by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2012

King Harald “Bluetooth” (?-c.987), who unified Denmark and Norway in the tenth century, was the inspiration for the name of the wireless technology company Bluetooth. The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes  (Hagall) (ᚼ) and  (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials. For more information, see Wikipedia: Harold Bluetooth.

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Queen Caroline Matilda (1751-1775) was the daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales and the sister of King George III of Great Britain. At age fifteen, she married her first cousin King Christian VII of Denmark. Christian suffered from mental illness, possibly from the mental effects of porphyria that he may have inherited from his Hanoverian mother, Louisa who was the daughter of King George II of Great Britain. Christian neglected Caroline Matilda and came under the influence of Johann Friedrich Struensee, one of his cabinet ministers. Lonely Caroline Matilda drifted into an affair with Struensee who was fourteen years older. When the affair was discovered, Caroline Matilda and Struensee were arrested. Struensee admitted his guilt and Caroline Matilda was forced to admit it as well. A hasty trial was held for Struensee and he was condemned first to lose his right hand, be beheaded and then to have his body drawn and quartered. Caroline Matilda was divorced from her husband, separated from her children, and spent the remaining three years of her life as a captive in a German castle. She died at age 23 of throat cancer. Portraits of Struensee and Caroline Matilda’s daughter Louise Augusta bear striking resemblances and it is widely believed that she was his daughter. Carolina Matilda’s story was told in several novels including Norah Loft’s The Last Queen (1969) and Per Olov Enquist’s The Visit of the Royal Physician (1999) and also in the Danish film A Royal Affair (2012). Stella Tillyard also covers Caroline Matilda’s affair in her nonfiction book A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings (2006).

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King Christian IX (1818-1906) was the father of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, King George I of Greece, Queen Alexandra of Great Britain (wife of King Edward VII) and Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia (wife of Tsar Alexander III). He was as much the “grandfather of Europe” as Queen Victoria was the grandmother. His grandchildren sat upon the thrones of Denmark (King Christian X), United Kingdom (King George V), Russia (Tsar Nicholas II), Greece (King Constantine I) and Norway (King Haakon VII). Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, her husband Prince Philip, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, King Harald of Norway, Queen Sofia of Spain, and King Constantine of Greece are among his many descendants.

For more information, see:

• Children, Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren and Notable Descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark

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King Christian X (1870-1947) was the king of Denmark during World War II. Denmark’s leaders knew that there was no way their country could stand up to the might of Nazi Germany so they surrendered for the good of their country. Christian was not intimidated by the Nazi occupation and continued his daily horseback rides through the streets of Copenhagen without any bodyguards. When the Danish people heard that the Nazis planned to round up all the Danish Jews, they came to the aid of the Jews. The Danish people considered all citizens as Danes first; a philosophy that King Christian X adhered to. All but 500 of the Danish Jews were smuggled to Sweden, hidden in fishing boats during a period of two weeks. Every year in October, the rescue of the Danish Jews is commemorated in Copenhagen with members of the Danish Royal Family in attendance.  See Rescue of the Danish Jews.

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Queen Margrethe II (born 1940), who reigned from 1972 to 2024, is an accomplished artist. Among the books she has illustrated is the Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings published in 1977 and reissued in 2002. The queen has also illustrated Danish postage stamps, calendars, Christmas cards, postcards, and playing cards. Margrethe has designed and embroidered church vestments for palace chapels, Haderslev Cathedral, and Aarhus Cathedral. She is also an accomplished scenic and costume designer and has designed for television productions and ballet.

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