Social Victorians/People/Prince Charles of Denmark

Overview
Princess Maud of Wales was the youngest daughter of Edward Albert, Prince of Wales and Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Prince Carl (or Charles) of Denmark was also the nephew of the Princess of Wales, so they were cousins. He was elected king of Norway by the Norwegian parliament on 18 November 1905 and took the name King Haakon VII.

Princess Maud of Denmark

 * Princess Maud of Wales
 * Queen Maud of Norway
 * Henry, family nickname, named after Harry Keppel, who was regarded as very courageous

Prince Carl (or Charles) of Denmark

 * Family name: Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, House of Oldenburg
 * Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel
 * Prince Charles of Denmark
 * Prince Carl of Denmark (until 1905)
 * King Haakon of Norway (1905–1957)

Organizations

 * He was from the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg branch of the ruling family of Denmark. He was Alexandra, Princess of Wales's nephew and thus his wife's first cousin.
 * She was a daughter of Albert Edward and Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales while Victoria was queen.

Timeline


1896 July 22, Prince Charles of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wales married.

1897 July 2, Friday, Prince and Princess Charles of Denmark (Princess Maud of Wales) attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House, accompanying the Prince and Princess of Wales. (He is #144 in the list of attendees; she is #159.)

1905 November 18, Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway by the Norwegian parliament, and Princess Maud became Queen Maud of Norway.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball
At Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 fancy-dress ball, Maud of Wales (Princess Charles of Denmark) and Prince Charles of Denmark were attended by Lafayette's portrait of "Prince Charles of Denmark with Maud, Princess Charles of Denmark and Princess Victoria of Wales as Ladies of the Court of Marguerite de Valois" in costume is photogravure #3 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "H.R.H. Princess Victoria of Wales & Princess Charles of Denmark as Ladies of the Court of Marguerite de Valois. H.R.H. Prince Charles of Denmark," with a Long S in Princess both times.
 * 1) Cecilia, Lady Suffield (at 536 in the list of attendees)
 * 2) Miss Charlotte Knollys (at 651 in the list of attendees)
 * 3) Major-General Arthur Ellis (at 654 in the list of attendees)

Princess Maud of Wales and Princess Victoria of Wales were sisters, daughters of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Princess Maud of Wales (Princess Charles of Denmark)


At the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 fancy-dress ball, Princess Maud of Wales — called Princess Charles of Denmark — accompanied her mother Alexandra, Princess of Wales as one of the ladies of her Court, along with Mary of Teck, Duchess of York; Princess Louise of Wales, Duchess of Fife; Princess Victoria of Wales; and Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Even though these young women were all in the court of Marguerite de Valois, their dresses were not identical, unlike some courts — like that of the Marchioness of Londonderry, dressed as Maria Theresa, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire — where the young women were dressed alike.

Princess Charles of Denmark sat at Table 5 in the first seating for supper. She was 26 years old at the time of the ball.

The dress that Princess Maud wore at the ball (left) still exists and has been in the collection at the National Museum of Norway in Oslo since 1991. Made by the French house of Morin-Blossier, Maud's costume is one of a number of dresses made by this house, which also "became tailors to Queen Maud of Norway, Queen Alexandra of England, Queen Margherita of Italy, Queen Alexandra of Denmark, and the Russian Tsarinas." Russell Harris says, "Maud's still vividly pink dress is one of the very few perfectly preserved costumes from the Ball. It was seen at the V&A in 2005 as part of the Style & Splendour exhibition."

Princess Maud is seated in the center in the Lafayette photograph of the group (above right). The autographed photograph of Princess Maud (below right) from about 1897 is by Alice Hughes. Other poses exist for many of those who sat for Lafayette in costume, but no additional images of Princess Maud, Princess Victoria of Wales or Prince Charles of Denmark in the Lafayette Archives.

