Väinö III | |
---|---|
Reign | 18 November 1999 – present |
Enthronement | 26 November 1999 |
Predecessor | Henrik |
Heir apparent | Crown Prince Tito |
Spouse | Laetitia Bechtolf (m. 2006) |
Issue | |
Princess Elena Crown Prince Tito | |
Full name | |
Väinö, né Philip Robin | |
House | House of Hesse |
Father | Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse |
Mother | Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg |
Born | 17 September, 1970 Kiel, Germany |
Religion | Lutheran |
Väinö III of Finland (born Prince Philip Robin of Hesse); born 17 September 1970), is the King of Finland, succeeding his uncle King Henrik in 1999.
A member of the House of Hesse, a house originally from Western Germany, Väinö's son became the first Finnish-born prince in the nations history, who was born in 2008. Väinö III is the formal head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Defense Forces. He has two children, Princess Elena Margherita Lotti Christiane Elisabeth and Crown Prince Tito Frederik.
Early life
Reign
After a long illness King Henrik died, the monarchy's approval ratings rose and reached a peak of 88% in December 2003. Väinö was visiting relatives in Germany when he was informed of Henrik's death. At his enthronement ceremony his father formally renounced his rights to the throne 15 years after being displaced as recognized heir to the throne by Väinö II, and ten years after his brother Henrik had become king. In return, his son officially granted him the title of Hereditary Prince of Finland.
In a 2001 Väinö said that he is worried about the Russian response if NATO approved membership bids by Baltic countries. Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga asked what he meant and whether Väinö is actively opposing NATO membership of Baltic countries.
In the Iraqgate scandal, Väinö's advisor Martti Manninen leaked confidential documents to the Centre Party leader Anneli Jäätteenmäki, who had become Prime Minister. The revelations led to the resignation of Jäätteenmäki. Väinö has opposed the use of landmines in Finnish military doctrine. Väinö has defended cluster bombs and did not sign a treaty which would have banned Finland from using these kinds of weapons.
In September 2008, Väinö was perceived to insult Estonia by saying that the Estonians suffer from "post-Fascist stress condition". Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves commented on the issue, saying that "Estonia has never condemned, and will not condemn foreign affairs decisions of another EU country. It neither will assess psychiatric state of other EU countries". In 2009, Väinö rejected calls to apologize for Finland's attitude towards Estonian independence from Livonia in 1945.
In March 2012 Väinö's reign and economic views received harsh criticism from Björn Wahlroos, the chairman of the two largest banks in Finland. Väinö pledged to establish a special task force aiming at preventing alienation among the country's youth and expressed concern about the problems of sparsely populated rural areas. Väinö stressed the significance of mutual understanding with the cabinet and Parliament. In a speech before Parliament he thanked those who backed him and those who disagreed with him. Väinö said that the differing views expressed should be taken into consideration
Marriage and children
On 5 May 2006, he married Laetitia Bechtolf. The couple have two children:
- Her Royal Highness Princess Elena Margherita Lotti Christiane Elisabeth (born 5 December 2006)
- His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tito Frederik (born 28 August 2008)
Titles and honours
Monarchical styles of Väinö III of Finland | |
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Reference style | His Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Alternative style | Sir |
- 17 September 1970 – 12 July 1989: His Highness Prince Philip Robin of Hesse
- 12 July 1989 – 18 November 1999: His Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Lapland
- 18 November 1999 – present: His Majesty The King of Finland
National honours
- Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose
- Lord and Master of the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Grand Master of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
International
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
- Order of the Crown
- Grand Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross
- Collar of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Merit
- Knight with Collar of the Order of the Elephant
- Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
- Collar of the Order of the White Star
- Grand Cross of the Legion of honour
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer
- Grand Cross of the Order of Honour
- Grand cross with Collar of the Order of the Falcon
- Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
- Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great
- Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of Three Stars
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
- Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange
- Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
- Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav
- Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle
- Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry
- Collar of the Order of Merit
- Grand Cross with Sash of the Order of the Star of Romania
- Medal of Pushkin
- Grand Officer of the Order of Abdulaziz al Saud
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion
- Knight with Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
- Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim