Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark
younger son of Christian X of Denmark and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (Knud Christian Frederik Michael; 27 July 1900 – 14 June 1976) was a member of the Danish royal family, the younger son and child of King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine.
From 1947 to 1953, he was heir presumptive to his older brother, King Frederik IX, and would have succeeded him as king following his death in January 1972 had it not been for a change in the Danish Act of Succession that replaced him with his niece, Queen Margrethe II. Later, Knud's two sons, Ingolf and Christian, were stripped of their titles of prince and removed from the line of succession by the new law because they had married commoners without asking consent from their uncle.
Early life
Prince Knud was born on 27 July 1900 at his parents' country residence, the Sorgenfri Palace, located on the shores of the small river Mølleåen in Kongens Lyngby north of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand in Denmark, during the reign of his great-grandfather King Christian IX. His parents were Prince Christian of Denmark, son of the heir apparent Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Knud's only sibling, Prince Frederik, had been born one year before him.
Christian IX died on 29 January 1906, and Knud's grandfather succeeded him as Frederik VIII. Six years later, on 14 May 1912, Frederik VIII died, and Knud's father ascended the throne as Christian X.
As was customary for princes at that time, Knud started a military education and entered the naval college.
Engagement and marriage
On 27 January 1933, at the age of 32, Prince Knud was engaged to his first cousin, the 20-year-old Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark. Princess Caroline-Mathilde was the second daughter of Prince Harald of Denmark and Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and their fathers were brothers. The wedding was celebrated on 8 September 1933 at the chapel of Fredensborg Palace in North Zealand, Denmark.
After the wedding, they were given a side wing of Sorgenfri Palace, Prince Knud's childhood home, as their residence. Here they created a home for their three children: Princess Elisabeth (born in 1935), Prince Ingolf (born in 1940) and Prince Christian (born in 1944).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark” is younger son of Christian X of Denmark and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Knud, Hereditary and Prince, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “younger son of Christian X of Denmark and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q381069. VIAF identifies the subject as 308740900. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1900, 1976, 1947 and 1953.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark primary sources, Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark archive and Knud research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.