Recognised regional languages		Faroese, Greenlandic, German[c]
Demonym		Danish or Dane(s)
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Margrethe II
-	Prime Minister	Helle Thorning-Schmidt
-	Speaker of the Folketing	Mogens Lykketoft
-	Current coalition	SRSF-coalition
Legislature		Folketing
Consolidation		8th century
Area
-	Total	2,220,093 km2 (12th) 857,183 sq mi
-	Denmark[b]	43,075 km2 (132nd) 16,641 sq mi
Population
-	2011 estimate
-   Total  -   Denmark		5,671,050 (111th) 5,529,888[3]
-  Pop. Density		Total: 2.55/km2, 6.7/sq mi (236th) Denmark: 129/km2, 334/sq mi (88th)
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$206.586 billion[4]
-	Per capita	$37,151[4][d]
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$333.238 billion[4][d]
-	Per capita	$59,928[4]
Gini (2009)		24.7[d] (low) (1st)
HDI (2010)		0.866[5][d] (very high) (19th)
Currency		Danish krone[e] (DKK)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1[d])
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2[d])
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		DK
Internet TLD		.dk[f]
Calling code		+45[g]

The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark^[b] in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides.^[6] The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.^[7][8]

Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.

Denmark's history has particularly been influenced by its geographical location between the North and Baltic seas. This meant that it was between Sweden and Germany and thus at the center of the mutual struggle for control of the Baltic Sea; before the digging of the Kiel Canal, water passage to the Baltic Sea was possible only through the three channels known as the "Danish straits". Denmark was long in disputes with Sweden over control of Skånelandene (Scanian War) and Norway, and in disputes with the Hanseatic League over the duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief) and Holstein (a German fief). Eventually Denmark lost the conflicts and ended up ceding first Skånelandene to Sweden and later Schleswig-Holstein to the German Empire. Denmark obtained Greenland and the Faroe Islands in 1814 after the dissolution of a personal union with Norway, although the Danish monarchy, which had ruled over both Norway and Denmark, had been in possession of the colonies since the fourteenth century. The Faroe Islands and Greenland both became integral parts of the Danish Realm in the twentieth century and were granted home rule in 1948 and 1979 respectively.

Denmark became a member of the European Union in 1973 but remains outside the Eurozone, while both Greenland and the Faroe Islands have opted to remain outside the EU entirely. A founding member of NATO and the OECD, Denmark is also a member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). With a mixed market economy and a large welfare state, Denmark ranks as having the world's highest level of income equality.^[9] The country has the world's seventh highest per capita income. It has frequently ranked as the happiest^[10][11] and least corrupt country in the world.^[12] In 2011, Denmark was listed 16th on the Human Development Index (8th on the inequality-adjusted HDI), 3rd on the Democracy Index and 2nd on the Corruption Perceptions Index. The national language, Danish, is closely related to Swedish and Norwegian, with which it shares strong cultural and historical ties. Denmark, along with Sweden and Norway, is part of the cultural region known as "Scandinavia" and is also a member of the Nordic Council.

Etymology[link]

The etymology of the word Denmark (ⁱ/ˈdɛnmɑːk/), and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a single kingdom, is a subject which attracts some debate.^[13][14] This is centred primarily around the prefix "Dan" and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact meaning of the -"mark" ending. The issue is further complicated by a number of references to various Dani people in Scandinavia or other places in Europe in Greek and Roman accounts (like Ptolemy, Jordanes, and Gregory of Tours), as well as some mediaeval literature (like Adam of Bremen, Beowulf, Widsith and Poetic Edda).

Most handbooks derive^[15] the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning "flat land", related to German Tenne "threshing floor", English den "cave", Sanskrit dhánuṣ- (धनुस्; "desert"). The -mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland (see marches), with probable references to the border forests in south Schleswig,^[16]

Some of the earliest descriptions of the origin of the word 'Denmark', describing a territory, are found in the Chronicon Lethrense (12th century), Svend Aagesen (late 12th century), Saxo Grammaticus (early 13th century) and the Ballad of Eric (mid-15th century). There are, however, many more Danish annuals and yearbooks containing various other details, similar tales in other variations, other names or spelling variations.

