Marriage As a young man, in 1838, Prince Christian, representing Frederick VI, attended the
coronation of Queen Victoria at
Westminster Abbey. During his stay in London, he unsuccessfully sought the hand of the young British queen in marriage. Even though she chose to follow her family's wishes and preferred to marry her cousin,
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the young queen had a good impression of her third cousin Prince Christian, who 25 years later would become father-in-law to her eldest son, the
Prince of Wales. in the 1840s. Instead, Prince Christian entered into a marriage that was to have great significance for his future. In 1841, he was engaged to his second cousin Princess
Louise of Hesse-Kassel. She was the daughter of
Prince William of Hesse-Kassel, who was a Danish general and the governor of Copenhagen. Prince William was married to
Christian VIII of Denmark's sister
Princess Charlotte of Denmark, and Louise was thus the new king's niece and was closely related to the royal family. Like Prince Christian himself, she was a great-granddaughter of both
Frederick V of Denmark and Landgrave
Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel, and thus his double second cousin. Their wedding was celebrated on 26 May 1842 in her parents' residence in
Frederick VIII's Palace at
Amalienborg. The bride and groom took their
bridal tour to
Kiel in the
Duchy of Holstein, where they visited Prince Christian's older brother,
Duke Karl of Glücksburg, and his wife, Frederick VI's daughter Princess Vilhelmine Marie, who had not been able to attend the wedding. Louise was a wise and energetic woman who exercised a strong influence over her husband. After the wedding, the couple moved into the
Yellow Palace, where their first five children were born between 1843 and 1853:
Prince Frederick in 1843,
Princess Alexandra in 1844,
Prince William in 1845,
Princess Dagmar in 1847 and
Princess Thyra in 1853. The family was still quite unknown and lived a relatively modest life by royal standards.
The Danish succession crisis 's uncle,
Christian VIII of Denmark, faced a complex
succession crisis during his reign. In the 1840s, it became increasingly clear that the Danish monarchy was facing a
succession crisis. When King Christian VIII succeeded his first cousin King Frederick VI in 1839, the elder male line of the
House of Oldenburg was obviously on the point of extinction, as the king's only son and heir apparent
Crown Prince Frederick seemed incapable of fathering children and the king's only brother
Prince Ferdinand's marriage to King Frederick VI's daughter was childless. King Frederick VII's childlessness presented a thorny dilemma and the question of succession to the Danish throne proved complex, as the rules of succession in the different parts of the Danish monarchy united under the king's rule, the Kingdom of Denmark proper and the three duchies of
Schleswig,
Holstein and
Saxe-Lauenburg, not being the same, the possibility of a separation of the crown of Denmark from its duchies became probable. ,
Holstein and
Lauenburg before 1864. The succession in the Kingdom of Denmark was regulated by the
Lex Regia (;
Law of The King), the
absolutist constitution of
Denmark and Norway promulgated by
Frederick III in 1665. With the Lex Regia, Denmark had adopted the
Salic law, but restricted the succession to the
agnatic descendants of Frederick III, who was the first
hereditary monarch of Denmark (before him, the kingdom was officially
elective). Agnatic descent from Frederick III would end with the death of the childless Frederick VII and his equally childless uncle,
Prince Ferdinand. At that point, the Lex Regia provided for a
semi-Salic succession, which stipulated that after the extinction of all-male descendance, including all collateral male lines, a female agnate (such as a daughter) of the last male holder of the property would inherit, and after her, her own male heirs according to the Salic order. There were, however, several ways to interpret to whom the crown could pass, since the provision was not entirely clear as to whether a claimant to the throne could be the closest female relative or not. In the duchy of Holstein, where the king reigned as duke, the rules of succession also followed the Salic law, but did not limit the succession to the agnatic descendants of Frederick III. As there were several junior male lines of the House of Oldenburg, who were however not descendants of Frederick III, there were thus numerous agnatic descendants with succession rights in the Duchy of Holstein, who were however not eligible to succeed to the Danish throne. In addition, the two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were permanently joined to each other by the
Treaty of Ribe of 1460, which proclaimed that the two duchies should be "Forever Undivided". around 1840. The already complicated dynastic question of the succession was made even more complex as it took place against a background of equally complicated political issues. The movements of
nationalism and liberalism had been on the rise in Europe since the
Napoleonic era. Whereas the concepts of nation and
homeland increasingly replaced dynastic questions for the nationalists, aristocratic privileges and the concept of an
absolute ruler of divine right were poorly accepted by the liberals. Denmark and the Duchies were no exception, and the political movement of
national liberalism had been on the rise since the 1830s. While the Danish and German national liberals were united in their liberal political aspirations and in their opposition to the absolutist rule of the House of Oldenburg, the two political movements were heavily opposed in the national question. It mainly concerned the question of the affiliation of the
Duchy of Schleswig. Constitutionally, the Duchy of Schleswig was a Danish
fief, which had become increasingly independent from Denmark during the
High Middle Ages.
