House of Laborde de Monpezat

The House of Laborde de Monpezat, more accurately described as the de Laborde de Monpezat family, is an old French bourgeois family originating in Béarn in southwestern France. Its members have historically included businessmen, politicians, diplomats, local officeholders and other public figures. The family is not a commercial brand in the ordinary sense; its significance lies in genealogy, social history, heraldry and its connection with the Danish monarchy. The family name is associated with the marriage of Jean Laborde, a local physician, to Catherine d'Arricau, heiress of the Monpezat estate, on 16 August 1648. Through this marriage, the Laborde family adopted the territorial designation Monpezat. In 1655, Jean Laborde received letters patent from Louis XIV concerning several properties owned by the family in Monpezat and Beaufranc. These documents described the properties as noble lands, but the family's status was not accepted by the Estates of Béarn. Petitions for recognition submitted in 1703 and 1707 were rejected. Consequently, French genealogists and historians have generally treated the family as bourgeois rather than as part of the legally recognized French nobility. The form of the surname changed by imperial decree during the reign of Napoleon III. It was altered from Laborde de Monpezat to de Laborde-Monpezat on 14 July 1860 and then to de Laborde de Monpezat on 19 May 1861. The family subsequently remained associated with Béarn and the wider southwest of France. Aristide de Laborde de Monpezat served as mayor of Pau in 1875, illustrating the family's participation in local public life. Some members of the family moved to Hanoi in French Indochina between the 1930s and 1950s for business activities. Political unrest connected with the First Indochina War led this branch to return to France. The family's international profile increased substantially in 1967, when Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat, a French diplomat serving in London, married Princess Margrethe of Denmark, then heir presumptive to the Danish throne. After the marriage he became known as Prince Henrik of Denmark. Prince Henrik and Queen Margrethe II had two sons, Frederik and Joachim, and their descendants became part of the Danish royal family. In 1974, the royal couple purchased Château de Cayx near Cahors as a residence associated with Prince Henrik's French heritage. The property was restored and developed as a winery, becoming a visible cultural link between the family's French origins and the Danish court. In 2008, Queen Margrethe II granted the title Count or Countess of Monpezat to her two sons and made it hereditary for their descendants in the male line, applying to both male and female descendants. The title is used alongside the Danish royal family's princely titles. The grant was communicated by the Danish royal household through a press release rather than, according to the referenced account, through publication in the government gazette. The family's name also remains subject to a long-running nobility controversy. Since the late nineteenth century, certain members have used the courtesy title of count, but French specialists in nobility have generally not regarded the family as historically or legally noble. The Danish royal family's use of Monpezat titles is a separate royal prerogative and does not establish that the wider French family belonged to the French nobility. The Danish dynasty itself remains officially associated with the House of Glücksburg, with the wider royal house also connected agnatically to Oldenburg. No official change of the Danish royal family's dynastic name was announced upon the accession of King Frederik X.

