Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Encyclopedia
Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (born 1 June 1888 at Grünholz in Schleswig-Holstein
, Prussia
; died 30 June 1962 in Hellerup
, Denmark
) was the third eldest daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
. She was a princess of Denmark
through her marriage within the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg to Prince Harald of Denmark
. Princess Helena was a Nazi sympathiser during the World War II
and was after the war exiled from Denmark.
, fourth child and third son of Frederick VIII of Denmark
and his wife Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway
on 28 April 1909 at Glücksburg
, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Helena Adelaide and Harold had five children:
Princess Helena became very unpopular during World War II because of her sympathy for the German occupation and the Nazi party after the German occupation of Denmark in 1940. The Danish resistance movement stated that Princess Helena was the only member of the Danish royal house to have betrayed Denmark: she received and entertained Germans in her home, attended parties hosted by the Germans at Gesandtskab and had been introduced to Danish nazists by Ebba Lerche. Because of this, she was reportedly not on speaking terms with her sons.
Her employee, Paul Dall, responsible for the setting of her table, was a contact of the German Abwehr
in Copenagen, and was after the war judged guilty as a spy.
In 18 January 1942 she participated in the memorial service for the SS:man C.E. von Schalburg, who had died on the Russian front, a service at which the monarch refused to attend. In 1942, she made efforts to convince Prince Knud of Denmark
to persuade the monarch to allow Nazi members in to the Danish government.
Princess Helena is not considered to have been a regular German agent, but rather an informer and a contact on informall basis.
After the war, Princess Helena was not brought to trial, being a member of the royal house who did not wish any publicity on the matter, but was exiled from Denmark 30 May 1945 and placed under house arrest at the Glücksburg Castle in Germany.
She was allowed to return to Denmark at the death of her spouse in 1949.
and brought the line of his illegitimate son Erik Christoffersen Løvenbalk back into the Danish royal line. The current reigning Danish royal family only descend from Christopher II's sister Richeza.
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
; died 30 June 1962 in Hellerup
Hellerup
Hellerup is a Danish town of Region Hovedstaden, located in the Gentofte Municipality in Denmark. It is bordered to the east by the sound Øresund and to the South by Copenhagen and counted among the most affluent areas in Denmark....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) was the third eldest daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg was the fourth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg-Family and succession:...
and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg was the second-eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and his wife Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.-Family:Karoline Mathilde's elder sister, Augusta Viktoria was German...
. She was a princess of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
through her marriage within the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg to Prince Harald of Denmark
Prince Harald of Denmark
Prince Harald of Denmark was a member of the Danish Royal Family. He was the fourth child and third son of Frederick VIII of Denmark and his wife, Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway, and thus brother to Christian X of Denmark.The prince served in the Royal Danish Army for most of his life, and...
. Princess Helena was a Nazi sympathiser during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was after the war exiled from Denmark.
Marriages and issue
Helena Adelaide married Prince Harald of DenmarkPrince Harald of Denmark
Prince Harald of Denmark was a member of the Danish Royal Family. He was the fourth child and third son of Frederick VIII of Denmark and his wife, Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway, and thus brother to Christian X of Denmark.The prince served in the Royal Danish Army for most of his life, and...
, fourth child and third son of Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.-Early life:Frederick was born on 3 June 1843 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen as Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior male line of the House of Oldenburg descended from Christian III of Denmark and who had...
and his wife Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway
Lovisa of Sweden
|align=right|Louise of Sweden was Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Frederick VIII of Denmark. She was the only daughter of King Charles XV of Sweden and Louise of the Netherlands .-Early life:...
on 28 April 1909 at Glücksburg
Glücksburg
Glücksburg is a small town in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.It is situated on the south side of the Flensburg Fjord, an inlet of the Baltic Sea, approx. 10 km northeast of Flensburg...
, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Helena Adelaide and Harold had five children:
- HH Princess Feodora Louise Caroline Mathilde Viktoria Alexandra Frederikke Johanne of DenmarkPrincess Feodora of DenmarkPrincess Feodora Louise Caroline-Mathilde Viktoria Alexandra Frederikke Johanne of Denmark was the eldest child and daughter of Prince Harald of Denmark and his wife Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
(3 July 1910 – 17 March 1975). She married her first cousin, Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe and had issue. - HRH Princess Caroline-Mathilde Louise Dagmar Christiane Maud Augusta Ingeborg Thyra Adelheid of DenmarkPrincess Caroline-Mathilde of DenmarkPrincess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark and Iceland was a crown princess of Denmark by marriage to Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark.-Birth:...
