Frederick VIII of Denmark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Styles of King Frederik VIII of Denmark |
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| Reference style | His Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Sire |
Frederik VIII (Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl) (June 3, 1843 – May 14, 1912) was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.
[edit] Biography
He was the eldest son of King Christian IX and his wife, Denmark's heiress, Louise of Hesse - and was born in Copenhagen. As Crown Prince of Denmark he formally took part in the war of 1864 against Austria and Prussia, and subsequently assisted his father in the duties of government. He became king of Denmark on Christian's death in January 1906.
In many ways Frederik VIII was a liberal ruler who was much more favorable to the new parliamentarian system than his father had been. Because of his very late accession to the throne he only got few years to show his ability and he was weakened by ill health.
On his return journey from a trip to France, King Frederik made a short stop in Hamburg, staying at the Hotel Hamburger Hof. The evening of his arrival, Frederik (incognito) took a walk on the Jungfernstieg. While walking he became faint and collapsed on a park bench and died. He was discovered by a police officer who took him to a Hafen hospital where he was pronounced dead. His cause of death was announced as a paralysis-attack. He was interred with other members of the Danish royal family in Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen.
The royal families of Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Luxembourg are descended from King Frederik VIII. Denmark comes naturally, Norway's family goes through the line of his son, Prince Carl, and the families of Belgium and Luxembourg are descended from his daughter, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.
[edit] Ancestors
| Frederick VIII of Denmark | Father: Christian IX of Denmark |
Paternal Grandfather: Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Countess Friederike von Schlieben |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Charles of Hesse |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Princess Louise of Denmark and Norway |
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| Mother: Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
Maternal Grandfather: Prince William of Hesse |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Prince Frederick of Hesse |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Princess Caroline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
[edit] Family and issue
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Louise of Hesse wanted her eldest son married as well as her two daughters, Alexandra and Dagmar had. Queen Victoria had two yet unmarried daughters, Princess Helena and Princess Louise, and Louise tried to marry Frederik to one of them, but the British Queen didn't want her daughters to marry the heir of a foreign crown, as it would take them away from her, she wanted for them a German prince who could set his home in England beside her. Also, Victoria had always been pro-German and another Danish alliance (Frederik' sister, Alexandra, had married Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales), would not be in line with her German interests. So Louise of Hesse had to look for another wife for her son. In July 1868, Frederik became engaged to the seventeen-year-old only daughter of Charles XIV John of Sweden, Lovisa of Sweden. Princess Lovisa's family was related to Napoleon Bonaparte. She belonged to the Bernadotte dynasty, which ruled in Sweden since 1818. The founder was Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who had been one of Napoleon's generals, and who was elected King of Sweden with the name of Charles XV of Sweden. He married Desiree Clary, who had once been engaged to the French Emperor. Charles XIV's son, Oscar I, married Josephine of Leuchtenberg, grandddaughter of Napoleon's first wife, the Empress Josephine. King Oscar I and Queen Josephine were Princess Lovisa's paternal grandparents.
Crown Prince Frederik and Lovisa of Sweden married in Stockholm on July 28, 1869. They had four sons and four daughters:
- Crown Prince Christian of Denmark (1870-1947), later King Christian X of Denmark. Married Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1898 and had issue
- Prince Carl of Denmark (1872-1957), later King Haakon VII of Norway. Married Princess Maud of Wales in 1896 and had issue
- Princess Louise of Denmark (1875-1906). Married Prince Friedrich of Schaumburg-Lippe in 1896 and had issue
- Prince Harald of Denmark (1876-1949). Married Princess Helena of Glücksburg in 1909 and had issue
- Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (1878-1958) Married Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway in 1897 and had issue
- Princess Thyra of Denmark (1880-1945) No issue
- Prince Gustav of Denmark (1887-1944) No issue
- Princess Dagmar of Denmark (1890-1961) Married Jørgen Carstenskiold and had issue
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Frederick VIII
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: June 3, 1843 Died: May 14, 1912 |
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| Preceded by Christian IX |
King of Denmark 1906-1912 |
Succeeded by Christian X |
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