'Lord' Bendtner's bizarre connection to royalty and story behind cult hero's nickname

Nicklas Bendtner once dated a Danish Baroness with a strong connection to the Danish royal family - but that isn't the reason for his infamous 'Lord Bendtner' nickname

Will Schofield Senior Sports Reporter

14:03, 19 Sep 2022

Nicklas Bendtner briefly dated a Danish Baroness(Image: COLP)

Nicklas Bendtner was one of football's great characters during the 2010s: he wasn't as bad as people would have you believe, but nowhere near as good as he'd tell you.

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He infamously quipped in his formative years: "If you ask me if I am one of the best strikers in the world, I’d say ‘yes’ because I believe it." And as Bendtner was a centre of jokes about his footballing ability, he acquired the nickname 'Lord'.

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But Bendtner could have acquired a royal title when he dated Danish royalty Baroness Caroline Iuel-Brockdorff in the late 2000s. However, Caroline relinquished her Baroness title when she married Rory Fleming in 2001.

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Alongside her royal blood, Caroline's daughter, Josephine, is the goddaughter of Mary Donaldson, the crown princess of Denmark.

The pair were seen together at Hyde Park in London on November 2009, having reportedly met when Caroline was filmed renovating her family home, Valdemar's Castle, on a reality show. The Arsenal man was a guest on the show.

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The following year Caroline gave birth to Bendtner's son, but in 2011 the couple went their separate ways.

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The pair have one child together(Image: COLP)

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A friend of the couple told The Sun after it was announced the pair had split: "It was a whirlwind romance and they were madly in love – perhaps they did realise in the end they were poles apart in age and outlook.

"The birth of a child can put a strain on any relationship but there seems to have been more pressure on them both recently in the last couple of weeks."

Another source added: "They decided to go their separate ways now rather than have a messy divorce in the future. They will of course remain in close contact because of the child."

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Nicklas Bendtner is best known for his spell at Arsenal(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

However, Bendtner would officially acquire the 'Lord' nickname in 2015 when Danish magazine SE Og HOR claimed to have purchased the striker some land in Scotland, meaning he can legitimately refer to himself as Lord Bendtner.

The magazine claimed to have a deed that sees Bendtner the owner of a meter square area of land in Glencoe Wood.

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Elisa Lykke, Bendtner's agent, said he was delighted with the honour: "We have seen it, and Nicklas thinks it’s a fun gimmick."

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