Sorgenfri Palace

Sorgenfri Palace (Danish: Sorgenfri Slot) is a royal residence of the Danish monarch, located in the Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality in Greater Copenhagen.

Today the palace is closed to the public but the palace gardens are accessible when the monarch is not in residence. Countess Anne Dorte, the widow of Count Christian of Rosenborg (a younger son of Prince Knud), presently resides in a wing of the palace.

Originally a country seat, Sorgenfri Palace was built for the Danish nobleman Count Carl Ahlefeldt in 1705-06. The palace first became a royal residence in 1730 after coming into the possession of the Danish Royal Family.

Crown Prince Frederick (later King Frederick V of Denmark) appointed the royal architect Lauritz de Thurah (noted also for his remodelling and expansion of Hirschholm Palace) to construct a wing for the gentlemen of the Court.

Upon his ascension to the throne, Frederick gave the residence to his aunt Sophie Caroline, Dowager Princess of East Frisia. The Princess instructed de Thurah to demolish the palace in 1756 to make way for a new palace.

Between 1791-94 Prince Frederick, brother to Christian VII of Denmark, created the present neoclassical facade of the palace. The characteristic cupola also dates from this time.

Sorgenfri was the preferred summer residence of King Christian X and his wife Queen Alexandrine. Both of Alexandrine's children Frederick and Knud, were born there. Both Knud and his wife Caroline-Mathilde lived at Sorgenfri Palace until their respective deaths in 1976 and 1995.