Prince Christian of Denmark
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| Prince Christian of Denmark | |
 A photo of Prince Christian in honour of his first birthday. |
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| Born | October 15, 2005 (age 1) Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Other names | Christian Valdemar Henri John |
| Title | Prince of Denmark |
| Parents | Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark |
Prince Christian of Denmark (Christian Valdemar Henri John), born 15 October 2005, is the son of Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, the Australian-born Crown Princess Mary. He is a grandson of HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
As their firstborn child, Prince Christian is second-in-line to the Danish throne, and will become the heir apparent when his father ascends the throne as king, or dies before Queen Margarethe. Since the 16th century, firstborn sons of Danish monarchs have traditionally been named Frederik or Christian alternately (with a break for Margrethe II, who comes after one Frederik, her father, and presumably before another, her son). If Prince Christian becomes king as expected, after his father, he will be known as King Christian XI of Denmark.
On 26 October 2006 it was announced that his parents are expecting their second child in May 2007.[1]
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[edit] Birth
Prince Christian was born in Rigshospitalet, the Copenhagen University Hospital, at 1:57am. [2] He was healthy with an apgar score of 10 (out of 10) after 1 minute. At birth, he weighed 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and was 51 cm (20 ins) long. At noon on the day of his birth, 21-gun salutes were fired to mark the event. At the same time, public buses and official buildings hoisted Dannebrog.
At sunset later that day, beacon bonfires were put on fire all over the country, while Naval Home Guard vessels lit their searchlights and directed them towards the capital.
[edit] Brief hospitalization
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Prince Christian was shortly hospitalized on 21 October 2005 because he suffered from neonatal jaundice, a usually harmless illness and a fairly common one (especially in premature births). The first photographs of the then 3-day-old boy showed a yellow tinge to his face and hands. The prince was examined by doctors and underwent blood tests, then spent time in a light box under special coloured light rays to break down the Bilirubin substance which causes jaundice, before his parents took him home again the same day. He has made a full recovery.
[edit] Name and baptism
Prince Christian was baptised on 21 January 2006 in Christiansborg Palace Church [3] by Bishop Erik Norman Svendsen. Christian has eight godparents. They are Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Joachim of Denmark, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece (Frederik's cousin, son of Queen Anne-Marie), Jane Stephens (Mary's oldest sister) and two friends of the couple, Jeppe Handwerk and Hamish Campbell. His various forenames were chosen for the following reasons:
- Christian is after his great-great-grandfather, King Christian X of Denmark, continuing the Danish royal tradition of the heir apparent being named either Christian or Frederik.
- Valdemar is after the former King Valdemar IV Atterdag. It is also a common royal name – both the Prince's uncle Joachim and his cousin Felix, Joachim's second son, have Valdemar as one of their names.
- Henri is after his paternal grandfather, Prince Consort Henrik, whose given name was Henri.
- John is after his maternal grandfather, John Donaldson.
If Prince Christian becomes king as expected, he will be known as King Christian XI of Denmark. On 11 September 2006, Per Stig Møller, Denmark's Minister for Foreign Affairs, officially signed a document listing Prince Christian as heir to the Danish throne in the line of succession. The prince's full name, date of birth and christening, and the names of his godparents were recorded, as dictated by the Royal Law of 1799. On this date, Prince Christian was, officially, heir to the Danish throne after his father. [4] [5]
| Styles of Prince Christian of Denmark |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
[edit] Christian Valdemar Viking
The Scandinavian Airlines System announced plans for four brand new A319 aircraft, and the first A319, delivered on 8 August 2006 was named Christian Valdemar Viking, after Prince Christian.
[edit] Nursery School
On March 27, 2007 Prince Christian started nursery school at the Dronning Louise Children's House, located 35km north of Copenhagen. Prince Christian walked inside accompanied by Prince Federik and Princess Mary [6].
| Preceded by Crown Prince Frederik |
Line of succession to the Danish throne | Succeeded by Prince Joachim |
| Line of succession to the British throne |
