Danish Royal History: General Discussion


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Yes, Queen Margrethe II is a direct descendant of King Harald Bluetooth, and so are all the other European royal families.
 
All others as well? All of them?
Interesting. Something to look up.
 
Like who are these other European royal families, Gawin? This is very interesting.
 
Dear Muhler thanks again for your wonderful insightful interesting stories.
 
All others as well? All of them?
Interesting. Something to look up.
Like who are these other European royal families, Gawin? This is very interesting.
Any other royal and noble family with Danish blood which basically means everyone. Many Danish princesses married into the royal houses of Germany and have descendants there and through the Wittelsbachs also in the Catholic monarchies, Princess Anne married James I of Scotland and England while we of course have the offspring of the Father-in-law of Europe in the 1800s. Added to that we have the numerous descendants of the different Schleswig-Holstein princes.
 
What an amazing discovery.
My archaeological heart is jumping with excitement. And I am sure the Queen Margrethe's heart is too.
Is she a direct descendant?

Dear Mr. Muhler, are there any English newssites about the finds?

Hmm, have you done a Google?

If not I'm sure there will be in while, because this will interest British archeologists as well.
After all, the period these find are from, is right at the time of the first Viking raid in the British Isles.
Lindisfarne Monastery was raided in 700 something and there would undoubtedly have been raids before that, but the monks could write.., hence why this is considered the beginning of the Viking raids.
From a British perspective it would add details to the story if these more organized raids were "sponsored" so to speak by a Danish king or alternatively that the raids led to a Danish king being able to unite the kingdom. Gold & silver + slaves = power.
 
Yes, the Royal families of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Britain, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and even Monaco all descend from King Harald Bluetooth. So do all the former European royal families with the exception of Montenegro.
 
Yes, the Royal families of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Britain, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and even Monaco all descend from King Harald Bluetooth. So do all the former European royal families with the exception of Montenegro.


And maybe Albania's
 
You have all no doubt been lying sleepless at night wondering about these two questions:
How did Viking Age Denmark look like in regards to the landscape?
Where would a Viking feel at home in modern Denmark, landscape wise?

You can now sleep soundly again, because here is the answer: https://jyllands-posten.dk/rejser/E...n-viking-foele-sig-hjemme-i-nutidens-danmark/

Loose clusters of farms and very small hamlets, for safety and because most would have been related, with small fields surrounding the farms and hamlets in a bewildering pattern.
Already by the Viking Age the deep forests that covered DK from coast to coast during the Stone Age had long since been broken up by societies with an insatiable appetite for wood. And by the 1600s only 4 % was woodland and forest. (Today it's a little more than 20 %.)
During the Viking Age crops was the main produce for farms, and really not much more than what an extended family needed as there were very few towns around. Protein mainly came from fowl and lots of fish.
The first town in the Danish realm was Hedeby, which was a center for slave trade BTW. That is today located in Germany.
But the first ethnic Danish town was Ribe, that was founded around 704. The town is still around, distinctly medieval and very charming. I can only recommend you come visiting should you ever come to DK. Especially in the early evening you will feel like you have gone back to an affluent merchant town anno 1870.

But back to the Viking Age around anno 1000. The loose cluster of small hamlets and farms was how Denmark had been looking for some 5.000 years. Albeit ever more of them and with the forest being cleared more and more. And that's how DK looked until the 1300's.
The climate changed slightly around that time and DK at the time had an extremely profitable export of salt herring going south, especially during Lent. But due to the climate changes DK changed from an agricultural country with crops feeding the population to cattle. Lots of cattle!
Several times a year you would see large herds of cattle driven, or just as commonly, sailed south, flanked by cowboys - on foot.
These "cowboys" were all men, being away for several weeks at a time. Mainly because men took care of the fields and cattle (as well as fishing. Most hamlets and larger farms would have at least one fishing boat) while women looked after the pigs and poultry and as such it was women and teenage girls who drove the geese, ducks, milk-cows and pigs to town.

Denmark was a cattle and herring country until well into the 1800's.

