But let's return to the documentary.
https://www.dr.dk/drtv/se/frederik-ix_-i-sin-fars-skygge_158605
Start: Frederik and Knud were homeschooled up to and including high school and as such had fairly little contact with other children their age. And Frederik IX (F9 from now on) felt lonely.
1:15 - "My father and Christian X (C10 from now on) were different personalities in various ways. My father was decidedly a sensitive soul. No doubt about that. Very much so."
1:40 - "C10 was very much a military man as you were back then and he had certainly when they were very young envisioned them as becoming officers and as such they should naturally be able to ride.
- My dad HATED riding! I don't think my farfar was the world's best pedagogue.
- My dad didn't have an altogether easy time as a boy, he sure didn't."
C10 becomes king in 1912. F9 had just turned thirteen.
He was called Rico from very young. That was a tradition within the family.
5:00 - the ones they see the most are their nannies and teacher - and sometimes they have to report their mischiefs to their dad.
6:05 - "They teased their teacher terrible and many things happened I think... They were often fighting as well."
It wasn't a warm and loving home. C10 was an officer to the core!
6:55 - "C10 was an old-fashioned dad, also back then."
7:20 - "Back then children were thrashed and their dad was in no way restrained in regards to beating them.
- That their dad had a heavy hand in regards to his sons was not unusual back then. Perhaps not least in regards to his oldest."
He used a ruler, he had on his desk.
8:00 - QMII explains that C10 being a heavy-handed dad was in part because he felt responsible for F9 being able and capable of succeeding him later.
C10 was conservative! In a time of transition, from states being build on the foundation of the monarchy and monarch to becoming a state build on a democratic foundation. That was difficult for C10 to accept and adjust to.
Only around 20 % of danish citizens could vote and be elected to a political office.
C10 had great difficulty in accepting the idea that women should be allowed to vote.
Another problem was that after the amended Constitution of 1915 there would no longer be members of the Parliament appointed by the king. Thus reducing his political influence.
C10's Cabinet Secretary (political advisor) was a moderate man who tried to and succeeded in restraining the king.
He is so much against the proposed change of the Constitution that he ponders dismissing the government. As he believed that change would constitute a direct danger for Denmark.
13:00 When F9 was distressed he sought solace with his mother.
13:15 - "Queen Alexandrine was a very mild person. - He was terribly fond of his mother. She had a particular soft spot for her eldest, among other things because they shared a joy for music."
F9 could "hear" music from reading the musical notes.
QMII explains that her farmor was very musically inclined and no doubt was the reason why F9 came to love music. That artistic mind was in contrast to that of his father's.
They often went to the theater during winter and F9 loved it.
From the royal box you can directly down on the orchestra so F9 could follow every little detail the conductor, Høeberg, made.
17:40 - F9 is here being presented to the brother of the conductor, singer Georg Høeberg, who was to have a huge influence on the artistic and personal side of F9. Because F9 would from now on attend private lessons in the Høeberg home.
C19 didn't really comprehend that music was such a passion for F9.
18:50 - F9 and Knud are after some mischief aboard Dannebrog (the old one, a paddlesteamer) and after a suggestion by the captain enrolled in the crew and assigned duties for the rest of their teen years. The boys loved it! Forming the basis for F9's lifelong love of the sea and the navy.
19:30 - QMII explains that when F9 was very young and was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied that he wanted to be a mate aboard the Great Belt ferry. That was the grandest he could imagine.
The captain of Dannebrog was a naval officer of the right kind and his crews adored him. Strict but fair.
F9 got the number 461 and Knud 462.
Later on as a consequence of being a mate aboard Dannebrog F9 decides to get his officers training in the navy - which was pretty unusual. C10 would have preferred the army. And it took some convincing before that was okayed.
24:00 - The change of the Constitution of 1915 is a reality and in order to be valid it must be signed by the king.
The PM and C10 did not see eye to eye! They did their best to annoy each other.
The political majority at the time at least in principle favored a republic.
C10 was behind is rough facade a very sensitive person would could react with rage or tears when put under pressure.
