House of Monpezat
| House of Laborde de Monpezat | |
|---|---|
 Armorial of Monpezat |
|
| Country | France, Denmark |
| Titles | Princes of Denmark, Counts of Monpezat Prince Consort of Denmark |
| Founded | 16 August 1648 |
| Founder | Jean Laborde and Catherine d'Arricau, dame de Monpezat |
| Current head | Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark |
The House of Laborde de Monpezat (French pronunciation: [la.bɔʁd də mɔ̃.pə.za]) is a French family, known since the seventeenth century, associated with the Danish Royal Family by marriage. In 1967, Henri de Laborde de Monpezat wed Princess Margrethe of Denmark, heir presumptive of the ruling House of Glücksburg. In the event of ascension to the Danish throne of their son or male-line descendant, the main branch of the Danish Royal Family will belong patrilineally to the Laborde de Monpezat lineage. However, it is unclear which name the royal family will use in this event.
The Labordes were a well-to-do family of the middle-class originating from the region of Béarn in southwestern France which took the name Laborde de Monpezat, following the marriage of Jean Laborde to Catherine d'Arricau, dame de Monpezat on 16 August 1648. Letters patent of ennoblement were issued by Louis XIV of France in 1655. But the elevation in status depended legally upon the family's recognition as noble by the province of Béarn, where their lands were located, in the form of registration of the king's decree by the Béarnaise Estates which, in 1703 and again in 1707, rejected the Laborde de Monpezat petition for validation.
Nonetheless, the family survived the French Revolution under the name of Monpezat. By Napoleonic decrees, the family's requests to legally change their surname to de Laborde-Monpezat (on 14 July 1860) and then to de Laborde de Monpezat (on 19 May 1861) were granted. Under the present form of the name, the family supplied a mayor to the town of Pau in 1875; Aristide de Laborde de Monpezat (1830–1888), great grandfather of Prince Henrik.
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