Today you no doubt think that DK is a well-groomed country with rolling fields and meadows with grassing cows, interrupted by the odd wood. And you would be right - and wrong at the same time.
Some 25 km from where I set right now, in our backyard, are herds of wild horses.
https://app.box.com/s/flobtgncdxu1tr08lkt53rkf5pinhkas
The live in the national park Mols Mountains. - They are hardly the most impressive mountains in the world though. :lol:
Here is a view from Mols Mountains. And just in the faint haze of the horizon to the far right is the village where I sit right now.
https://app.box.com/s/m6zzh3wa91u4t7usjosi8y8obr1qcp6q

We have had wolves passing close by our village several times. But there have been few reports of wolves this year, so either they have been shot, become more careful or migrated back to Germany.
https://bt.bmcdn.dk/media/cache/resolve/image_1240/image/1/19640/10954765-ulv.jpg

Some 50 km to the east of where I sit are several hundred thousand red deer, breeding like they were paid for it!
https://www.nordseeholidays.dk/medi...&width=1200&height=800&rnd=132192307169030000

Some 25 km to the north are beavers, having a merry time chewing away. Not least in the general area of where my in-laws live.
https://www.dn.dk/media/28676/baever.jpg
https://images.jfmedier.dk/images/0...f6c4_2_90_0_0_4928_3280_1440_958_2a8dfa9c.jpg

Along the sparsely populated and touristed coastline north of here are quite a few nesting what we call King Eagles:
https://asset.dr.dk/imagescaler01/h...822495481856_n.jpg&w=1200&675&scaleAfter=crop
And Sea Eagles:
https://nationalparkskjoldungernesland.dk/media/250356/havoern.jpg

So slowly DK, despite having a population of now 5.8 million, is reverting to the landscape we had in the Viking Age.

Sleep well. ;)
 
Sounds like you were making Mols hills into mountains. :lol:

Edit: I see that there were only 1200 beavers in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century; also that your beavers are not that similar to our truly noble animals despite outward appearances! But they seem to have done quite well for themselves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_beaver
 
Last edited:
Frederick I of Denmark was the last Roman Catholic Monarch of Denmark and also never set foot in the kingdom.
He died in 1533 and is buried in Schleswig Cathedral in modern day Germany!

His wife Anna of Brandenburg died in 1514 and the duchess is buried at Kloster Bordesholm in modern day Germany.
As Anna was never queen of Denmark I doubt she too ever set foot there.

Frederick I of Denmark king of Denmark 1523–1533

344px-Frederik_1.jpg
 
As you probably know by now, Gorm the Old is officially considered the first king of Denmark and the first in the unbroken Danish line (albeit pretty twisted) of monarchs.

But we know of quite a few before Gorm the Old. And Denmark, or most of Denmark would have been united probably several times under some of these kings. Certainly united enough to undertake major national constructions, like the defensive wall of Dannevirke south of the current Danish/German border.

Some of the names that are known for certain during the 700 and 800s are:
Angantyr (Tyr was the God of War in the Nordic mythology. He only had one arm because the Fenris-wolf bit off his arm.)
Sigfred. (A common Germannic name. The Danes is a Germannic people and our language is Germannic.)
Hemming. (A Nordic name. Today the name if Henning.)
Harald. (Very much a Nordic name and often used by kings or pretenders.)
Uffe. (A very common Nordic name, still a common name today.)
Gudfred. (Who according to the myth resided in the most peaceful and honest epoch in Danish history. You could drop a gold coin on the road on the way to the market and it would still lay there, when you returned. The name means God's Peace. And it's a nickname, just as Bluetooth and The Old.)
Horik. (Also a common Nordic name. Not in use today though.)
Gnupa. (Probably and Old-Danish name.)
Hardeknud. (A common name for kings, or pretenders.)

Icelandic sagas refer to Dan as the first king, because he was the one who led the Danes across from what is now Sweden, to what is now Denmark. And it's after him our country is named Danmark = Dan's land.
That at the time (and still is) was inhabited by Jutes, Angles and Cimbrians.
But Dan is a mythical king.

What is certain though is that all of Denmark by the last half of the 900's was a united kingdom under one king and that's how it has remained - with a few minor hickups during the 1200's, where we had three kings, Svend, Knud and Valdemar - Valdemar ended up being the last man standing though. Knud got an axe in the head during a conference, and Svend was killed in battle.
 
:previous: Tsar Alexander III of Russia looks very distinguished wearing a derby hat.
 
Being photographed is a serious matter!