The Jelling Stones, commonly referred to as Denmark's "birth certificate", seen from the north with "Gorm's Mound" in the background

In Norse, the land was called Danmǫrk.^[17]

The earliest mention of a territory called "Denmark" is found in King Alfred the Great's modified translation into Old English of Paulus Orosius' Seven Books of History Against The Pagans ("Historiarum adversum Paganos Libri Septem"), written by Alfred when king of Wessex in the years 871–899. In a passage introduced to the text by Alfred, we read about Ohthere of Hålogaland’s travels in the Nordic region, during which 'Denmark [Denamearc] was on his port side... And then for two days he had on his (port side) the islands which belong to Denmark'.^[18]

The first recorded use of the word "Denmark" within Denmark itself is found on the two Jelling stones, which are rune stones believed to have been erected by Gorm the Old (c. 955) and Harald Bluetooth (c. 965). The larger stone of the two is often cited as Denmark's birth certificate (dåbsattest, literally "baptismal certificate"), though both use the word "Denmark", in the form of accusative ᛏᛅᚾᛘᛅᚢᚱᚴ "tanmaurk" ([danmɒrk]) on the large stone, and genitive "tanmarkar" (pronounced [danmarkaɽ]) on the small stone.^[19] The inhabitants of Denmark are there called "tani" ([danɪ]), or "Danes", in the accusative. In the Song of Roland, estimated to have been written between 1040 and 1115, the first mention of the legendary Danish hero Holger Danske appears; he is mentioned several times as "Ogier the Dane" (Ogier de Denemarche).

History[link]

Prehistory[link]

The earliest archaeological findings in Denmark date back to the Eem interglacial period from 130,000–110,000 BC.^[20] Denmark has been inhabited since around 12,500 BC and agriculture has been evident since 3900 BC.^[21] The Nordic Bronze Age (1800–600 BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings including lurs and the Sun Chariot.

During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC  – 1 AD), native groups began migrating south, although^[21] the first Danish people came to the country between the Pre-Roman and the Germanic Iron Age,^[22] in the Roman Iron Age (1–400 AD). The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and Roman coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of North-West Europe and is among other things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron.

The gilded side of the Trundholm sun chariot

Historians believe that before the arrival of the precursors to the Danes, who came from the east Danish islands (Zealand) and Skåne and spoke an early form of North Germanic, most of Jutland and some islands were settled by Jutes. They were later invited to Great Britain as mercenaries by Brythonic King Vortigern and were granted the southeastern territories of Kent, the Isle of Wight among other areas, where they settled. They were later absorbed or ethnically cleansed by the invading Angles and Saxons, who formed the Anglo-Saxons. The remaining population in Jutland assimilated in with the Danes.

A short note^[23] about the Dani in "Getica" by historian Jordanes is believed by some to be an early mention of the Danes,^[24] one of the ethnic groups from whom the modern Danish people are descended. The Danevirke defence structures were built in phases from the 3rd century forward,^[25] and the sheer size of the construction efforts in 737 are attributed to the emergence of a Danish king.^[25] The new runic alphabet was first used around the same time, and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about 700.

Viking Age[link]

The Ladby ship, the largest ship burial found in Denmark

From the 8th to the 10th century, the Danes were known as Vikings. Together with Norwegians and Swedes, they colonised, raided and traded in all parts of Europe. Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the 9th century, on the way towards the Faroe Islands and eventually came across "Vinland" (Land of wine) also known today as Newfoundland, in Canada. The Danish Vikings were most active in British Isles and Western Europe. They temporarily conquered and settled parts of England (known as the Danelaw), Ireland, France and founded Normandy. More Anglo-Saxon pence of this period have been found in Denmark than in England. As attested by the Jelling stones, the Danes were united and Christianised about 965 by Harald Bluetooth. It is believed that Denmark became Christian for political reasons so as not to get invaded by the rising Christian power in Europe, Germania, which was an important trading area for the Danes. In that case Harald built six fortresses around Denmark called Trelleborg and built a further Danevirke. In the early 11th century Canute the Great won and united Denmark, England and Norway for almost 30 years.^[26]

Medieval Denmark[link]

Throughout the High and Late Middle Ages, Denmark also included Skåneland (Skåne, Halland and Blekinge) and Danish kings ruled Danish Estonia, as well as the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Most of the latter two now form part of northern Germany.

