On This Day: Danish Royal Family

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 9, 1511 ~ Birth of Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen Consort of King Christian III of Denmark

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, July 9, 1511 ~ Birth of Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen Consort of King Christian III of Denmark

Her mother Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a devout Catholic but as far as I'm aware all of her children embraced Protestantism and became Lutherans.

 

[Muhler]

In the first half of the 1500's Lauenburg was deep inside Protestant territory.
Denmark and as such Holstein and Schleswig that are neighbors to Lauenburg became Protestant in 1536.

 

[An Ard Ri]

In the first half of the 1500's Lauenburg was deep inside Protestant territory.
Denmark and as such Holstein and Schleswig that are neighbors to Lauenburg became Protestant in 1536.

It must have caused tension between Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and her children as she adhered so fervently to the old faith.

 

[Muhler]

It must have caused tension between Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and her children as she adhered so fervently to the old faith.

Perhaps.
Or perhaps they somehow worked out their differences?

Just as there is much evidence to the fact that these religious differences led to bloodshed and war, there is also a surprising amount of evidence showing a remarkable mutual tolerance.

Even during the 1600's the height of the religious intolerance in west and central Europe there were peculiar examples of a live and let live attitude.
One of the best known eye-witness accounts of the sacking of Magdeburg (*) was by a Protestant mercenary (with his wife) serving in the Catholic army.
War was his profession and his fellow mercenaries and superiors didn't seem to have problems with his religious beliefs.

(*) The sacking of Magdeburg has gone down in history as typical of the horrors and bloodshed of the Thirty Year War, but it was actually en exception that a city was sacked. Villages were sacked, but rarely cities and major towns. Which is why this incident sent shock-waves through Europe at the time - and historically speaking still do.
For most of the time the Thirty Year War was no worse nor better than any other war of the period. It was towards the end of the war that systematic atrocities against civilians became an established part of warfare. And that may indeed have let to the diplomatic end of the war, because it tended to go on and on, with no one being able to win a decisive victory. So something quite remarkable for the time happened: The war ended by negotiation and diplomacy.
That was something new. Wars at the time tended to end, when:
A) A political objective was reached. I.e. Fighting a campaign and that was it. Showing how strong you were or showing that you would not bow to another power.
B) When one or both sides ran out of money and thus mercenaries.
C) When one side had been decisively defeated and had to accept whatever terms the victor laid out.
The fourth alternative: D) A negotiated end to the war was at the time a rare thing.
(Italy was different, but that's another story.)

It has been determined that that some eight million in what is now central Europe, mainly Germany, died during the Thirty Year War. A horrific number, until you spread that number out over 30 years.
When you look at it in that light, the number of deaths didn't exceed the normal level much, except towards the end of the war. (**) Because people die anyway from all sorts of causes, not least in the unsanitary and medically rudimentary 1600's.
People moved into Central Europe in fact. Because that's where the money was. Armies need equipment and supplies and payment is typically high. And the soldiers needed diversion - and paid good money for that.
You would hardly settle in an area with your family, if the risk of dying was considerably higher than normal.

(**) Major wars tend to become extremely bloody towards the end.
The reason is simple: The armies and soldiers become better at killing people, and the war itself creates it's own, often uncontrollable, momentum.
The Napoleonic Wars were extremely bloody towards the 1812-15.
The US Civil War was very bloody by 1865, often with daily casualty rates that easily exceed the first battle of Bull Run in 1861.
WWI by 1917 had crippling casualty rates. Where Italy, Russian, the Ottoman Empire and Romania was knocked out. And France was on the verge of collapsing.
As late as 1945 the intensity and casualty rate in Europe was as high as ever and certainly a lot higher than 1940.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Yes that's very true

Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel also seems to have been quite politically active quite like her Lutheran counterpart Catherine of Mecklenburg.

Both Catherine's lived long lives!
Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
1488 –1563
Catherine of Mecklenburg
1487 – 1561

 

[An Ard Ri]

10th of July 1103 : Death of Eric I of Denmark also known as Eric the Good

Eric was King of Denmark from 1095 until his death and died in Cyprus while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land .His widow Queen Boedil also became ill but made it to Jerusalem where she died.
Eric's burial site has been lost it was thought he was buried at a church in Paphos in Cyprus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_I_of_Denmark

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 13, 1840 ~ Demise of Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark, first wife of the future King Christian VIII of Denmark

On this day, July 18, 1501 ~ Birth of Archduchess Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christian II of Denmark

On this day, July 20, 1572 ~ The Wedding of King Frederik II of Denmark and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Gustrow in Copenhagen, Denmark

On this day, July 27, 1900 ~ Birth of Prince Knud of Denmark, son of King Christian X of Denmark

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, July 27, 1900 ~ Birth of Prince Knud of Denmark, son of King Christian X of Denmark

At the time of his birth he was a great grandson of Christian IX of Denmark.

