Danish royals and officials have attended a private funeral in Copenhagen for Denmark’s late Prince Henrik, the husband of Queen Margrethe.
The queen, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, France’s ambassador to Denmark and some 60 other guests were among those at the simple church ceremony at the chapel of the Christiansborg Palace.
Later, hundreds of people lined the streets of the Danish capital to watch military officers carry away Henrik’s coffin, draped in a Danish flag with his personal coat of arms.
The royal palace has respected the wish of French-born Henrik to be cremated.
Officials said earlier that half of his ashes would be spread over Danish seas and the other half buried in the royal family’s private garden at the Fredensborg Palace, where he died.
The Danish royal family has no political authority, but it is one of the world’s oldest kingdoms and prides itself on stability. Last year, Henrik stunned Danes when he said he did not want to be buried next to Margrethe in keeping with tradition.
Henrik, who married Margrethe in 1967, died on February 13 at the age of 83.
He was diagnosed with dementia last year and was taken to hospital in January with a lung infection.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here