In 1397, Denmark entered the Kalmar Union with Norway and Sweden, united under Queen Margaret I. The three countries were to be treated as equals in the union. However, even from the start Margaret may not have been so idealistic—treating Denmark as the clear "senior" partner of the union.^[27] Thus, much of the next 125 years of Scandinavian history revolves around this union, with Sweden breaking off and being re-conquered repeatedly. The issue was for practical purposes resolved on 17 June 1523, as Swedish King Gustav Vasa conquered the city of Stockholm.

The Protestant Reformation came to Scandinavia in the 1530s, and following the Count's Feud civil war, Denmark converted to Lutheranism in 1536. Later that year, Denmark entered into a union with Norway.

Early modern history[link]

Battle of Öland between an allied Dano-Norwegian-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy, 1 June 1676.

After Sweden permanently broke away from the Kalmar Union in 1523, Denmark tried on two occasions to reassert control over Sweden. The first was in the Northern Seven Years War which lasted from 1563 until 1570. The second occasion was the Kalmar War when King Christian IV attacked Sweden in 1611 but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing Sweden to return to the union with Denmark. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a war indemnity of 1 million silver riksdaler to Denmark, an amount known as the Älvsborg ransom.^[28]

King Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably Glückstadt (founded as a rival to Hamburg), Christiania (following a fire destroying the original city of Oslo), Christianshavn, Christianstad and Christiansand. Christian also constructed a number of buildings, most notably Børsen, Rundetårn, Nyboder, Rosenborg, a silver mine and a copper mill. Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, he founded a similar Danish company and planned to claim Ceylon as a colony, but the company only managed to acquire Tranquebar on India's Coromandel Coast. Denmark's large colonial aspirations were limited to a few key trading posts in Africa and India.

In the Thirty Years' War, Christian tried to become the leader of the Lutheran states in Germany but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lutter.^[29] The result was that the Catholic army under Albrecht von Wallenstein was able to invade, occupy and pillage Jutland,^[30] forcing Denmark to withdraw from the war. Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but Gustavus Adolphus' intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was on the rise while Denmark's influence in the region was declining. Swedish armies invaded Jutland in 1643 and claimed Skåne in 1644. According to Geoffrey Parker, "The Swedish occupation caused a drop in agricultural production and a shortage of capital; harvest failure and plague ravaged the land between 1647 and 1651; Denmark's population fell by 20 per cent."^[31]

In the 1645 Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland, Gotland, the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway. In 1657, king Frederick III declared war on Sweden and marched on Bremen-Verden. This led to a massive Danish defeat and the armies of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden conquered both Jutland, Funen and much of Zealand before signing the Peace of Roskilde in February 1658 which gave Sweden control of Skåne, Blekinge, Trøndelag and the island of Bornholm. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having destroyed Denmark completely and in August 1658 he began a two-year long siege of Copenhagen but failed to take the capital. In the following peace settlement, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm.

Denmark tried to regain control of Skåne in the Scanian War (1675–79) but this attempt was a failure. Following the Great Northern War (1700–21), Denmark managed to restore control of the parts of Schleswig and Holstein ruled by the house of Holstein-Gottorp in 1721 and 1773, respectively. In the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark originally tried to pursue a policy of neutrality and trade with both France and the United Kingdom and joined the League of Armed Neutrality with Russia, Sweden and Prussia. The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in both 1801 and 1807, in one case carrying off the Danish fleet, in the other, burning large parts of the Danish capital. This led to the so-called Danish-British Gunboat War, but the British control of the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disastrous to the union's economy and in 1813, Denmark-Norway went bankrupt. The Danish-Norwegian union was dissolved by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Norway entered a new union with Sweden which lasted until 1905. Denmark kept the colonies of Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland. Apart from the Nordic colonies, Denmark ruled over Danish India (Tranquebar in India) from 1620 to 1869, the Danish Gold Coast (Ghana) from 1658 to 1850, and the Danish West Indies (the U.S. Virgin Islands) from 1671 to 1917.

Constitutional monarchy[link]

Den Grundlovsgivende Rigsforsamling (The founding fathers of the Danish constitution), 1860–1864 painting by Constantin Hansen.

The Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European Revolutions of 1848 Denmark peacefully became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849. After the Second War of Schleswig (Danish: Slesvig) in 1864, Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia, in a defeat that left deep marks on the Danish national identity. After these events, Denmark returned to its traditional policy of neutrality.

Denmark became a member of the European Union in 1973 and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.

After the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Versailles powers offered to return the then-German region of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Fearing German irredentism, Denmark refused to consider the return of the area and insisted on a plebiscite concerning the return of Schleswig. The two Schleswig Plebiscites took place on 10 February and 14 March, respectively. On 10 July 1920, after the plebiscite and the King's signature (9 July) on the reunion document, Northern Schleswig (Sønderjylland) was recovered by Denmark, thereby adding 163,600 inhabitants and 3,984 km². The reunion day (Genforeningsdag) is celebrated every year 15 June on Valdemarsdag.

Germany's invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940  – code named Operation Weserübung  – met only two hours of military resistance before the Danish government surrendered. Economic co-operation between Germany and Denmark continued until 1943, when the Danish government refused further co-operation and its navy sank most of its ships and sent as many of their officers as they could to Sweden. During the war, the government was helpful towards the Danish Jewish minority, and the Danish resistance performed a rescue operation that managed to get most of them to Sweden and safety shortly before the Germans planned to round up the Danish Jews. Denmark led many "inside operations" or sabotage against the German facilities. Iceland severed ties to Denmark and became an independent republic, and in 1948, the Faroe Islands gained home rule.

After the war, Denmark became one of the founding members of the United Nations and NATO, and in 1973, along with Britain and Ireland, joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union) after a public referendum. The Maastricht treaty was ratified after a further referendum in 1993 and the subsequent addition of concessions for Denmark under the Edinburgh Agreement. Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and was awarded self-determination in 2009. Neither Greenland nor the Faroe Islands are members of the European Union, the Faroese declining membership in EEC from 1973 and Greenland from 1986, in both cases because of fisheries policies.

Despite its modest size, Denmark has been participating in major UN sanctioned, and often NATO led, military and humanitarian operations notably including: Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Korea, Egypt, Croatia, Kosovo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and recently Libya. In 2009 Anders Fogh Rasmussen resigned as Prime Minister of Denmark to become the Secretary General of NATO.

Geography[link]

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark

Map of Denmark

Denmark proper shares a border of 68 kilometres with Germany to the south and is otherwise surrounded by 7,314 kilometres of tidal shoreline (including small bays and inlets). It occupies 43,094 square kilometres. Since 2000 Denmark has been connected by the Øresund Bridge to southern Sweden.

Denmark's northernmost point (excluding the Faroe Islands, and Greenland) is Skagens point (the north beach of the Skaw) at 57° 45' 7" northern latitude; the southernmost is Gedser point (the southern tip of Falster) at 54° 33' 35" northern latitude; the westernmost point is Blåvandshuk at 8° 4' 22" eastern longitude; and the easternmost point is Østerskær at 15° 11' 55" eastern longitude. This is in the archipelago Ertholmene 18 kilometres northeast of Bornholm. The distance from east to west is 452 kilometres (281 mi), from north to south 368 kilometres (229 mi).

Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 443 named islands (1,419 islands above 100 m² in total).^[32] Of these, 72 are inhabited,^[33] with the largest being Zealand and Funen. The island of Bornholm is located east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden; the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand; and the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. The largest cities with populations over 100,000 are the capital Copenhagen on Zealand; Århus, Aalborg in Jutland; and Odense on Funen.

The country is flat with little elevation; having an average height above sea level of 31 metres (102 ft). The highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 metres (560.56 ft). The area of inland water is 700 km² (270 sq mi).

Denmark's tidal shoreline is 7,314 km (4,545 mi).^[34] No location in Denmark is further from the coast than 52 km (32 mi). The size of the land area of Denmark cannot be stated exactly since the ocean constantly erodes and adds material to the coastline, and because of human land reclamation projects (to counter erosion). On the southwest coast of Jutland, the tide is between 1 and 2 m (3.28 and 6.56 ft), and the tideline moves outward and inward on a 10 km (6.2 mi) stretch.^[35]

Phytogeographically, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands) belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the Arctic, Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of Denmark can be subdivided into two ecoregions: the Atlantic mixed forests and Baltic mixed forests. The Faroe Islands are covered by the Faroe Islands boreal grasslands, while Greenland hosts the ecoregions of Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra.

