- 1863: Denmark Royal Succession Crisis
- 1863-1906: King of Denmark
- 1863-64: Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg
- House of Oldenburg
Biography
Christian von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince of Denmark, King of Denmark, was born 8 April 1818 Gottorf Castle in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany to Friedrich Wilhelm von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1785-1831) and Luise Karoline von Hessen-Kassel (1789-1867) and died 29 January 1906 Amalienborg Copenhagen, Denmark of unspecified causes. He married Louise von Hessen-Kassel (1817-1898) 26 May 1842 Amalienborg in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg.
A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Christian grew up in the Duchy of Schleswig as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448. Although having close family ties to the Danish royal family, he was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish throne. Following the early death of his father in 1831, Christian grew up in Denmark and was educated at the Military Academy of Copenhagen. After unsuccessfully seeking the hand of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in marriage, he married his double second cousin, Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, in 1842.
In 1852, Christian was chosen as heir presumptive to the Danish throne in light of the expected extinction of the senior line of the House of Oldenburg. Upon the death of King Frederick VII of Denmark in 1863, Christian (who was Frederick's second cousin and husband of Frederick's paternal first cousin, Louise of Hesse-Kassel) acceded to the throne as the first Danish monarch of the House of Glücksburg.[1]
The beginning of his reign was marked by the Danish defeat in the Second Schleswig War and the subsequent loss of the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg which made the king immensely unpopular. The following years of his reign were dominated by political disputes, for Denmark had only become a constitutional monarchy in 1849 and the balance of power between the sovereign and parliament was still in dispute. In spite of his initial unpopularity and the many years of political strife, in which the king was in conflict with large parts of the population, his popularity recovered towards the end of his reign, and he became a national icon due to the length of his reign and the high standards of personal morality with which he was identified.
Christian's six children with Louise married into other European royal families, earning him the sobriquet "the father-in-law of Europe". Among his descendants are King Frederik X, King Philippe of Belgium, King Harald V of Norway, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, and King Felipe VI of Spain.[2]
Family and Descendants
1886 portrait of Christian IX and his family by Laurits Tuxen
- See also : Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark - Wikipedia
| Name | Birth | Death | Spouse | Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick VIII of Denmark | 3 June 1843 | 14 May 1912 (aged 68) | Princess Louise of Sweden (m. 1869) | Christian X of Denmark Haakon VII of Norway Louise, Princess Frederick of Schaumburg-Lippe Prince Harald of Denmark Princess Ingeborg, Duchess of Västergötland Princess Thyra of Denmark Prince Gustav of Denmark Princess Dagmar, Mrs. Castenskiold |
| Princess Alexandra of Denmark | 1 December 1844 | 20 November 1925 (aged 80) | Edward VII of the United Kingdom (m. 1863) | Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale George V of the United Kingdom Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom Maud, Queen of Norway Prince Alexander John of Wales |
| George I of Greece | 24 December 1845 | 18 March 1913 (aged 67) | Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia (m. 1867) | Constantine I of Greece Prince George of Greece and Denmark Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark |
| Princess Dagmar of Denmark | 26 November 1847 | 13 October 1928 (aged 80) | Alexander III of Russia (m. 1866) | Nicholas II of Russia Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of Russia Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia Olga Alexandrovna, Duchess Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg |
| Princess Thyra of Denmark | 29 September 1853 | 26 February 1933 (aged 79) | Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (m. 1878) | Marie Louise, Margravine of Baden George William, Hereditary Prince of Hanover Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Olga of Hanover and Cumberland Prince Christian of Hanover and Cumberland Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick |
| Prince Valdemar of Denmark | 27 October 1858 | 14 January 1939 (aged 80) | Princess Marie of Orléans (m. 1885) | Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg Prince Axel of Denmark Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg Margaret, Princess René of Bourbon-Parma |
Children
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Marie Friederike von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1810-1869) | |||
| Friederike Karoline Juliane von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1811-1902) | |||
| Karl von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1813-1878) | |||
| Friedrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1814-1885) | 23 October 1814 Schleswig, Germany | 27 November 1885 Schleswig, Germany | Adelheid Christine zu Schaumburg-Lippe (1821-1899) |
| Wilhelm von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1816-1893) | |||
| Christian IX of Denmark (1818-1906) | 8 April 1818 Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | 29 January 1906 Copenhagen, Denmark | Louise von Hessen-Kassel (1817-1898) |
| Luise von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1820-1894) | |||
| Julius von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1824-1903) | |||
| Johann von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1825-1911) | |||
| Nikolaus von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1828-1849) | |||
See Also
- Christian Oldenburg
- Oldenburg Family
- Oldenburg in Lower Saxony
Notable Descendants
- Great-grandfather of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.
Notable Ancestors
- Charlemagne (747-814) - via House of Ravensburg.
- House of Oldenburg - Danish Royal Family - Line of Succession to the Throne.
References
- Schultz Hansen, Hans; Henningsen, Lars N; Rasmussen, Carsten Porskrog (2008) (in Danish). Sønderjylland historie. Aabenraa: Historisk samfund for Sønderjylland. ISBN 978-87-7406-109-0. OCLC 435374432. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/435374432.
External links
- wikipedia:en:Christian IX of Denmark - English Version
- Christian IX of Denmark, De.Wikipedia.org, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_IX., retrieved 02 Jan 2025 - German Version
- Christian IX of Denmark at thePeerage
- Christian IX of Denmark, Geni.com, https://www.geni.com/people/Christian-IX-king-of-Denmark/6000000003065659343, retrieved 02 Jan 2025
- Christian IX of Denmark, FamilySearch.org, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L8MT-7KJ, retrieved 02 Jan 2025
- Christian IX of Denmark, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN.htm#PeterAugustFriedrichdied1775B, retrieved 02 Jan 2025
- Christian IX of Denmark, Genealogics.org, https://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00004422&tree=LEO, retrieved 02 Jan 2025
- Christian IX of Denmark, FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8509562/christian_ix_of_denmark, retrieved 02 Jan 2025
Succession Charts
- The Danish Monarchy's official site
- Christian IX at the website of the Royal Danish Collection at Amalienborg Palace
"Christian IX.". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
Christian IX House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg Born: 8 April 1818 Died: 29 January 1906
| ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frederick VII |
King of Denmark 1863–1906 |
Succeeded by Frederick VIII |
| Duke of Schleswig and Holstein 1863–1864 |
Titles mediatised | |
| Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg 1863–1864 |
Succeeded by William I | |
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
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