Funny how things change. Certainly back in the 1800s people wouldn't smile on photos. Why, that looks positively silly, and people might take you for a grinning idiot! :ermm:

...Is that why Prince Carl is... oh, never mind. :D

There's actually another version of this, where people shifted around a bit and put hats on, and poor Princess Louise of Denmark is cropped out for posterity. It might be the first version? https://images1.bonhams.com/image?src=Images/live/2011-09/30/94494603-1-4.jpg

(Carl is still smiling like it's the wrong century.)

(And Nicholas of Greece still looks an awful lot like the late Constantine. More so than the former Constantine.)
 
Last edited:
There is probably a better place to put this, but I wanted to share that Amazon is showing the Danish history series 1864! I have been watching with delight: of course not because of what happened but reacquainting myself with the fabulous acting talents of familiar faces from other Danish TV series. The story is indeed a sad one but the production is fabulous: bravo yet again Denmark.
 
List of mottoes of the monarchs of Denmark. The source in this case is Professor Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, a Danish royal and constitutional expert.

Christian 1.: - Dyden viser vejen.
Hans: - For lov og flok.
Christian 2.: - Så var det beskikket.
Frederik 1.: - Intet uden Gud.
Christian 3.: - Ske Herrens vilje.
Frederik 2.: - Mit håb er Gud alene.
Christian 4.: - Fromhed styrker rigerne.
Frederik 3.: - Herren være mit forsyn.
Christian 5.: - Med fromhed og retfærdighed.
Frederik 4.: - Herren være min hjælper.
Christian 6.: - For Gud og folket.
Frederik 5.: - Med klogskab og standhaftighed.
Christian 7.: - Fædrelandets kærlighed er min berømmelse.
Frederik 6.: - Gud og den retfærdige sag.
Christian 8.: - Gud og fædrelandet.
Frederik 7.: - Folkets kærlighed, min styrke.
Christian 9.: - Med Gud for ære og ret.
Frederik 8.: - Herren er min hjælper.
Christian 10.: - Min Gud, mit land, min ære.
Frederik 9.: - Med Gud for Danmark.
Margrethe 2.: - Guds hjælp, folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke.

Link: https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2024-01-03-den-kommende-konge-skal-vaelge-sit-valgsprog

Frederik 10.: Forbundne, forpligtet, for Kongeriget Danmark.
 
