Royal motto: “GUDS HJÆLP, FOLKETS KÆRLIGHED, DANMARKS STYRKE”
Political organization: Denmark is the oldest monarchy in Europe. In 1894 it became a constitutional monarchy after the adoption of a new constitution. The monarch is the formal head of the state, playing a rather ceremonial role as the executive power, once exercised by the monarch is now taken over by the ministers, thus the prime minister is the first among equals (primus inter pares). The legislative power is held by both the monarch and the Danish parliament, known under the name of Folketing, constituted of no more than 179 members. The judiciary power is held by The Danish Court.
The universal vote is a common practice in Denmark; the Danish law considers women equal to men.
Denmark abolished the death penalty in 1930. It was reestablished for a short period after the Second World War, under the public pressure. 46 people were executed for war crimes after which the death penalty stopped being used for years. Finally in 1978 it was abolished again. Therefore extradition of a person to a country where he/she would be under the risk of the death penalty is illegal.
The kingdom of Denmark
By the tenth century Danish were known as Vikings who colonized, attacked and had commercial relationships with all European regions, along with Norwegians and Swedish. Viking explorers discovered Iceland by mistake on their way to Faroe Islands.
At the half of the tenth century, Gorm the Old and his son Harald I Bluetooth founded the royal dynasty of Denmark made up of 54 names until nowadays. The oldest royal Danish houses were:
The House of Valdemar, which is lost in 1448 with the death of king Christoffer III;
The House of Oldenborg is lost as a result of the death of Frederik VII, who had no heirs. The crown is taken over by a collateral branch, coming from Christian III, in the person of Christian IX (1818 - 1906) who climbs the throne after being approved of at the International Conference in London - 1852.
Matrimonial Alliances have lead to a change in name, other names being attached to that of Holstein, thus the present Royal House of Denmark bears the official name of The Royal House of Schleswig Holstein Sonderborg Glucksborg
THE HELP OF GOD, THE LOVE OF THE PEOPLE, THE POWER OF DENMARK