The family traces its origins to Béarn in southwestern France. The name became associated with Monpezat after Jean Laborde, a local physician, married Catherine d'Arricau, heiress to the Monpezat estate, on 16 August 1648. This marriage established the territorial form of the family name and connected the Labordes with property in the region. In 1655, Jean Laborde obtained letters patent from Louis XIV concerning three houses and farms held by the family in Monpezat and Beaufranc. The properties were described as noble lands, but the family did not secure recognition as noble by the Estates of Béarn. The Estates rejected petitions in 1703 and 1707, and the referenced historical account states that the family was not received into that body on the basis of nobility. This distinction is central to later debates over the family's status: ownership or designation of land did not automatically create recognized nobility in Béarn. During the nineteenth century, the family surname underwent two legal changes under Napoleon III. On 14 July 1860, it was changed from Laborde de Monpezat to de Laborde-Monpezat. On 19 May 1861, it became de Laborde de Monpezat, the form commonly associated with the family today. The family participated in regional public life, including through Aristide de Laborde de Monpezat, who served as mayor of Pau in 1875. From the 1930s through the 1950s, a branch of the family lived in Hanoi in Tonkin, then part of French Indochina, where it pursued business activities. The political and military instability associated with the First Indochina War and the Việt Minh prompted the family's return to France. The decisive transformation in the family's public profile came through Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat. A French diplomat stationed in London, he met Princess Margrethe of Denmark, who was studying at the London School of Economics. They married in 1967. Following the marriage, Henri became Prince Henrik of Denmark, and the family became linked to the Danish royal house. Their sons were Frederik, later King Frederik X, and Joachim. The descendants of this marriage form the best-known Danish branch of the broader family. In 1974, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik purchased Château de Cayx near Cahors in France. The estate was restored and became a winery as well as a private and ceremonial expression of Prince Henrik's French heritage. It also became associated with periods in the couple's private life, including a temporary separation. Queen Margrethe II further recognized the Monpezat connection in 2008 by granting her sons the titles Count of Monpezat and making the designation hereditary for their descendants in the male line, regardless of gender. The titles are used in addition to royal titles and are borne by descendants of the Danish royal family. Prince Joachim's branch also uses arms incorporating a Monpezat element. The historical family and the Danish royal house should not be conflated. The Danish monarchy is officially associated with the House of Glücksburg, itself part of the broader Oldenburg dynastic tradition. The Monpezat title is a Danish royal title connected with Prince Henrik's family background, not proof that the entire French family was recognized as noble. French reference works cited in discussions of the family have generally rejected the family's claim to legally established French nobility and have characterized the countly designation used by some relatives as a courtesy title. The family therefore occupies an unusual position: it is historically French and bourgeois, while one branch has acquired exceptional visibility through marriage into the Danish monarchy.

• 2008

  Monpezat titles granted to Danish royal descendants

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  Queen Margrethe II granted hereditary Count and Countess of Monpezat titles to her sons and their descendants in the male line.

• 1974

  Purchase of Château de Cayx

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik purchased Château de Cayx in France, restored the estate and developed it as a winery.

• 1967

  Henri de Laborde de Monpezat marries Princess Margrethe

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  The marriage of French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat and Princess Margrethe of Denmark created the family's enduring connection with the Danish royal family.

• 1875

  Aristide de Laborde de Monpezat serves as mayor of Pau

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  Aristide de Laborde de Monpezat held the mayoralty of Pau, reflecting the family's role in local civic life.

• 1861

  Surname legally changed to de Laborde de Monpezat

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  The surname was changed again to the form de Laborde de Monpezat.

• 1860

  Surname legally changed to de Laborde-Monpezat

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  A decree under Napoleon III changed the family surname to de Laborde-Monpezat.

• 1707

  Second petition for recognition rejected

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  A further attempt to obtain recognition by the Estates of Béarn was unsuccessful.

• 1703

  Petition for recognition rejected

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  A petition connected with the family's claimed noble status was rejected by the Estates of Béarn.

• 1655

  Letters patent concerning family properties

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  Louis XIV issued letters patent describing several Laborde properties in Monpezat and Beaufranc as noble lands, without ensuring recognition of the family as nobility in Béarn.

• 1648

  Marriage establishes the Monpezat connection

  [1]De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org

  Jean Laborde married Catherine d'Arricau, heiress of the Monpezat estate, linking the Laborde family with the Monpezat name and properties.

A historical French family name associated with Béarn, diplomatic and civic service, disputed claims of French noble status, and a distinguished connection to the Danish royal family.

• 2008

  Creation of hereditary Monpezat titlesOther

  Background

  Queen Margrethe II sought to recognize Prince Henrik's French family heritage within the Danish royal family.

  Action taken

  The titles Count and Countess of Monpezat were granted to the queen's sons and made hereditary for their descendants in the male line, applying to both male and female descendants.

  Aftermath

  The titles became part of the nomenclature used by descendants of the Danish royal family, while the broader French family's historical noble status remained contested.

  Source

1. 1De Laborde de Monpezat familyen.wikipedia.org