Climate[link]

Denmark seen from space

The climate in Denmark is temperate, characterised by mild winters, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0 °C, and the summers are cool, with a mean temperature in August of 15.7 °C.^[36] Denmark has an average of 121 days per year with precipitation, on average receiving a total of 712 mm per year; autumn is the wettest season and spring the driest.^[36]

Grenen near Skagen, Denmark's northmost point

Because of Denmark's northern location, the length of the day with sunlight varies greatly. There are short days during the winter with sunrise coming around 8:45 am and sunset 3:45 pm, as well as long summer days with sunrise at 4:30 am and sunset at 10 pm^[37]

Environment[link]

Denmark has historically taken a progressive stance on environmental preservation; in 1971 Denmark established a Ministry of Environment and was the first country in the world to implement an environmental law in 1973.^[38] To mitigate environmental degradation and global warming the Danish Government has signed the following international agreements: Antarctic Treaty; Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol; Endangered Species Act^[3]

Copenhagen is the spearhead of the bright green environmental movement in Denmark. In 2008, Copenhagen was mentioned by Clean Edge as one of the key cleantech clusters to watch in the book The Cleantech Revolution.^[39] The city is the focal point for more than half of Denmark's 700 cleantech companies and draws on some 46 research institutions. The cluster employs more than 60,000 people and is characterised by a close collaboration between universities, business and governing institutions. The capital's most important cleantech research institutions are the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School,^[40] Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy and the Technical University of Denmark which Risø is now part of. Leading up to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference the University of Copenhagen held the Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions conference where the need for comprehensive action to mitigate climate change was stressed by the international scientific community. Notable figures such as Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, Professor Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Report and Professor Daniel Kammen all emphasised the good example set by Copenhagen and Denmark in capitalising on cleantech and achieving economic growth while stabilising carbon emissions.

Denmark's green house gas emissions per dollar of value produced has been for the most part unstable since 1990, seeing sudden growths and falls. Overall though, there has been a reduction in gas emissions per dollar value added to its market.^[41] It lags behind other Scandinavian countries such as Norway^[42] and Sweden.^[43]

Politics[link]

Christiansborg Palace, where the Folketing and the courts meet.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. The current and reigning monarch is Queen Margrethe II. As stipulated in the Danish Constitution, the monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.^[44] The monarch formally appoints and dismisses the prime minister and other ministers. The prime minister is customarily chosen through negotiation between the parliament party leaders.

The Folketing is the national legislature. In theory it has the ultimate legislative authority according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, it is able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors. However questions over sovereignty have been brought forward because of Denmark's entry into the European Union. Parliament consists of 175 members elected by proportional majority, plus two members each from Greenland and the Faroe Islands.^[45] Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, but it is within the powers of the prime minister to ask the monarch to call for an election before the term has elapsed. On a vote of no confidence, the parliament may force a single minister or the entire government to resign.^[46]

The Danish political system has traditionally generated coalitions. Most Danish post-war governments have been minority coalitions ruling with the support of non-government parties.^[47]

Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

Executive authority is exercised on behalf of the monarch by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, prime minister and other ministers collectively make up the government.

Legislative authority is vested in the executive and the legislature conjointly, although as noted the legislature remains supreme. Judicial authority lies with the courts of justice.^[48]

Anders Fogh Rasmussen from the Venstre party, a center-right liberal party was prime minister from November 2001 to April 2009. His government was a coalition consisting of Venstre and the Conservative People's Party, with parliamentary support from the national-conservative Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti). The three parties obtained a parliamentary majority in the 2001 election and maintained it virtually unchanged in the 2005 election. On 24 October 2007, an early election was called by the Prime Minister for 13 November. Following the election the Danish People's Party was strengthened while Anders Fogh Rasmussen's Venstre lost 6 seats and the Conservative People's Party retained the same number of seats in Parliament as prior to the election. The result ensured that Anders Fogh Rasmussen could continue as prime minister for a third term.

