- Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
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Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen consort of Denmark and Iceland 
Tenure 14 May 1912 – 20 April 1947 Spouse Christian X of Denmark Issue Frederick IX of Denmark
Knud, Hereditary Prince of DenmarkHouse House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
House of Mecklenburg-SchwerinFather Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Mother Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia Born 24 December 1879
Schwerin, Mecklenburg-SchwerinDied 28 December 1952 (aged 73)
Copenhagen, DenmarkAlexandrine Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (24 December 1879 – 28 December 1952) was the queen consort of King Christian X of Denmark.
Contents
Family
She was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in the city of Schwerin. Her father was Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; her mother was Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.
Marriage and issue
Princess Alexandrine married Prince Christian of Denmark on 26 April 1898, in Cannes, France, when she was 18 years old. They had two children:
- Prince Frederick (1899–1972), later King Frederick IX of Denmark; married Princess Ingrid of Sweden
- Prince Knud (1900–1976), later Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark; married Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark
She died in Copenhagen as Dowager Queen of Denmark in 1952 and is interred next to her husband in Roskilde Cathedral.
The only brother of Queen Alexandrine was Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, while her only sister was Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wife of German Crown Prince William, eldest son of German Emperor William II.
Biography
Royal Monogram
In 1902, the couple were given Marselisborg Slot, and the garden was to become one of her greatest interests. Alexandrine became Crown Princess in 1906 and Queen in 1912. She is not considered to have played any political role, but is described as being a loyal support to her spouse.
She was interested in music, and acted as the protector of the musical societies Musikforeningen i Kobenhavn and Den danske Richard Wagnerforening. She was known for her needlework, which she sold for charitable purposes. After the death of her mother-in-law Louise of Sweden in 1926, she succeeded her as the official protector of the various charity organisations founded by Louise. She enjoyed golf and photography. During World War I, she founded Dronningens Centralkomité af 1914 (In English: "The Queen's Central Committee of 1914") to the support of poor families.
The couple were given great popularity as national symbols during the World War II occupation, which was demonstrated during a tour through the country in 1946. Before the occupation, she and her daughter-in-law were engaged in mobilising the women of Denmark. Her rejection of General Kaupisch on 9 April 1940 became a symbol for her loyalty toward Denmark before her birth country Germany.[1] When the General of the occupation forces first asked for an audience with the monarch, Christian was persuaded to receive him by his daughter-in-law as he would any other, which was supported by Alexandrine.[2] He asked to do so alone, but Alexandrine told him she would interrupt them. When the General was about to leave, she came in; and when he greeted her, she said: "General, this is not the circumstance in which I expected to greet a countryman." [3] It was reported, that although Alexandrine was seen as shy and disliked official ceremonies, she had a "sharp" intelligence, and she was, together with her daughter-in-law, Ingrid of Sweden, a true support of the monarch and a driving force for the resistance toward the occupation within the royal house.[4] It was also reported, that in contrast to the monarch himself and the Crown Prince, the Queen and the Crown Princess never lost their calm when the nation was attacked.[5] As she was not the Head of the Royal House, she could show herself in public more than her spouse, who did not wish to show support to the occupation by being seen in public, and she used this to engage in various organisations for social relief to ease the difficulties caused by the occupation.[6] Kaj Munk is quoted to describe the public appreciation of her during WWII with his comment: "Protect our Queen, the only German we would like to keep!" [7]
In 1947, she was widowed; she became the first widowed Queen Consort in Denmark to keep her title as Queen instead of being called queen dowager.
Queen Alexandrine was the 1,170th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 3 February 1929.
