Princess Elisabeth was the daughter of Hereditary Prince Knud and Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde. As of 1947 Knud was Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Heir Presumptive to his elder brother HM King Frederick IX as the Danish laws of succession excluded women. When it became evident that Frederick and his Consort, Queen Ingrid, would not have any sons further to their three daughters, the law was changed. Ironically, the 1953 Danish Act of Succession, which denied Knud what he felt was his birthright, gave Elisabeth a place in the Line of Succession after her more senior female cousins. Unlike her brothers, who lost their places in the Line of Succession and their titles when they married without official consent, Elisabeth never married and retained hers. The Princess was often seen at many royal events, especially the annual New Year Gala Banquet.
Her funeral was held on Monday 25 June at Lyngby Church where she was christened. The above Standard, for members of the extended Danish Royal Family, was draped over her coffin. Her surviving elder brother, Count Ingolf of Rosenborg, and his wife, Countess Inge, and first cousins Queen Margrethe, Princess Benedikte, and Queen Anne-Marie were in attendance. She has been laid to rest next to her partner, Danish director Claus Hermansen, with whom she lived for many years until his death in 1997.