He lived through the reigns of the following Danish Monarchs :

Christian IX of Denmark +1906
Frederick VIII of Denmark +1912
Christian X of Denmark +1947
Frederick IX of Denmark +1972
Margrethe II of Denmark

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 28, 1869 ~ The Wedding of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Lovisa of Sweden at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden

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[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, July 31, 1790 ~ The Wedding of King Frederik VI of Denmark and Marie of Hesse-Kassel at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig-Holstein

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, July 31, 1790 ~ The Wedding of King Frederik VI of Denmark and Marie of Hesse-Kassel at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig-Holstein

At the time of this union Frederick was Crown Prince of Denmark and also Regent and did not become king and queen until 1808.

The queen also acted as Regent from 1814–1815.

The king,queen and daughters

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, August 6, 1746 ~ Demise of King Christian VI of Denmark at Horsholm Palace in Denmark

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, August 6, 1746 ~ Demise of King Christian VI of Denmark at Horsholm Palace in Denmark

As well as being the Danish Monarch he was also King of Norway,Duke of Schleswig ,Duke of Holstein and Count of Oldenburg.

The king's tomb at Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_VI_of_Denmark#/media/File:ChristianVI_feb-2007.jpg

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, August 7, 1721 ~ The Wedding of King Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach at Pretzsch Castle in the Electorate of Saxony

On this day, August 12, 1503 ~ Birth of King Christian III of Denmark at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig

On this day, August 12, 1515 ~ The Wedding of King Christian II of Denmark and Isabella of Austria, Infanta of Spain in Copenhagen, Denmark

On this day, August 25, 1699 ~ Demise of King Christian V in Copenhagen, Denmark

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, August 25, 1699 ~ Demise of King Christian V in Copenhagen, Denmark

His widow Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel outlived him by 15 years and was greatly praised by her actions during the Swedish invasion Zealand in 1700.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, August 27, 1487 ~ Birth of Anna of Brandenburg, first wife of the future King Frederik I of Denmark, in Berlin, Margraviate of Brandenburg

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, August 27, 1487 ~ Birth of Anna of Brandenburg, first wife of the future King Frederik I of Denmark, in Berlin, Margraviate of Brandenburg

Anna of Brandenburg was also the mother of the future Christian III of Denmark and Dorothea of Denmark (later Duchess of Prussia).

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, August 28, 1667 ~ Birth of Louise of Mecklenburg-Gustrow, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Frederik IV of Denmark, in Gustrow, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Gustrow

On this day, September 4, 1557 ~ Birth of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Gustrow, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Frederik II of Denmark, in Wismar, Duchy of Mecklenburg

On this day, September 7, 1817 ~ Birth of Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, in Kassel, Electorate of Hesse-Kassel

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, September 7, 1817 ~ Birth of Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, in Kassel, Electorate of Hesse-Kassel

Her mother was Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (1789-1864) who herself was the daughter of Frederick the Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Princess Louise played a vital role in the Danish succession crisis of the mid 1850's.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, September 18, 1786 ~ Birth of King Christian VIII of Denmark at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark

 

[Izzie]

100 years ago today Frederik IX began his career as a sea officer in the Danish Fleet

The DRF Instagram account has posted some old photographs along with a lengthy caption.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUCFKbRgKb0/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, September 26, 1870 ~ Birth of King Christian X of Denmark at Charlottenlund Palace

On this day, September 29, 1898 ~ Demise of Queen Louise of Denmark, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, at Bernstorff Castle

On this day, October 6, 1808 ~ Birth of King Frederik VII of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark

On this day, October 7, 1471 ~ Birth of King Frederik I of Denmark at Haderslevhus in Haderslev, Denmark

On this day, October 10, 1796 ~Demise of Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, Queen Consort of King Frederik V of Denmark in Fredensborg Palace

On this day, October 11, 1671 ~ Birth of King Frederik IV of Denmark at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, October 12, 1730 ~ Demise of King Frederik IV of Denmark at Odense Palace in Denmark

 

[iceflower]

The Palace has made a post today as well:

On this day 350 years ago, 12 October 1671, the first award of the Order of the Dannebrog took place at Rosenborg Castle. It happened the day after a crown prince was born, the later Frederik IV, which was an important dynastic event in the then young hereditary monarchy. (..) On the occasion of the 350th anniversary, the National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle opens the special exhibition "The Dannebrog Order 350 years", which can be experienced from Friday 15 October until 5 April 2022.

