Her Excellency Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg
Born	June 30, 1964 (age 42) Hong Kong
Title	Countess of Frederiksborg
Spouse	Prince Joachim of Denmark (1995-2005), Martin Jørgensen (2007-)
Children	Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix
Parents	Richard Nigel Manley and Christa Maria Nowotny

Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg (née Alexandra Christina Manley, formerly HRH Princess Alexandra of Denmark, HH Princess Alexandra of Denmark), born 30 June 1964, is a former member of the Danish Royal House. [1] She is the former wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark. Image File history File linksMetadata Prinsesse_Alexandra. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Prince Joachim of Denmark (Joachim Holger Valdemar Christian), born 7 June 1969, is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. ... His Highness Prince Nikolai of Denmark (Nikolai William Alexander Frederik) (b. ... His Highness Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, Prince of Denmark (b. ... Richard Nigel Manley (born in 1924 in Shanghai, China) is the father of Alexandra Christina, Princess of Denmark, Countess of Frederiksborg. ... The French word née (feminine) or né (masculine) (or the English word nee) is still commonly used in some newspapers when mentioning the maiden name of a woman in engagement or wedding announcements. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Prince Joachim of Denmark (Joachim Holger Valdemar Christian), born 7 June 1969, is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. ...

Early life

Of Chinese, British, Polish and Austrian ancestry, Alexandra Manley was born in Hong Kong, as the eldest of three daughters of Richard Nigel Manley (born in Shanghai in 1924 to a British father and Chinese mother) and Christa Maria Manley (née Nowotny, born in Austria in 1933). Alexandra was christened at the Cathedral of Saint John, Hong Kong. Her father was an insurance company executive; her mother was the manager of a communications company. She also studied at the private English Schools Foundation run Island School for her secondary education. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The French word née (feminine) or né (masculine) (or the English word nee) is still commonly used in some newspapers when mentioning the maiden name of a woman in engagement or wedding announcements. ... Nowotny is a German surname. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... St. ... The English Schools Foundation (Chinese: 英基學校協會, abbreviated: ESF or 英基) is a non-profit organisation that runs 20 educational institutions, most of them international schools, across Hong Kong. ... Island School (港島中學) is a co-educational international school in Hong Kong. ...

Alexandra Manley studied international business at universities in Austria, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It is not known whether she obtained any university degree. From 1990 to 1995, she was employed by GT Management (Asia) Ltd., Hong Kong, where she from 1990-1993 worked in Sales and Marketing and from 1993 as a deputy chief executive of that department.

Marriage and children

Alexandra met Prince Joachim at a party in Hong Kong, where he was working for a Danish shipping company. After a whirlwind courtship, thought to have begun in late autumn of 1994, Prince Joachim, on bended knee, presented Alexandra with a diamond and ruby engagement ring while the couple holidayed together in the Philippines. Their engagement, which took both Alexandra's family and Danish royal watchers by surprise, was officially revealed in May 1995. They were wed on 18 November 1995, by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's Chaplain-in-Ordinary, and took place in the Chapel of Frederiksborg Castle at Hillerød. The wedding festivities were held at Fredensborg Palace. Traditional hat toss celebration at a graduation ceremony at the United States Naval Academy A party is a social gathering intended primarily for celebration and recreation. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Queen Margrethe II (Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid) (born 16 April 1940) is the Queen regnant and head of state of Denmark. ...

When she wed Prince Joachim, however, she had to renounce her British citizenship and give up her career in marketing. She also decided to change her religious community. Alexandra, an Anglican, received instruction in the Evangelical Lutheran faith and was confirmed prior to her wedding. The Anglican Communion is a world-wide organisation of Anglican Churches. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Prince Joachim and Alexandra have two children:

• His Highness Prince Nikolai William Alexander Frederik, born on 28 August 1999
• His Highness Prince Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, born on 22 July 2002

His Highness Prince Nikolai of Denmark (Nikolai William Alexander Frederik) (b. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... His Highness Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, Prince of Denmark (b. ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

Life as a princess

Alexandra instantly became popular with the Danish people. Known for her fashion sense and charity work, she was dubbed the Diana of the North. She is a native English and German speaker (through her father and mother, respectively), and her fluency in German helped her pick up the Danish language quickly. Within a few years she spoke it nearly without accent, which further endeared her to the Danes. As she said in an interview, "I don't find the grammar especially difficult, but the pronunciation can be hard, since we swallow some of our words. It reminds me a little of Chinese, with the glottal stop … Saying something with an upswing or a downswing can give a word an entirely different meaning," she explained. "It was my decision to learn the language immediately. It would have been terrible to have to stand up and speak English at an engagement, or thank someone for something. It would have been utterly wrong. This is my home, and so there was no other option."^[1] Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor; née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of Elizabeth II. Her two sons, Princes William and Harry, are second and third, respectively, in line to the... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

