Royal tantrum: Danish queen's husband refuses to share her grave because he wasn't made the king

Denmark's Prince Henrik has never been shy of acknowledging his royal ambitions, and if there's anything that he really desires it is the title of the king. But, the Danish royal, who has been married to Queen Margarethe II for 50 years, had to be satisfied with being just the prince consort.

In an act of protest, however, the 83-year-old prince has chosen not to share his grave with his wife, the queen. The news came from the Royal Danish House, as it appears that Henrik no longer wishes to be buried next to her, in a bespoke sarcophagus at Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark.

As it turns out, the shocking decision taken by the royal was fuelled by years of frustration at not being treated equally to his spouse. However, the decision has been accepted by the queen, said Lene Balleby, palace's communications chief.

"It makes me angry that I am subjected to discrimination," Henrik was quoted as saying by the French newspaper Le Figaro. "Denmark, which is otherwise known as an avid defender of gender equality, is apparently willing to consider husbands as worth less than their wives."

Prince Henrik – born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat – met Margarethe, then crown-princess, during his time in London as a diplomat. The couple got married in 1967 and despite five decades together, it looks like the prince is not ready to forgo his bitterness.

"It is no secret that the prince for many years has been unhappy with his role and the title he has been awarded in the Danish monarchy," Balleby told the Danish newspaper B.T. "For the prince, the decision not to be buried beside the queen is the natural consequence of not having been treated equally to his spouse — by not having the title and role he has desired."

The prince is yet to announce where he would like to be buried.

Henrik's bitterness shouldn't come as a surprise to royal watchers as the prince had long announced that he will "never accept" the denial of kingship.

"He has said he loves his wife, but has difficulties with the queen as an institution," Stephanie Surrugue, journalist and author said. In many ways "he doesn't feel treated as part of the ruling couple".

Despite the grudge that Henrik vows to carry to his grave, the royal representative claims he wants to be buried in Denmark, and not in his native France.