Newspaper Descriptions of the Costume Worn by Princess Maud of Wales
Princess Maud
 * "wore pink with silver, her favorite colour."
 * was dressed "in pink satin and silver, and Princess Victoria of Wales, in pale yellow crêpe de chine, represented other ladies of the court" of Margaret of Valois.
 * "wore pink and silver."
 * wore "pink and silver ….. All the Princesses wore a profusion of diamonds."
 * was dressed "in pale pink"



Commentary on Princess Maud's Dress
According to Harris,"Maud’s dress was of pink satin with an appliqué of sheer silk fabric with silver thread in a lattice pattern edged with silver sequins and silver and glass beads. The fan-like collar wired to the side and back edges of the bodice and the cuffs, also of lace, are decorated with diamonté rosettes. The gown was made by the French firm of Victoire Morin and Marie Blossier, who opened for business in 1878, and whose greatest success was in the years 1885 to 1905. In order to achieve a faithful renaissance look, both Princesses are wearing costume, rather than their own, real, jewellery in their hair and about their costumes."The National Museum of Norway describes the materials used to make the dress like this:"Machine- and hand-sewn from machine-woven silk fabrics, machine-lace of cotton and metal thread, appliqué embroidery with silk and metal fabric, metal sequins, glass beads and stones."Echoing the museum's description, Ingrid Mida says of the dress that "the lace collar and cuffs were machine made":

This pink satin dress was appliqued with silk and silver thread in a lattice pattern and adorned with silver sequins and glass beads. [T]he lace collar and cuffs were machine made. The dress was made by Morin-Blossier in imitation of late sixteenth-century dress from the court of Marguerite. At the time of the ball, the silver would all have been very bright and reflective rather than dark because the silver has since tarnished. The sheer silk in the slashes and around the neckline has yellowed and lost its white luster, which is what happens to animal fibers over time. Similarly, the cotton has lost its bleached surface since 1897 and is not as white now as it would have been.



Prince Charles of Denmark
Prince Charles of Denmark accompanied the Prince and Princess of Wales as a "Gentleman of the Court of Denmark" in the time of Elizabeth. He sat at Table 3 in the first seating for supper and had "sought the aid of Alias," the costumier. The 1897 portrait by Carl Sonne (right) is not the portrait of him in his costume (which is top right). Prince Charles of Denmark was 24 at the time of the ball.

Newspaper Descriptions of Prince Charles of Denmarks' Costume

 * He a "wore purple brocade doublet and trunks, the latter slashed with mauve satin, as a gentleman of the Court of Denmark in the 18th [sic] century."
 * "Prince Charles of Denmark was a gentleman of the Court of Denmark."
 * "Prince Charles of Denmark was conspicuous as a gentleman of the Court of Denmark, in pourpoint, trunks and mantle of black satin, richly embroidered with mauve and studded with black jet, breeches of mauve silk, high boots, turned back with deep red, sword belt and steel belted sword, toque of black velvet and grey feather, Crespin gloves and ruff."
 * "PRINCE CHARLES OF DENMARK, Gentleman of the Court of Demark about same period (Elizabethan). Pourpoint, trunks, and mantle of black satin richly embroidered mauve and studded black jet. Chausses of mauve silk. High boots turned back with deep red. Sword-belt and steel hilted sword. Toque of black velvet and grey feather. Crispin gloves. Ruff."
 * He "went as a gentleman of the Court of Denmark in the time of Elizabeth, wearing an embroidered purple velvet doublet, with reddish purple velvet mantle and a black velvet toque with white plumes."
 * "Prince Charles of Denmark was very handsome in purple and mauve as a Danish gentleman of the last century."
 * He "was a gentleman of the Court of Denmark, about the same period (Elizabethan); pourpoint, trunks and mantle of black satin, richly embroidered mauve, and studded black jet; high boots, turned back with deep red; toque of black velvet and grey feather."

Demographics

 * Nationality: Danish, Norwegian

Residences

 * In England, a house on the Sandringham estate.

Family

 * Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel (3 August 1872 – 21 September 1957)
 * Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria, Princess Maud of Wales (26 November 1869 – 20 November 1938)

Relations

 * Alix, or Alexandra, Princess of Wales, his sister and her mother

Questions and Notes

 * 1) Princess Maud was the youngest daughter of Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, and Alexandra, Princess of Wales.
 * 2) Prince Charles of Denmark became King Haakon VII of Norway, and Princess Maud of Wales Queen of Norway. Søren Pilmark played the role of the old King Haakon VII (Prince Charles or Carl of Denmark) in the tv series Atlantic Crossing.