She also speaks Cantonese as a result of growing up and being educated in Hong Kong, but reportedly does not speak it fluently, despite having lived in Hong Kong for more than three decades. Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

Both during and after her marriage, she was involved in numerous philanthropic pursuits, including the Children's Red Cross, the Danish Society for the Blind, UNICEF, and single mothers' advocacy group Mother Help. She also served as a UNICEF ambassador when she travelled to Thailand to visit HIV/AIDS patients.^[2]

Separation and divorce

By the summer of 2004, rumours were circulating throughout Denmark and neighbouring Sweden and Norway that her marriage to Prince Joachim had gone sour. The rumours proved to be true. On 16 September 2004 Alexandra and Joachim announced their separation and eventual intention to divorce. It would be the first in the royal family since 1846. Newspaper reports speculating on the reasons for the marital rupture soon followed. The Folketing decided to put Alexandra on the civil list for life, independent of her possible future remarriage. Alexandra's payments of her new yearly allowance of $330,000.00 (US) started retroactively from 1 October 2004. The couple divorced on 8 April 2005. September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Folketing, or Folketinget, is the name of the national parliament of Denmark. ... A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the summer of 2005 there were reports and photographs of Alexandra with her new live-in companion Martin Jørgensen [2] who is fourteen years her junior. For many years JJ Film, which is his father Jacob Jørgensen's film production company, produced numerous documentaries in which members of the royal family co-operated and participated. However, after Martin and Alexandra's relationship became public knowledge, another film production company has been given that task. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On February 7th it was announced that Alexandra would marry Martin Jørgensen on 3 March 2007[3]. She is now known as Her Excellency Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

New style and title

As with other royal consorts married to princes, Alexandra's style Royal Highness rested on her marital status, and ceased upon her divorce. After the divorce Alexandra was given a new, albeit lower status, style Highness. This is viewed by many in Denmark as a better solution than what was done with the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who having lost her Royal Highness style upon her divorce, was not given any new style of her own, despite the fact that she was the mother of a future monarch, Prince William of Wales. A style of office, or honorific, is a form of address which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a title or post, or to the political office itself. ... Look up Excellence, Excellency, excellency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor; née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of Elizabeth II. Her two sons, Princes William and Harry, are second and third, respectively, in line to the... Prince William redirects here. ...

On her birthday 16 April 2005 Queen Margrethe bestowed upon her former daughter-in-law the additional personal title grevinde af Frederiksborg (Countess of Frederiksborg). [4] The title is personal (unlike the title of princess) and thus it was not revoked nor did it become dormant when Alexandra remarried in March 2007. Like a life peerage in the United Kingdom, it will not be inherited by her children. April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as hereditary peers). ...

Marriage to Martin Jørgensen

She married Martin Jørgensen on 3 March 2007 and therefore forfeited her title as a "Princess of Denmark". She will be titled as Her Excellency Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg. The title Countess of Frederiksborg is given the rank of Class 1, which entitles Alexandra to the style of "Excellency". She's expecting a baby in summer or autumn 2007 from her second husband Martin Jørgensen. March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

Titles from birth

English

• Miss Alexandra Christina Manley (1964-1995)
• Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1995-2005)
• Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark (2005)
• Her Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Countess of Frederiksborg (2005-2007)
• Her Excellency Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg (2007-)

Danish

• Frøken Alexandra Christina Manley (1964-1995)
• Hendes Kongelige Højhed Prinsesse Alexandra af Danmark (1995-2005)
• Hendes Højhed Prinsesse Alexandra af Danmark (2005)
• Hendes Højhed Prinsesse Alexandra af Danmark, grevinde af Frederiksborg (2005-2007)
• Hendes Excellence Alexandra Christina, grevinde af Frederiksborg (2007-)

References

1. ^ "Denmark's Princess Alexandra reflects on life at 40"
2. ^ "Denmark's Princess Alexandra reflects on life at 40"

External links

• The Official Page of Princess Alexandra
• News on Princess Alexandra's Wedding, at 4PM