By 1971, Princess Margrethe had produced two children, pushing Christian to 8th in the line of succession. He then chose to
forfeit his right of succession to the throne by marrying without having received the
royal assent of the monarch in the
Council of State. His brother Ingolf had done the same three years previously. The king's permission to marry was not sought because it was expected to be denied, since Christian's
fiancée was an untitled commoner. Prior to his elder son's wedding in 1968, Prince Knud sought to convince his brother that Ingolf should be allowed to retain his royal title after his non-dynastic marriage, a privilege which might have been subsequently extended to Christian. But the king refused, on the grounds that other males of the dynasty, who had been demoted to counts of Rosenborg upon marriage, might try to re-claim their royal
rank if Ingolf were allowed to do so despite his marrying a commoner as they had done. who thus became
Her Excellency Countess Anne Dorte of Rosenborg. Although lacking the prior
royal assent of the monarch given in the
Council of State that the law required, the king expressed no personal opposition to his nephew's choice of bride and, according to Christian, the king's private consent later had to be formally registered by the
King-in-Council. In a 1985 interview with
Billed-Bladet, Count Christian had explained (translated from Danish): As protocol dictates, I had to ask my uncle, King Frederik IX, if he had any objections to my getting engaged...I knew I would have to renounce my title of prince and my right of succession if I married her. I was number four in the line of succession after
Princess Margrethe,
Princess Benedikte, and my father. My brother, Ingolf, had two years previously lost
his princely title and succession right when he married a commoner, Countess Inge. Now I was ready to follow him. To me, it didn't matter if I were in line for the throne or not...My uncle, of course, had nothing against a union between Anne Dorte and me. Count Christian and Countess Anne Dorte had three daughters: • Countess Josephine Caroline Elisabeth of Rosenborg (b. Frederikssund, 29 October 1972), married firstly in Lyngby on 3 October 1998 Thomas Christian Schmidt (b. Copenhagen, 22 April 1970), and had two children, married secondly on 6 August 2019 Kenneth Schmidt, without issue. • Countess Camilla Alexandrine Cristine of Rosenborg (b. Frederikssund, 29 October 1972), married firstly in Søllerød Kirke, Søllerød, on 18 May 1995 Mikael Rosanes (b. 8 February 1952), and had four children, married secondly on 25 Aug 2018 Ivan Ottesen, without issue. • Countess Feodora Mathilde Helena of Rosenborg (b. Frederikssund, 27 February 1975), married firstly at Holmens Kirke, in Copenhagen, on 31 July 2004 and divorced in 2006 Eric Hervé Patrice Patte (b. Pont-à-Mousson, 20 Aug 1976), without issue, married secondly in Copenhagen on 8 September 2008 Morten Rønnow (b. Tärnby, 18 June 1968), with issue. All three were born “Komtesser” a lower title than “Grevinde” which translates to “Countess” from birth. And a title that all daughters of Counts in Denmark are given. ==Public life==