The Eccentric Princess Marie of Orléans, Princess Marie of Denmark

Princess Marie of Orleans (left) and Prince Valdemar of Denmark (right). Images from Wikimedia Commons

Marie Amélie Françoise Hélène was born in Ham, London, England on January 13, 1865. She was the eldest child of Prince Robert d'Orléans, Duc de Chartres, and his wife, Princess Françoise d'Orléans. Marie was a descendant of the “Citizen King” of France, Louis Philippe. She spent the first few years of her life in England before her family moved to France following the defeat of the Second Empire in 1871. By then, she referred to herself as une bourgeoise.

Marriage Family

At the age of 20, Marie was arranged to marry Prince Valdemar of Denmark, the youngest son of King Christian IX. After obtaining consent from Pope Leo XIII, the couple was wedded in, first, a civil ceremony on October 20, 1885 in Paris, then, two days after, in a religious ceremony at the Château d'Eu in Normandy.

They had five children all together. The first born, Prince Aage of Denmark (1887–1940) renounced rights to the throne Mathilda Calvi dei Conti di Bergolo in 1914. He was created Count of Rosenborg and they had one son. Prince Axel of Denmark (1888–1964) married Margaretha of Sweden in 1919 and had two sons. Prince Erik of Denmark (1890–1950), like Axel, also lost his place in the line of succession when he married the Canadian heiress Louis Frances Booth. He was created Count of Rosenborg and settled on his ranch in Canada. They were later divorced. They had a son and a daughter. Prince Viggo of Denmark (1893–1970) also suffered the same fate when he married the commoner Eleonora Green. They had no children. Princess Margaret of Denmark (1895–1992), married Prince René of Bourbon-Parma. Her daughter Anne was titular Queen of Romania.

An Unconventional Marriage

Marie and Valdemar took up residence at the latter’s birthplace, the Bernstorff Palace in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark. It was where Marie would learn to understand the intimate bond between her husband and his nephew, Prince Georgios of Greece, son of Valdemar’s elder brother. Their relationship was too profound that whenever Georgios would leave following each of his several yearly visits, the Greek prince would weep and Valdemar would fall ill.

Marie developed a close relationship with the wife of Prince Georgios, Princess Marie Bonaparte, following their first family visit at Bernstoff Palace. The two women enjoyed passionate intimacies they did not usually experience with their respective husbands. When Marie Bonaparte engaged in a passionate flirtation with Valdemar’s eldest son, Prince Aage, Marie did not seem to mind.

Despite Georgios’s criticisms of Marie, saying she was having an affair with her husband’s stable master and that she drank too much alcohol, Marie Bonaparte still admired the princess for her forbearance and independence. She said Marie was the only member of her husband’s large Danish and Greek families to have pluck, character, and brains.

An Unconventional Princess

Her being witty, outspoken, impulsive, and energetic did not sit well with the rigid Danish court that her mother-in-law, Queen Louise, likened her to a rough diamond that needed to be polished. She was informal and a firm believer of social equality, and would perform ceremonial duties in an unconventional manner. "I believe that a person, regardless of her position, should be herself," Marie once wrote to Danish writer Herman Joachim Bang.

Marie, whose household was dominated by her bohemian habits and artistic taste, gave her children enormous freedom. Marie spent most of her time with artists. She was into painting and photography, and was a student of Danish painters Frants Henningsen and Otto Bache. Marie was also a member of the Danish Arts Academy and participated in a number of art exhibitions at Charlottenborg. The princess was also into bull riding. In fact, one of her most infamous pictures was of herself riding a bull.

To express her support to her husband’s marine career, she had an image of an anchor tattooed on her arm. Her husband, however, did not approve of the “love token” that he would order Marie to cover it up during formal occasions.

As the official protector of the fire brigade, she would let herself be photographed in a fire brigade uniform and would fearlessly respond to fires in Copenhagen. During one incident, she broke through the cordons and helped extinguish the fire. As a sign of gratitude, she was given a firefighter’s helmet as well as uniform buttons, which she eventually sewed on a female firefighter’s uniform made especially for her.

A Beautiful Princess

Marie was not considered a beauty based on the standards of her time. Instead, she was praised for her personality. A French magazine, Gil Blas, once wrote, “Without being beautiful, she possesses Appeal and Grace, and she caused a lot of Happiness by her amiable and youthful Manners.” Once, the Danish princess boarded a locomotive and insisted on being carried on an express journey. All throughout the trip, Marie asked about the tiniest details and workings of the machinery.

Political Involvement

Unlike other royal women of her time, Marie was deeply involved in politics. She belonged to the political left that convinced the king to acquiesce in the reforms of 1901, which led to the appointment of a Venstre government as well as the de facto introduction of parliamentarism. The French press had also credited Marie for having a major influence in the Franco-Russian alliance in 1894, for which she was put under house arrest by King Christian IX due to the dangerous nature of the fraternization. She also got a hand in the peace in the French-German Colonial conflict over at Morocco in 1905.

Death

Marie contracted pneumonia and, later, meningitis whilst her husband and three sons were touring the Far East. She died on December 4, 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was 44 years old. She was buried in the Roskilde Cathedral.

Marie was considered as the most intelligent Danish princess of her time. Commenting on the complaints regarding her unconventional manners, Marie once said: "Let them complain, I am just as happy nevertheless".