Count of Rosenborg

Count of Rosenborg
The coat of arms of the counts of Rosenborg.
Creation date
  • 5 February 1914 (first creation)
  • 27 February 1971 (last creation)
Created by
First holderPrince Aage, Count of Rosenborg
StatusExtant

Count of Rosenborg (Danish: Greve af Rosenborg) is a Danish hereditary title of nobility granted by the monarchs of Denmark to some men formerly titled as princes of Denmark and their descendants.

Traditionally, the title has been conferred to male princes who married morganatically, and thus could not obtain a consent for marriage by the sovereign, which consequently resulted in the forfeiture of their dynastic rights, including succession to the Danish throne, royal styles and princely titulature. The comital title refers to Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen.

During the 20th century several lines with the title and name Count of Rosenborg were separated from the Danish royal family. There are seven lines of the Counts of Rosenborg, the first of which became extinct on the male side in 1995. The title was first given to Prince Valdemar's son Prince Aage in 1914, after he morganatically eloped with Matilda Calvi, daughter of Count Carlo Giorgio di Bergolo. Most recently, Hereditary Prince Knud's two sons, Prince Ingolf and Prince Christian, received the title in 1967 and 1971, respectively.

Being former agnatic members of the royal house of Denmark, the holders of the title Count of Rosenborg were assigned the highest place in the Danish order of precedence (1st Class, No. 1), as a recognition of their preeminence, and they are consequently the highest ranking nobles in the Danish nobility.