With the parliamentary election held September 2011 the right wing, led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, lost by a small margin to the opposing coalition, led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt who on 3 October 2011 formed a new government consisting of the Social Democratic Party, Danish Social Liberal Party and Socialist People's Party.

Foreign relations[link]

Danish foreign policy is based on its identity as a sovereign nation in Europe. As such its primary foreign policy focus is on its relations with other nations as a sovereign independent nation. Denmark has long had good relations with other nations. It has been involved in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states (Estonia,^[49] Latvia, and Lithuania).^[50] The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping.

Denmark is today pursuing an active foreign policy, where human rights, democracy and other crucial values are to be defended actively. In recent years Greenland and The Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues such as fishing, whaling, and geopolitical concerns.

Military[link]

Group of Danish MP-soldiers.

HDMS Absalon.

Denmark's armed forces are known as the Danish Defence (Danish: Forsvaret). During peacetime, the Ministry of Defence in Denmark employs around 33,000 in total. The main military branches employ almost 27,000: 15,460 in the Royal Danish Army, 5,300 in the Royal Danish Navy and 6,050 in the Royal Danish Air Force (all including conscripts).

The Danish Emergency Management Agency (Danish: Beredskabsstyrelsen) employs 2,000 (including conscripts), and about 4,000 are in non-branch-specific services like the Danish Defence Command, the Danish Defence Research Establishment and the Danish Defence Intelligence Service. Furthermore around 55,000 serve as volunteers in the Danish Home Guard (Danish: Hjemmeværnet).

The Danish Defence has around 1,400^[51] staff in international missions, not including standing contributions to NATO SNMCMG1. The three largest contributions are in Afghanistan (ISAF), Kosovo (KFOR) and Lebanon (UNIFIL). Between 2003 and 2007, there were approximately 450 Danish soldiers in Iraq.^[52]

Administrative divisions[link]

Main articles: Regions of Denmark and Municipalities of Denmark Denmark proper is divided into five regions (Danish: regioner, singular: region) and a total of 98 municipalities. The regions were created on 1 January 2007 to replace the former counties. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. Most municipalities have a population of at least 20,000 people to give them financial and professional sustainability, although a few exceptions were made to this rule.[53] The most important area of responsibility for regions is the national health service. Unlike the former counties, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes, and the health service is primarily financed by a national health care contribution of 8% (Danish: sundhedsbidrag) combined with funds from both government and municipalities.[54] Municipalities and regions are led by directly elected councils, elected every four years. The last Danish local elections were held on 17 November 2009. The Ertholmene archipelago, with a population of 96 (2008), is neither part of a municipality nor a region but belongs to the Ministry of Defence.[55]

Nordjylland Midtjylland Hovedstaden Sjælland Syddanmark

Greenland and the Faroe Islands[link]

The Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands).

The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state, however the Faroe Islands and Greenland were granted home rule (political autonomy) in 1948 and 1979 respectively, having previously had the status of counties.^[56][57] Extensive powers have been devolved to the Faroe Islands and Greenland which have their own governments and legislatures and are effectively self-governing in regards to domestic affairs.^[57] However, the devolved legislatures are subordinate to the Folketing where the two territories are represented by two seats each. High Commissioners (Danish: Rigsombudsmand) act as representatives of the Danish government.^[57]

Country	Legislature	Population (2011 estimate)	Area (km²)	Density (pop per km²)
Denmark	Folketing	5,564,219	43,075	129
Faroe Islands	Løgting	49,267	1,399	35
Greenland	Landsting	56,615	2,166,086	0.027
Total Danish Realm	Folketing	5,670,101	2,220,097	2.6

Economy[link]

Graphical depiction of Denmark's product exports in 28 color coded categories.

A liberalization of import tariffs in 1797 marked the end of mercantilism and further liberalization in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century established the Danish liberal tradition in international trade that was only to be broken by the 1930s.^[58][59] Property rights have enjoyed strong protection. Denmark's economy stands out as one of the most free in the Index of Economic Freedom^[60] and the Economic Freedom of the World^[61]. The economy has high levels of international trade and Denmark is known as a free trade advocate in the European Union. Denmark ranks 16th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita and ranks 5th in nominal GDP per capita. Denmark is one of the most competitive economies in the world according to World Economic Forum 2008 report, IMD and The Economist.^[62]