List of honours of Denmark awarded to heads of state and royalty

This article serves as an index – as complete as possible – of all the honorific orders or similar decorations awarded by Denmark, classified by Monarchies chapter and Republics chapter, and, under each chapter, recipients' countries and the detailed list of recipients.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Awards

Monarchies

European monarchies

Danish Royal Family

Official website pages (click on "Decorations"): Margrethe - Henrik - Frederik - Mary - Joachim - Marie - Benedikte

• King Frederik X:
  • Knight of the Order of the Elephant (14 January 1972)
  • Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog
• Queen Mary: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (9 May 2004)
• Queen Margrethe:
  • Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 April 1947)
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Dannebrog
• Prince Joachim of Denmark:
  • Knight of the Order of the Elephant (14 January 1972)
  • Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog
• Princess Marie of Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (24 May 2008)
• Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 November 1995)
• Princess Benedikte of Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 April 1947)
• Count Ingolf of Rosenborg, former Prince of Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 February 1961)

British Royal Family

• King Charles III: 1974 - Knight of the Order of the Elephant - RE

Norwegian Royal Family

See also decorations pages (mark °): Harald, Sonja, Haakon, Mette-Marit, Mârtha Louise, Astrid & Ragnhild

• King Harald V of Norway:
  • Knight with Collar of the Order of the Elephant (21 February 1958)
  • Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (28 October 1991)
• Queen Sonja of Norway: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (12 February 1973)
• Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 July 1991)
• Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 May 2014)
• Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (21 January 2022)
• Princess Märtha Louise of Norway: Knight of the Order of the Elephant° (13.10.1992)

Swedish Royal Family

• King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden:
  • Knight with Collar of the Order of the Elephant (12 January 1965) - Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (10.4.1975)
• Queen Silvia of Sweden: Knight with Collar of the Order of the Elephant (3 September 1985)
• Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (14 July 1995)
• Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (6 January 1973)

Dutch Royal Family

• King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (31 January 1998)
• Queen Máxima of the Netherlands: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 March 2015)
• Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (29 October 1975)

Belgian Royal Family

• King Philippe of Belgium: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (28 May 2002)
• Queen Mathilde of Belgium: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (28 March 2017)
• King Albert II of Belgium:
  • Knight of the Order of the Elephant (18 June 1968)
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (to be checked)
• Queen Paola of Belgium: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (16 May 1995)

Luxembourgish Grand-Ducal Family

• Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 October 2003)
• Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 October 2003)

Spanish Royal Family

• Juan Carlos I of Spain: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 March 1980)
• Queen Sofía of Spain: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 March 1980)
• Felipe VI of Spain: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (6 November 2023)
• Queen Letizia of Spain: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (6 November 2023)

Asian monarchies

Jordanian Royal Family

• Dowager Queen Noor al-Hussein: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (27 April 1998)
• Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, son of Queen Alia of Jordan, half-brother of Abdullah II of Jordan: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (27 April 1998)
• Prince Muhammad bin Talal, eldest younger brother of King Hussein I of Jordan: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog

Thai Royal Family

• King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (7 February 2001)
• Queen Sirikit of Thailand: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (6 September 1960)
• Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog, 2001

Japanese Imperial Family

• Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Elephant (8 August 1953)
• Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan: Member of the Order of the Elephant (2 June 1998)
• Emperor Naruhito of Japan: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (16 November 2004)
• Masahito, Prince Hitachi: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (28 September 1965)

Former Monarchies

Greek Royal Family

• Constantine II, former King of the Hellenes: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (4 January 1962)
• Anne-Marie, former Queen of the Hellenes, Princess of Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 April 1947)
• Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Prince of Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (14 January 1997)
• Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, Constantine II's sister: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (11 September 1964)
• Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, Prince Christopher's son: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (11 September 1964)

Iranian Imperial Family

• Former Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (3 May 1963)

Republics

Brazil

• Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (3 May 1999)
• President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (12 September 2007)

Bulgaria

• former President Petar Stoyanov: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 October 2000)
• President Georgi Parvanov: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (29 March 2006)
• Zorka Petrova Parvanova, his wife: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (2006)

Egypt

• former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (19 February 1986)

Finland

• former President Martti Ahtisaari: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (7 September 1994)
• President Tarja Halonen: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (3 April 2001)

France

• Former President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1974-1981): Knight of the Order of the Elephant (12 October 1978)

Greece

• President Karolos Papoulias: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (24 May 2006)

Iceland

• former President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (25 February 1981)
• President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (18 November 1996)

Latvia

• former President Guntis Ulmanis: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (18 March 1997)

Poland

• Former President Lech Wałęsa: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (5 July 1993)

Mexico

• President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (18 February 2008)
• Margarita Zavala, his wife: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (18 February 2008)

Portugal

• former President António Santos Ramalho Eanes: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (25 June 1984)

Romania

• former President Emil Constantinescu: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (23 May 2000)
• former President Ion Iliescu: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (16 March 2004)

Slovakia

• President Ivan Gašparovič: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (October 2012)
• Silvia Gašparovičová, his wife: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (October 2012)

Slovenia

• former President Milan Kučan: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (10 October 2001)

South Korea

• President Lee Myung-bak: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (11 May 2011)

See also

• List of knights of the Order of the Elephant