(27 April 1912 – 12 December 1995). She married her first cousin Prince Knud of DenmarkPrince Knud of DenmarkKnud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, formerly Prince of Denmark and Iceland was the second son and youngest child of King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine...
and had issue. - HH Princess Alexandrine-Louise Caroline-Mathilde Dagmar of DenmarkPrincess Alexandrine-Louise of DenmarkPrincess Alexandrine-Louise Caroline-Mathilde Dagmar of Denmark and Iceland was the third child and daughter of Prince Harald of Denmark and his wife Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Alexandrine-Louise was a granddaughter of Frederick VIII of Denmark...
(12 December 1914 – 26 April 1962). She married Count Luitpold of Castell-CastellCount Luitpold of Castell-CastellCount Luitpold Alfred Friedrich Karl of Castell-Castell was a staff officer in the German Army during World War II and a member of the extended Danish Royal Family through his marriage to Princess Alexandrine-Louise of Denmark...
and had issue. - HH Prince Gorm Christian Frederik Hans Harald of DenmarkPrince Gorm of DenmarkPrince Gorm of Denmark and Iceland was the first son of Prince Harald of Denmark and his wife Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg....
(24 February 1919 – 26 December 1991). Unmarried and without issue. - HH Prince Oluf Christian Carl Axel of DenmarkCount Oluf of RosenborgOluf, Count of Rosenborg , a former Danish and Icelandic prince, was the younger child and son of HRH Prince Harald of Denmark, by his wife Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.Oluf renounced his rights to the throne in 1948 and took the title Count of Rosenborg when...
(10 March 1923 – 19 December 1990). Lost his title and became HE Count Christian of Rosenborg after marrying without consent to Annie Helene Dorrit Puggard-Müller and to Lis Wulff-Juergensen. He has issue.
Princess Helena became very unpopular during World War II because of her sympathy for the German occupation and the Nazi party after the German occupation of Denmark in 1940. The Danish resistance movement stated that Princess Helena was the only member of the Danish royal house to have betrayed Denmark: she received and entertained Germans in her home, attended parties hosted by the Germans at Gesandtskab and had been introduced to Danish nazists by Ebba Lerche. Because of this, she was reportedly not on speaking terms with her sons.
Her employee, Paul Dall, responsible for the setting of her table, was a contact of the German Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
in Copenagen, and was after the war judged guilty as a spy.
In 18 January 1942 she participated in the memorial service for the SS:man C.E. von Schalburg, who had died on the Russian front, a service at which the monarch refused to attend. In 1942, she made efforts to convince Prince Knud of Denmark
Prince Knud of Denmark
Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, formerly Prince of Denmark and Iceland was the second son and youngest child of King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine...
to persuade the monarch to allow Nazi members in to the Danish government.
Princess Helena is not considered to have been a regular German agent, but rather an informer and a contact on informall basis.
After the war, Princess Helena was not brought to trial, being a member of the royal house who did not wish any publicity on the matter, but was exiled from Denmark 30 May 1945 and placed under house arrest at the Glücksburg Castle in Germany.
She was allowed to return to Denmark at the death of her spouse in 1949.
Titles and styles
- 1 June 1888 – 28 April 1909: Her Highness Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
- 28 April 1909 – 30 June 1962: Her Royal Highness Princess Helena Adelaide of Denmark
Ancestry
Descent from Christopher II of Denmark
She was direct descendant a of Christopher II of DenmarkChristopher II of Denmark
Christopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
and brought the line of his illegitimate son Erik Christoffersen Løvenbalk back into the Danish royal line. The current reigning Danish royal family only descend from Christopher II's sister Richeza.
- Christopher II of DenmarkChristopher II of DenmarkChristopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
- Erik Christoffersen Løvenbalk
- Niels Eriksen Løvenbalk
- Jens Nielsen Løvenbalk
- Maren Jensdatter Løvenbalk
- Niels Jensen Kaas af Sparre
- Niels Kaas af Sparre
- Mogens Nielsen Kaas af Sparre
- Erik Mogensen Kaas af Sparre
- Otte Eriksen Kaas af Sparre
- Mogens Ottesen Kaas af Sparre
- Otte Kaas af Sparre
- Rudbek Kaas af Sparre
- Otto Ditlev Kaas af Sparre
- Edele Sophie Ottosdatter Kaas af Sparre
- Johanne Henriette Valentine Kaas af Mur
- Lovisa-Sophie Danneskjold-Samsøe
- Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-HolsteinFrederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-HolsteinDuke Frederick VIII , succeeded nominally as the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 1863 while Prussia actually took overlordship and real administrative power.-Life:...
- Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-AugustenburgPrincess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-AugustenburgPrincess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg was the second-eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and his wife Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.-Family:Karoline Mathilde's elder sister, Augusta Viktoria was German...
- Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg