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The Danish Prince who Called Arcadia Home
Arcadia Weekly Nov 02, 2017
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The home of Prince Erik and Lois, now dubbed “Prince Erik Hall.” – Photo by Galen Patterson / Beacon Media News
The story of Prince Erik and his home on Santa Anita Ave.
By Galen Patterson
Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg was a member of the Danish royal family and moved to Arcadia in 1924.
Erik was born Erik Frederik Christian Alexander in 1890 as the nephew of the King of Denmark. His status was well known and respected in the early 1900s, but contrary to the stereotype royal bloodlines conjure, Erik was different.
Newspapers at the time refer to Erik as a “a man of action,” who “wishes to be useful and not ornamental.” Carol Libby, a local historian of the Arcadia Historical Society says Erik “did not like being of royal blood.”
Clearly, Libby’s assessment is right, as Erik married a Canadian lumber baron’s daughter, Lois Francis Booth in 1924. In order for Prince Erik to marry a commoner, he was forced to renounce his title of royal highness and thus any claim to the throne. Erik was, however allowed to maintain the title of ‘highness’ and remained so when he established his new life in Arcadia.
According to Libby, Erik and his new wife were given between four and five million dollars as a wedding gift by Lois’ parents. Together, they bought eight acres of land on Santa Anita Ave., where they built a large home and a chicken ranch where they lived year-round.
Several photos and articles of the time show Erik wearing the clothes of a farmer and describe him as the kind of man who loved an honest day’s work.
After four years, the two returned to Denmark, where Lois enjoyed the life of semi-royalty before the two divorced in 1937. Though the reasons for divorce are not of public record, “[Lois] had fallen in love with [Erik’s] secretary” says Libby, and the marriage dissolved thereafter.
Erik returned to the chicken ranch in the late 1930s and sold the land to an undisclosed party, forever washing his hands of his former life as a Southern California chicken farmer.
Today, the home still stands and has been named “Prince Erik Hall.” The land is now owned by the Arcadia Congregational Church, is home to the Arcadia Historical Society and is a popular location for events and weddings.