Linguistically, however, Danish, German and
North Frisian existed as
vernaculars in different parts of the Duchy, and German functioned as the language of law and the ruling class. The Danish national liberals insisted that Schleswig as a fief had belonged to Denmark for centuries and aimed to restore the southern frontier of Denmark on the
Eider river, the historic border between Schleswig and Holstein. The Danish nationalists thus aspired to incorporate the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom, in the process separating it from the duchy of Holstein, which should be allowed to pursue its own destiny as a member of the
German Confederation or possibly a new united Germany. With the claim of the total integration of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom, the Danish national liberals opposed the German national liberals, whose goal was the union of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, their joint independence from Denmark and their membership in the German Confederation as an autonomous German state. The German nationalists thus sought to confirm Schleswig's association with Holstein, in the process detaching Schleswig from Denmark and bringing it into the German Confederation. There was burgeoning nationalism within both Denmark and the German-speaking parts of
Schleswig-Holstein. This meant that a resolution to keep the two Duchies together and as a part of the Danish kingdom could not satisfy the conflicting interests of both Danish and German nationalists, and hindered all hopes of a peaceful solution. ,
pretender to the duchies during the succession crisis. As the nations of Europe looked on, the numerous descendants of
Hedvig of Holstein began to vie for the Danish throne. Frederick VII belonged to the senior branch of Hedvig's descendants. In the event of extinction of the senior branch, the house of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg would become the most senior branch of the House of Oldenburg, but it did not descend from King Frederick III. However, in the duchies,
Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, claimed the position of
heir to the throne of the duchies of
Schleswig and
Holstein, being head of the house of Augustenburg, and thus became a symbol of the nationalist German independence movement in Schleswig-Holstein. The closest female relatives of Frederick VII were his paternal aunt,
Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark, who had married a scion of the
cadet branch of the
House of Hesse, and her children. However, they were not agnatic descendants of the royal family, so were not eligible to succeed in Schleswig-Holstein. The dynastic female heir reckoned most eligible according to the original law of primogeniture of Frederick III was
Princess Caroline of Denmark (1793–1881), the childless eldest daughter of the late king
Frederick VI. Along with another childless daughter,
Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark (1808–1891), Duchess of Glücksburg; the next heir was Louise, sister of Frederick VI, who had married the Duke of Augustenburg. The chief heir to that line was the selfsame
Frederick of Augustenburg, but his turn would have come only after the death of two childless princesses who were very much alive in 1863. The
House of Glücksburg also held a significant interest in the succession to the throne. A more junior branch of the royal family, they were also descendants of Frederick III through the daughter of King
Frederick V of Denmark. Lastly, there was yet a more junior agnatic branch that was eligible to succeed in Schleswig-Holstein. There was Christian himself and his three older brothers, the eldest of whom, Karl, was childless, but the others had produced children, and male children at that. Prince Christian had been a foster "grandson" of the grandchildless royal couple Frederick VI and his Queen consort Marie (Marie Sophie Friederike of Hesse). Familiar with the royal court and the traditions of the recent monarchs, their young ward Prince Christian was a nephew of Queen Marie and a first cousin once removed of Frederick VI. He had been brought up as a Dane, having lived in Danish-speaking lands of the royal dynasty and not having become a German nationalist, which made him a relatively good candidate from the Danish point of view. As junior agnatic descendant, he was eligible to inherit Schleswig-Holstein, but was not the first in line. As a descendant of Frederick III, he was eligible to succeed in Denmark, although here too, he was not first in line. – Kings of Denmark – Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg – Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg – Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
Appointment as an heir presumptive with his children
Dagmar,
William and
Alexandra in 1861. In 1851, the Russian emperor recommended that Prince Christian advance in the Danish succession. And in 1852, the thorny question of Denmark's succession was finally resolved by the
London Protocol of 8 May 1852, signed by the United Kingdom, France, Russia,
Prussia and Austria, and ratified by Denmark and Sweden. Christian was chosen as
heir presumptive to the throne after Frederick VII's uncle, and thus would become king after the extinction of the most senior line to the Danish throne. A justification for this choice was his marriage to
Louise of Hesse-Kassel, who as daughter of the closest female relative of Frederick VII was closely related to the royal family. Louise's mother and brother, and elder sister too, renounced their rights in favor of Louise and her husband. Prince Christian's wife was thereafter the closest female heiress of Frederick VII. The decision was implemented by the Danish Law of Succession of 31 July 1853—more precisely, the
Royal Ordinance settling the Succession to the Crown on Prince Christian of Glücksburg which designated him as second-in-line to the
Danish throne following King Frederick VII's uncle. Consequently, Prince Christian and his family were granted the titles of Prince and Princess of Denmark and the
style of
Highness. , Prince Christian's summer residence as
heir presumptive (2006). As second in line, Prince Christian continued to live in the Yellow Palace with his family. However, as a consequence of their new status, the family were also granted the right to use
Bernstorff Palace north of Copenhagen as their summer residence. It became Princess Louise's favorite residence, and the family often stayed there. It was also at Bernstorff that their youngest son,
Prince Valdemar, was born in 1858. At the occasion of Prince Valdemar's
baptism, Prince Christian and his family were granted the style of
Royal Highness. Although their economy had improved, the financial situation of the family was still relatively strained. However, Prince Christian's appointment as successor to the throne was not met with undivided enthusiasm. His relationship with the king was cool, partly because the colorful King Frederick VII did not like the straightforward, military prince, and had preferred to see Christian's eldest son, the young Prince Frederick, take his place, partly because Prince Christian and Princess Louise openly showed their disapproval of the king's
morganatic third wife, the actress Louise Rasmussen, who received the title
Countess Danner. Politically, Prince Christian also had little influence during his tenure as second-in-line. This was partly due to the distrust of the Countess Danner, partly due to Christian's perceived conservatism, which earned him the distrust of the powerful
National Liberal Party. It was not before 1856 that the politician
Carl Christoffer Georg Andræ, to whom Prince Christian always felt close, secured him a seat in the
Council of State. The year 1863 became rich in significant events for Prince Christian and his family. On 10 March, his eldest daughter,
Princess Alexandra married the Prince of Wales (the future King
Edward VII of the United Kingdom). On 20 March, his second son, Prince William was elected
King of the Hellenes and ascended the
Greek throne taking the name of King George I. And in June 1863, Prince Christian himself became
heir-presumptive upon the death of the elderly Prince Ferdinand before eventually becoming King Christian IX on 15 November that year. == Early reign ==