The Constitution of 1915 changed DK into a genuine democracy, representing the people by the people. With most now being allowed to vote and run or office.
30:00 - F9 became close to Høeberg family and felt at home there. He went there almost daily.
1917. - F9 has finished high school at Amalienborg.
QMII explains that music became a refuge for her father when things got a bit too hot at home.
At around18-19 he starts getting singing lessons as well. This time at another Høeberg, Albert Høeberg.
31:40 - F9 turns eighteen and is now of age. That applies to heirs, because the legal age was otherwise 21. As such he attends his first meeting of the State Council - where he is to observe and learn.
32:35 - "I recall he spoke about about his eighteenth birthday with very limited enthusiasm."
C10 insisted on F9 wearing a uniform, so he was appointed lieutenant a la suite. "It tormented my dad terrible that he was to pretend to be a lieutenant and on top of that in the army! And all he wanted was to join the navy as cadet."
In his speech on that day C10 encourage his son to always follow his (political) conviction something the government saw as a provocation, as they believed the king should be above political convictions.
31:10 - Pledging to adhere to the Constitution.
F9 though wasn't particularly interested in politics.
36:00 - Joining the Naval Academy for a full four year training as officer.
QMII explains it was a big change, now that he for the first time was to be with young men of often very different background.
F9 starts out by insisting on being informal and using informal you.
37:55 - Among the close friends he found at the academy he remained HK ever after. Because he was addressed Hans Kongelige højhed = His Royal highness when on duty, so they nicknamed him HK. And he very much appreciated being treated like everybody else by his mates.
F9 found in the navy the same camaraderie as his father had found in the army. Here he could be himself.
In 1917, there was a lot of activity in the navy, due to WWI. Even though DK was neutral.
At some point they ended up in Britain, which was often visited by the Danish navy, but when attempting to bunk coal in Leeds, the workers were on strike, so the crew, including the cadets had to shovel coal themselves. F9 was actually on duty, but opted to join his mates in shoveling coal - and getting dirty and there is a photo of them at 40:30 - And the men on this photo became his closest friends for life.
WWI ended, monarchies toppled all over Europe.
Schleswig and Holstein voted about being reunited with DK. There was only a majority for doing so in Northern Slesvig and as such they were to rejoin in 1920. C10 wanted all of Holstein and Schleswig to join the Danish realm. there was no political backing for doing that.
C10 could not accept that decision and backed by conservatives he considered sacking the government.
45:00 - Easter 1920. C10 meets with the PM, who loathe each other, without his cabinet secretary being present and probably in a fit of rage sacks the government on the spot. C10 started out by suggesting the government called a general election. The PM pointed out that there was no political majority
against the government. But the government was sacked, as the monarch is actually entitled to do. Albeit it very much against the democratic system as it worked then and now.
The politicians mobilized and aided by the press C10 completely lost control of the situation! There were mass-demonstrations at Amalienborg calling for C10 to abdicate - and indeed the monarchy to be abolished. the situation was most serious!
C10 appointed his own government - but that was sidelined by the public and political sentiments. Not least because the new ministers did not have a political background let alone were democratically elected. And many wanted to introduce a republic.
50:00 F9 went to the Høeberg family from the academy but it soon became clear that it was risky for him to return to Amalienborg through the crowd, so he dressed discreetly and returned home that way.
52:00 - the later PM, Thorvald Stauning, comes to the rescue of C10. Urging him to accept a compromise. Something C10 was reluctant to do, but he realized the gravity of the situation, at some point telling his son, that he might not become king. And eventually caves in appoints a new government (of politicians) and calls a general election. The result is of course a certainty: It goes politically against C10 but the monarchy is saved.
It was a sobering experience for F9 as well! He learned the hard way how fragile the monarchy could be and that he would need to co-operate with the politicians when his time came.
The Easter Crisis was a lesson for the DRF. they realized that they were now a symbolic power, rather than a political power.
- It took two hours to write this summary, so I hope you have patience.
The Occupation is (or rather was) a very controversial subject here in DK - as it was and very much still is in most European countries to this day.