List of Monarchs of Denmark

22460422_IuzHV.png
This is a list of the monarchs of Denmark since Gorm the Old.
The Danish Royal House dates back to Gorm the Elder and his son Harald 1st Blåtand, which can be established with certainty in time and place as Denmark is united. The two main families of the Danish Royal House are the Oldenburg and the Glücksburg. The first king of Oldenburg came to the throne in 1448, and the last king of the Oldenburg dynasty was King Frederick VII, as he had no heir. In 1863, the Glücksburg family ascended the throne, and it is still the descendants of this family who make up the royal family today.
  1. Gorm the Old (936-958) m. Thyra
  2. Harald Bluetooth (d. latest 987) m. 1.Gunhild 2.Tove 3.Gyrid Olafsdottir
  3. Sweyn Forkbeard (986–1014) m. 1.Świętosława 2.Sigrid 3.Gunhild
  4. Harald II (1014-1018)
  5. Canute the Great (1018-1035) m. 1.Ælfgifu of Northampton 2.Emma of Normandy
  6. Hardicanute (1035-1042)
  7. Magnus the Good (1042-1047)
  8. Svein II (1047-1074) m. 1.Gyda of Sweden 2.Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir 3.Tora Torbergsdatter
  9. Harald III (1074-1080) m. Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter
  10. Knud IV (1080-1086) m. Adela of Flanders
  11. Olaf I (1086-1095) m. Ingegerd of Norway
  12. Erik I (1095-1103) m. Boedil Thurgotsdatter
  13. Niels I (1104-1134) m. 1.Margaret Fredkulla 2.Ulvhild Håkansdotter
  14. Erik II (1134-1137) m. Malmfred of Kiev
  15. Erik III (1137-1146) m. Lutgard of Salzwedel
  16. Svein III (1147-1154) m. Adela of Meissen
  17. Knud V (1154-1157) m. Ingegard of Sweden
  18. Valdemar I (1157-1182) m. Sophia of Minsk
  19. Knud VI (1182-1202) m. Gertrude of Bavaria
  20. Valdemar II (1202-1241) m. 1.Dagmar of Bohemia 2.Berengária of Portugal
  21. Erik IV (1241-1250) m. Jutta of Saxony
  22. Abel I (1250-1252) m. Matilda of Holstein
  23. Christopher I (1252-1259) m. Margaret Sambiria
  24. Erik V (1259-1286) m. Agnes of Brandenburg
  25. Erik VI (1286-1319) m. Ingeborg Magnusdotter of Sweden
  26. Christoffer II (1320-1326) m. Euphemia of Pomerania
  27. Valdemar III (1326-1330) m. Richardis of Schwerin
  28. Valdemar IV (1340-1375) m. Helvig of Schleswig
  29. Olaf II (1375-1387)
  30. Margrethe I (1387-1412) m. Haakon VI of Norway
  31. Erik VII (1396-1439) m. 1.Philippa of England​ 2.Cecilia
  32. Christopher III (1440-1448) m. Dorothea of Brandenburg
  33. Christian I (1448-1481) m. Dorothea of Brandenburg
  34. Hans I (1481-1513) m. Christina of Saxony
  35. Christian II (1513-1523) m. Isabella of Austria
  36. Frederik I (1523-1533) m. 1.Anna of Brandenburg 2.Sophie of Pomerania
  37. Christian III (1535-1559) m. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg
  38. Frederik II (1559-1588) m. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
  39. Christian IV (1588-1648) m. 1.Anne Catherine of Brandenburg 2.Kirsten Munk
  40. Frederik III (1648-1670) m. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  41. Christian V (1670-1699) m. Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel
  42. Frederik IV (1699-1730) m. 1.Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 2.Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg 3.Anne Sophie Reventlow
  43. Christian VI (1730-1746) m. Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
  44. Frederik V (1746-1766) m. 1.Louise of Great Britain 2.Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
  45. Christian VII (1766-1808) m. Caroline Matilda of Great Britain
  46. Frederik VI (1808-1839) m. Marie of Hesse-Kassel
  47. Christian VIII (1839-1848) m. 1.Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 2.Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderborg-Augustenburg
  48. Frederik VII (1848-1863) m. 1.Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark 2.Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 3.Louise Rasmussen
  49. Christian IX (1863-1906) m. Louise of Hesse-Kassel
  50. Frederik VIII (1906-1912) m. Louise of Sweden
  51. Christian X (1912-1947) m. Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
  52. Frederik IX (1947-1972) m. Ingrid of Sweden
  53. Margrethe II (1972-2024) m. Henri Marie Jean André Count de Laborde de Monpezat
  54. Frederik X (2024-) m. Mary Donaldson

(..)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Stephane Bern told us on Secrets d' Histoire the story of King Christian V , Queen Caroline Mathilde and their Doctor Johann Struensee. A terrible royal affair.
But we saw the inside of Castles where King Frederik X will hosted and Rosenborg which King Christian renovated with e.a.12 tapisseries . I saw back the 2 thrones and the 3 big Silver Lions.
 
List of mottoes of the monarchs of Denmark. The source in this case is Professor Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, a Danish royal and constitutional expert.

Christian 1.: - Dyden viser vejen.
Hans: - For lov og flok.
Christian 2.: - Så var det beskikket.
Frederik 1.: - Intet uden Gud.
Christian 3.: - Ske Herrens vilje.
Frederik 2.: - Mit håb er Gud alene.
Christian 4.: - Fromhed styrker rigerne.
Frederik 3.: - Herren være mit forsyn.
Christian 5.: - Med fromhed og retfærdighed.
Frederik 4.: - Herren være min hjælper.
Christian 6.: - For Gud og folket.
Frederik 5.: - Med klogskab og standhaftighed.
Christian 7.: - Fædrelandets kærlighed er min berømmelse.
Frederik 6.: - Gud og den retfærdige sag.
Christian 8.: - Gud og fædrelandet.
Frederik 7.: - Folkets kærlighed, min styrke.
Christian 9.: - Med Gud for ære og ret.
Frederik 8.: - Herren er min hjælper.
Christian 10.: - Min Gud, mit land, min ære.
Frederik 9.: - Med Gud for Danmark.
Margrethe 2.: - Guds hjælp, folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke.

Link: https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2024-01-03-den-kommende-konge-skal-vaelge-sit-valgsprog

Frederik 10.: Forbundne, forpligtet, for Kongeriget Danmark.

I've realized that Frederik's motto sounds like one for an Olympic Games.

Which perhaps makes a lot of sense.
 
Back
Top Bottom