Discreet love letters and secret visits marked the beginning of the romance between Danish Queen Margrethe (81) and her now deceased husband Prince Henrik.
That’s how they tricked the press
To keep the relationship secret, the queen’s closest friends were given a very special task over 50 years ago, according to Danish TV 2.
The press did not have to know that the young Frenchman was visiting the princess. Therefore, friends were asked to hide him.
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– It was very exciting, and we snuck around with him and smuggled him in and out of the house, says Birgitta Hillingsø (81), one of the queen’s close friends, in the new documentary series “A life as a queen”.
Postpones anniversary
The love story between the queen and her husband has been told before. But on the occasion of the Queen’s 50th anniversary as regent, she looks back on her long reign and shares new reflections on her life in the documentary.
Here, Queen Margrethe reveals completely new details about the meeting with her great love.
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Immediate attraction
It was during a dinner party in the vibrant city life of London in 1965, where Margrethe previously studied economics, that Prince Henrik and Margrethe’s love story began.
Henrik is said to have felt immediately attracted to the princess, but this feeling was not mutual, the queen has said.
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She did not notice much to the handsome Frenchman. She did so in return a year later, when they met again for a Scottish wedding with mutual acquaintances. Henrik then realized that he wanted something more than friendship, and invited Margrethe to dinner, where he served French delicacies.
– That night I realized that I was wildly in love with him, the queen has said in the “Solitary” book – a biography of Prince Henrik.
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The queen now tells in the new documentary that she was not significantly nervous when she got ready for dinner.
But when the evening was over, it dawned on the young heir to the throne that she was “wildly in love,” and that everything happened when they danced.
Previously, Dagbladet has written that what the queen fell for with Henrik was that he looked insanely good, in addition to the fact that he was both kind and took her seriously.
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Would keep the relationship hidden
However, she had not anticipated that they would be engaged only six months later. In many ways, the next few months were like the story of every other new lover. Henrik and Princess Margrethe went for walks in Hyde Park, had dinner and then went out into London’s vibrant nightlife, where they settled on the smoky dance floors.
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What was different from other couples, however, was that Margrethe would one day become queen of Denmark.
The couple had to take several precautions due to the public interest in the future queen’s love life. While Henrik lived in London and Margrethe lived in Denmark, they had to think smart to keep their privacy.
Danish arrogance
The telephone at the castle went over a switchboard, which made it difficult to hide who the queen was talking to. Therefore, the couple started writing letters that they sent to each other in secret.
Hidden prince in a townhouse
Even after Henrik had asked for Margrethe’s hand, they wanted to keep the relationship hidden from the public.
Henrik was on a secret visit to Denmark and the letters were still smuggled between the couple.
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Not only that, but Henrik was also hidden at the home of Margrethe’s friend Hillingsø during his visits to Denmark.
– There is no one looking for the next prince in a terraced house, the friend said in the documentary.
But they still did not take very long before the relationship was discovered, and two years after the couple’s first meeting, they got married, on June 10, 1967 in Holmen’s Church.
CELEBRATING: Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik smiling on the balcony during the Queen’s 70th birthday. Photo: Shutterstock editorial / Jens Hartmann / REX / NTB
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Surprised after his death
Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik were married for almost 51 years, before the prince passed away in February 2018 after being ill for a long time.
Even after his death, the prince surprised his wife. He had arranged flowers for the funeral before his death. The flowers were to resemble a flower garden, which was a reference to his wedding speech to the queen.
At the wedding, however, the Frenchman surprised the queen with a wedding speech in Danish, something no one had anticipated.
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