Ancestors
Ancestors of Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 16. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 8. Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 17. Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia 4. Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 18. Frederick William III of Prussia 9. Princess Alexandrine of Prussia 19. Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 2. Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 20. Prince Heinrich XLIV Reuss of Köstritz 10. Prince Heinrich LXIII Reuss of Köstritz 21. Baroness Wilhelmine of Geuder genannt Rabensteiner 5. Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz 22. Count Heinrich of Stolberg-Wernigerode 11. Countess Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode 23. Princess Jenny of Schönburg-Waldenburg 1. Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 24. Paul I of Russia 12. Nicholas I of Russia 25. Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg 6. Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia 26. Frederick William III of Prussia (= 18) 13. Princess Charlotte of Prussia 27. Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (= 19) 3. Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia 28. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden 14. Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden 29. Baroness Luise Karoline Geyer of Geyersberg 7. Princess Cecilie of Baden 30. Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden 15. Princess Sophie of Sweden 31. Princess Frederica of Baden Notes and references
- ^ Börge Outze & Aage Svendstorp (in Swedish): 5 år i bojor. Danmark under ockupationen 1940–1945 (5 years in chains. Denmark during the occupation) Aktiebolaget boktryck (1945) Hälsingborg
- ^ http://bjoerna.dk/Besaettelsen/Oberst%20Mygind/3.htm
- ^ http://bjoerna.dk/Besaettelsen/Oberst%20Mygind/3.htm
- ^ http://bjoerna.dk/Besaettelsen/Oberst%20Mygind/3.htm
- ^ http://bjoerna.dk/Besaettelsen/Oberst%20Mygind/3.htm
- ^ Börge Outze & Aage Svendstorp (in Swedish): 5 år i bojor. Danmark under ockupationen 1940–1945 (5 years in chains. Denmark during the occupation) Aktiebolaget boktryck (1945) Hälsingborg
- ^ Börge Outze & Aage Svendstorp (in Swedish): 5 år i bojor. Danmark under ockupationen 1940–1945 (5 years in chains. Denmark during the occupation) Aktiebolaget boktryck (1945) Hälsingborg
External links
Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-SchwerinCadet branch of the House of MecklenburgBorn: 24 December 1879 Died: 28 December 1952Danish royalty Preceded by
Louise of SwedenQueen consort of Denmark
1912–1947Succeeded by
Ingrid of SwedenNew title
Queen consort of Iceland
1918–1944Succeeded by
Georgia Björnsson
as First Lady of IcelandDanish Royal Consorts Henri de Laborde de Monpezat (1972–present) · Ingrid of Sweden (1947–1972) · Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1912–1947) · Louise of Sweden (1906–1912) · Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1863–1898) · Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1839–1848) · Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel† (1808–1839) · Caroline Matilda of Great Britain† (1766–1775) · Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel† (1752–1766) · Louise of Great Britain† (1746–1751) · Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach† (1730–1746) · Anne Sophie Reventlow† (1721–1730) · Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow† (1699–1721) · Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel† (1670–1699) · Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1648–1670) · Anne Catherine of Brandenburg† (1597–1612) · Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow† (1572–1588) · Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg† (1534–1559) · Sophie of Pomerania†‡ (1523–1533) · Isabella of Austria†‡ (1515–1523) · Christina of Saxony†‡ (1481–1513) · Dorothea of Brandenburg†‡ (1445–1448 & 1449–1481) · Philippa of England†‡ (1406–1430) · Helvig of Schleswig (1340–1374) · Euphemia of Pomerania (1326–1330) · Ingeborg Magnusdotter of Sweden (1296–1319) · Agnes of Brandenburg (1273–1286) · Margaret Sambiria (1252–1259) · Matilda of Holstein (1250–1252) · Jutta of Saxony (1239–1250) · Eleanor of Portugal (1229–1231) · Berengaria of Portugal (1214–1221) · Dagmar of Bohemia (1205–1213) · Gertrude of Bavaria (1182–1197) · Sophia of Minsk (1157–1182) · Helena of Sweden (1156–1157) · Adela of Meissen (1152–1157) · Lutgard of Salzwedel (1144–1146) · Malmfred of Kiev† (1134–1137) · Ulvhild Håkansdotter‡ (1130–1134) · Margaret Fredkulla† (1104–1130) · Boedil Thurgotsdatter (1095–1103) · Ingegerd of Norway‡ (1086–1095) · Adela of Flanders (1080–1086) · Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter (1076–1080) · Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir‡ (1050–1052) · Gyda of Sweden (1048–1049) · Emma of Normandy† (1017–1035) · Sigrid the Haughty†‡ · Gunhild of Wenden† · Tove of the Obotrites† (970–986) · Gyrid of Sweden (952–970) · Thyra (900–935)† also Queen of Norway · ‡ also Queen of SwedenDanish princesses by marriage 1st generation 
2nd generation Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin · Princess Maud of the United Kingdom · Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg · Princess Sophia of Prussia* · Princess Marie Bonaparte* · Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia* · Princess Alice of Battenberg* · Princess Françoise of Orléans* · Princess Margaretha of Sweden3rd generation 4th generation 5th generation Mary Donaldson^ · Alexandra Manley^** · Marie Cavallier^ · Marie-Chantal Miller^* · Tatiana Blatnik^**also a princess of Greece by marriage
**title lost due to divorce and subsequent remarriage
^did not have a royal or noble title by birthCategories:- 1879 births
- 1952 deaths
- People from Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- People from Schwerin
- House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- House of Glücksburg (Denmark)
- Danish royal consorts
- Burials at Roskilde Cathedral
- Dames of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa
- Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog
- Crown Princesses of Denmark
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