** kongehuset instagram post **

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, October 14, 1631 ~ Demise of Sophie of Meckleburg-Gustrow, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Frederik II of Denmark

On this day, October 26, 1406 ~ The Wedding of Philippa of England, daughter of King Henry IV of England, and King Eric VII of Denmark at Lund Cathedral in Lund Sweden

On this day, October 28, 1767 ~ Birth of Marie of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Frederik VI of Denmark, in Hanau, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel

 

[An Ard Ri]

28th of October 1412 : Death of Margrete I (Valdemarsdatter) Queen of Denmark,Norway and Sweden.


Queen Margrete though never a Sovereign was the founder of the Kalmar Union which joined all 3 Scandinavian kingdoms together for over a century.
The Queen is buried beneath a splendid tomb effigy at Roskilde Cathedral, near Copenhagen. Masses were celebrated for her soul in accordance to her wishes right up until 1536 when they were forbidden following the reformation.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_I_of_Denmark

 

[Muhler]

And a newspaper article as it might have read back in 1412, by the long dead historian Palle Lauring:

Mistress of the North and Queen, Margrethe, dead from plague.

Copenhagen, 2th of November 1412.
According to recent message the Mistress of the North and Queen, Margrethe, died a few days ago. According to the preliminary message the Queen has died from plague.

A short time ago Queen Margrethe sailed to Southern Jutland and she had put extraordinary emphasis on that journey and she expected big results from it.
It will be remembered that her father managed to gather all of Denmark (1) but he did not manage to have Southern Jutland incorporated into the realm, or make the position of that land made clear. (2) He died just as he was about to finally solve the problem. It is both odd and thought provoking that Queen Margrethe dies just as she has decided to deal with the same problem. (3) Her ship went into Flensborg Fjord and as far as it is understood the Queen has been brought ashore on one of the Oxen Islands (in the fjord) where she has died.
With Margrethe Northern Europe has lost one of its strongest women.
When the Queen came to Denmark from Norway with her little son by the hand (4) no one expected the very young girl should be able to handle the very difficult political situation. But everyone soon thought otherwise. She immediately revealed herself as her father’s daughter. Bright, authoritative, determined and strong. But instead of King Valdemar’s wild inflexibility and ruthless purposeful activity, she had an flexibility and endless patience, which she soon used, soon didn’t use, always calm always with an eye on the smallest details in every situation.
When her son (Oluf) died she was probably in her most difficult situation in her life. Because she herself had no right or claim on anything of the realms. (5)
She handled the situation to her advantage in a remarkably short time (6) and then adopted her sister’s nephew. She could not use his difficult Slavic name, so she renamed him Erik. One of the very few names used by kings in all the three Nordic kingdoms. (7)
With him by her side she has carried on the rules of the realms and the work of her life is the unification of the three Nordic realms.
The final document of the union is however not yet finished, it is believed that Margrethe wasn’t quite pleased with it. But the countries are one and the young Erik of Pommorania has already been crowned as their rightful lord and king. So the succession and handing over of power contains no problems.

Written in newspaper style by late historian Palle Lauring.

Erik of Pommorania did not match his mother and the Kalmar Union did not survive. That however is a different story.

(1) After yet a period of turmoil King Valdemar Atterdag (Atterdag = day again) got control over the entire Denmark after one of the worst crisis in its history. Magrethe was daughter of Valdemar Atterdag.

(2) Palle Lauring here used the nationalistic term for the then independent duchies Slesvig & Holsten (Danish spelling). The duke of these duchies was always the Danish king, but he was not their king. And Schleswig & Holstein (German spelling) didn’t considered themselves part of the Danish realm. That fact naturally caused a lot of problems during the Danish history.
Modern Southern Jutland consist of the northern half of Slesvig.

(3) Far from all Danish monarchs died of old age. It is however not known whether Queen Margrethe really was assassinated.

(4) In 1376. She was married to the Norwegian King Haakon, they had a son, Oluf, who at that time was five years old. As she was a daughter of a Danish king, Margrethe’s son was in line for the Danish throne.

(5) That was after the forming of the Kalmar Union, amalgamating the three Nordic Kingdoms under her son’s sceptre. I.e. her sceptre.

(6) – “I, am in charge, right”!?! – “Yes, certainly, of course, naturally”.
- “The death of my son is not that big an issue, right”!?! – “Nope, not at all. Just a minor detail, we can solve it. No problem”.
Of course she did not only use intimidation. Most realised that Margrethe was the best for the job and most in power did not wish to see the Kalmar Union dissolved.

(7) For political reasons she had to use an outsider. She could not use one who was in direct line for say the Danish throne, that would have been unacceptable for Swedish and Norwegian nobles. It had to be her own son or an outsider. Erik. Who came from Pommorania.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Though the queen died aged 59 and it was sudden death onboard her ship it was not expected and she had recently scored several major victories and imagine had the queen lived longer!

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, November 10, 1495 ~ Demise of Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christopher of Denmark and wife of King Christian I of Denmark