Editing Princess Benedikte of Denmark (section)

==Early life==
===Birth and family===
[[File:Amalienborg cph.jpg|thumb|left|Princess Benedikte's birthplace: [[Frederik VIII's Palace]] at [[Amalienborg]]]]
Princess Benedikte was born on 29 April 1944 at [[Frederik VIII's Palace]], her parents' residence at the [[Amalienborg|Amalienborg palace complex]], the principal residence of the [[Danish royal family]] in the district of [[Frederiksstaden]] in central [[Copenhagen]]. She was the second child and daughter of [[Frederik IX|Crown Prince Frederik]] and Crown Princess [[Ingrid of Sweden|Ingrid of Denmark]]. Her father was the eldest son of King [[Christian X]] and Queen [[Alexandrine of Denmark]], and her mother was the only daughter of Crown Prince [[Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden|Gustav Adolf of Sweden]] and his first wife, [[Princess Margaret of Connaught]].

Her birth took place during [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[Occupation of Denmark]]. The day after the birth of the princess, members of the [[Danish resistance movement|Danish resistance group]] [[Holger Danske (resistance group)|Holger Danske]] performed a [[salute]] of 21 [[bomb]]s in the [[Ørstedsparken]] [[public park]] in central [[Copenhagen]] as a reference to the traditional [[21-gun salute]] performed by the [[Danish Army]] and [[Danish Navy|Navy]] at the occasion of royal births.<ref>Peter Øvig Knudsen: ''Efter drabet'' (s. 191), forlaget Press, Oslo 2003, {{ISBN|82-7547-119-2}}</ref>

She was [[baptism|baptised]] on 24 May 1944, her parents' 9th wedding anniversary, in the [[Holmen Church]] in [[Copenhagen]]. Her godparents were King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (her paternal grandparents); [[Prince Gustav of Denmark]] (paternal grand-uncle); King [[Gustaf V]] of Sweden (maternal great-grandfather), [[Sigvard Bernadotte]] (maternal uncle); [[Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark]] (paternal aunt by marriage); [[Princess Ingeborg of Denmark]] (paternal grand-aunt); [[Princess Margaretha of Sweden]] (her father's first cousin); Sir [[Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer)|Alexander Ramsay]] (maternal grand-uncle by marriage) and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom]].<ref>[http://www.sa.dk/composite-2686.htm Prinsesse Benediktes fødsel og dåb] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203085229/http://www.sa.dk/composite-2686.htm |date=3 February 2012 }} – Website of the [[Danish National Archives]].</ref>

Princess Benedikte has one elder sister, [[Margrethe II|Margrethe]], former Queen of Denmark, and a younger sister, [[Queen Anne-Marie of Greece|Anne Marie]], who was born in 1946 and married [[Constantine II of Greece]].

===Childhood and education===
[[File:Princess Birgitta and Johan Georg von Hohenzollern 1961.jpg|thumb|left|Princess Benedikte as a bridesmaid at the 1962 wedding of [[Princess Birgitta of Sweden]] and [[Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern]]]]
Princess Benedikte and her sisters grew up in apartments at Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and in [[Fredensborg Palace]] in [[North Zealand]]. She spent the summer holidays with the royal family at her parents' summer residence at [[Gråsten Palace]] in [[Southern Jutland]]. On 20 April 1947, King Christian X died and Benedikte's father ascended the throne as King Frederik IX.

At the time of her father's accession to the throne, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark. As her parents had no sons, it was assumed that her uncle [[Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark|Prince Knud]] would one day assume the throne. The popularity of Frederik IX and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life paved the way for a new [[Act of Succession (Denmark)|Act of Succession]] in 1953 which permitted female [[Order of succession|succession]] to the throne following the principle of [[male-preference primogeniture]], where a female can ascend to the throne if she has no brothers. Benedikte's elder sister Margrethe therefore became [[heir presumptive]], and Princess Benedikte and Princess Anne-Marie became second and third in the line of succession.

Princess Benedikte was educated at [[N. Zahle's School]], a [[private school]] in Copenhagen, followed by stays at a [[boarding school]] ([[Benenden School]])<ref name="courtneypage29">{{cite book |last1=Courtney |first1=Nicholas |title=Princess Anne: A Biography |date=1986 |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |location=London |isbn=9780297789581 |access-date=22 April 2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYLVVUR51s8C&q=Benenden+School,+Princess+Benedikte |quote="The school helped too, although Miss Gee admitted to having a Royal charge 'a bit of a shock, but we had had a princess at Benenden before - a Danish one [Benedikte] - and after she [Anne] had arrived, it was all perfectly normal."}}</ref> in England and a Swiss [[finishing school]]. In 1965 she took a class at the Margrethe-Skolen, a private fashion and design school in Copenhagen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/danmark/stilfuld-stilfrdighed|title=Stilfuld stilfærdighed|publisher=[[Kristeligt Dagblad]]|language=da|access-date=23 March 2016|date=28 April 2004}}</ref>