Danish order of precedence

The Danish order of precedence is a symbolic hierarchy of Danish officials used to direct protocol. It has no official status and entails no special privileges, but has been established in practical use, e.g. determining seating arrangements at formal occasions in the royal house. The order of precedence is very elaborate, and especially the lower classes include a lot of relatively obscure civil servant positions; the following is only an excerpt.

The royal family

Members of the royal family are not part of the official order of precedence, but are traditionally placed on top of the hierarchy. Their order is as follows:

• HM The Queen
• HRH The Prince Consort
• HRH The Crown Prince
• HRH The Crown Princess
• HRH Prince Christian
• HRH Princess Isabella
• HRH Prince Vincent
• HRH Princess Josephine
• HRH Prince Joachim
• HRH Princess Marie
• HH Prince Nikolai
• HH Prince Felix
• HH Prince Henrik
• HRH Princess Benedikte
• HH Princess Elisabeth

When the Queen is out of the country the heir apparent is regent.

If the Crown Prince is also out of the country, the role of regent falls to the next adult in the line of succession. The eligible persons are:

• Prince Joachim of Denmark
• Princess Benedikte of Denmark
• Princess Elisabeth of Denmark

The actual order of precedence is divided into five classes:

1st Class

1. Counts of Rosenborg and the Countess of Frederiksborg
2. Government ministers
3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
4. Knights of the Elephant
5. Grand Commanders of the Dannebrog
6. Generals and admirals (the Chief of Defence is the only military officer of this rank in Denmark at any given time)
7. Lieutenant generals and vice admirals
8. The Counts Danneskiold-Samsøe

2nd Class

1. Grand Crosses of the Dannebrog
2. Counts. Ambassadors. The Lord Chamberlain
3. Supreme Court judges. Presidents of the High courts. Senior ministry secretaries. The Director-general of the Danish Railways. The Postmaster General. Major generals and rear admirals. The Attorney General. The Chief of Police. The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen. The Managing Director of the National Bank of Denmark. Bishops in the Church of Denmark. The Rector of the University of Copenhagen. The Royal Danish Ombudsman in Greenland
4. The Royal Master of Ceremonies
5. Junior ministry secretaries. Consuls general. University rectors. The Bishop of the Faroe Islands

3rd Class

1. Barons
2. High Court judges. Colonels and naval captains. Directors at Rigshospitalet. Regents Professor at the University of Copenhagen. Rectors of Business schools and Dental schools. Managing Directors of the National Museum of Denmark, the Danish National Archive and the Royal Danish Theatre. The Master of the Royal Mint
3. The High Court judge of Greenland
4. County Court judges. Lieutenant colonels and commanders. Chief Constables. Senior hospital physicians. Deans in the Church of Denmark. University Professors. Gymnasium rectors

4th Class

1. Chief inspectors. Majors and Lieutenant Commanders. Senior vicars
2. Managing directors at the regional archives. University associate professors.

5th Class

1. Gymnasium associate professors. University assistant professors.
2. Police inspectors. Junior vicars
3. Captains and naval lieutenants.
4. Lieutenants and naval lieutenants, junior grade

External links

• Order of precedence (in Danish)