by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway was born on November 30, 1699, at Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen Denmark. He was the second of the five children and the second but the only surviving of the four sons of Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.

Christian VI had three brothers and one sister but only his sister survived infancy:

• Christian of Denmark and Norway (1697 – 1698), died in infancy
• Frederik Carl of Denmark and Norway (1701 – 1702), died in infancy
• Jørgen of Denmark and Norway (1703 – 1704), died in infancy
• Charlotte Amalie of Denmark and Norway (1706 – 1782), unmarried

Christian had more of a Germanic upbringing than a Danish one which was not unusual as the language of the Danish royal court at that time was German. He could understand Danish but spoke and wrote in German. It was not until the time of his daughter-in-law, Louisa of Great Britain who learned Danish and insisted that her children learn Danish, that the native language of Denmark regained a foothold at court.

Christian’s mother Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow had been brought up as an adherent to Pietism, a movement that originated in the Lutheran Church in the 17th century in Germany that stressed personal piety over religious formality and orthodoxy. Christian followed his mother’s religious views. The adultery and bigamy of his father Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway, and the effect it had upon his mother deeply affected and disturbed Christian.

In 1699, the year of Christian’s birth, King Frederik IV began a relationship with Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, lady-in-waiting to his unmarried sister Sophia Hedwig. In 1703, without divorcing his wife Louise, Frederik made a bigamous marriage to Elisabeth. After Elisabeth died in 1704 due to childbirth complications giving birth to a son who lived only nine months, Frederik gave her an elaborate funeral.

After the death of Elisabeth, Frederik began an affair with her lady-in-waiting, Charlotte Helene von Schindel. In 1709, Frederik wanted to make another bigamous marriage but received strong opposition from the church leaders who told him that the law against bigamy also applied to kings. Charlotte and Frederik had a daughter in 1710 who died in infancy.

After losing interest in Charlotte Helene von Schindel in 1711, Frederik IV fell in love with 19-year-old Anna Sophie Reventlow, daughter of Grand-Chancellor Conrad Reventlow who held a position similar to Prime Minister. In 1712, Frederik abducted Anna Sophia from her parents’ home and took her to Skanderborg Castle where they were married bigamously while Queen Louise was still alive.

After the death of Queen Louise in 1721, King Frederik IV and Anna Sophie Reventlow married again in a second formal wedding conducted with great ceremony. Although the marriage was still scandalous, it was not declared morganatic and Anna Sophie was crowned Queen of Denmark and Norway less than a month after Queen Louise’s death. Anna Sophie and King Frederick IV had six children. Three were born before the legal marriage in 1721 but none survived. The three children born after the 1721 marriage were styled as Prince/Princess of Denmark and Norway but none survived infancy. The deaths of the six children were seen by many as divine punishment for the bigamy of Frederik IV and Anna Sophie. Christian distanced himself from his father and he came to detest his stepmother.

Christian’s father allowed him to choose his wife. Accompanied by Count Ulrik Adolf von Holstein of Holsteinsborg, the husband of Anna Sophie’s half-sister, Christian traveled through the courts of Europe seeking a princess to become his wife. At the court of Augustus II, King of Poland, Elector of Saxony, he fell in love with Margravine Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, a lady-in-waiting to Augustus II’s wife Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, and had been raised at her court. She was the daughter of Christian Heinrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach and Countess Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein.  Although Sophia Magdalene came from an insignificant, poor family, King Frederik IV granted permission for the couple to marry. Christian and Sophie Magdalene were married on August 7, 1721, at Pretzsch Castle (link in German), the site of the court of Augustus II, King of Poland, Elector of Saxony, then in Pretzsch, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Christian and Sophia Magdalene had one son and two daughters:

• Frederik V, King of Denmark and Norway (1723 – 1766), married (1) Louisa of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, had five children including Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway and Sophia Magdalena who married Gustav III, King of Sweden (2) Juliane Marie of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, had one son Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark
• Louise of Denmark and Norway (born and died 1724), died when six months old
• Louise of Denmark (1726 – 1756), married Ernst Friedrich III, Duke of Saxony-Hildburghausen, no surviving children

Christian became King of Denmark and Norway upon the death of his father Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway on October 12, 1730. Frederik IV was buried at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place for the Danish royal family, a tomb adjacent to the tomb of his first wife, Christian’s mother, Queen Louise.

In 1725, King Frederik IV made an addition to his will that guaranteed Anna Sophie’s rights as Queen Dowager after his death and made his son Crown Prince Christian sign it. However, once he became King of Denmark and Norway, Christian VI did not follow the instructions in his father’s will. Christian VI’s opinion was that his stepmother Anna Sophie had taken advantage of his father during his ill health and that she had caused his family pain and suffering during the years of her open adultery.

Christian VI granted Anna Sophie an allowance, confiscated her property, and banished her to Clausholm Castle, her family home. She was allowed to be styled Queen Anna Sophie but not Queen Anna Sophie of Denmark and Norway or Queen Dowager. Anna Sophie spent the remainder of her life under house arrest at Clausholm Castle and was never granted permission to leave. When Anna Sophie died in 1743, Christian VI allowed her to be buried at Roskilde Cathedral but in the Trolle Chapel, on the opposite side of the cathedral, far away from his parents’ tombs. Her three children, born after her 1721 marriage, were also re-buried in the Trolle Chapel on Christian VI’s orders.

Christian VI is known as a religious ruler and remained devoted to Pietism. His court was considered dull. Only religious music was played and dancing was not allowed. Christian was shy, anxious about responsibility and decisions, and uncomfortable about his ceremonial obligations as the king. He never traveled except for one trip to Norway in 1733.

In 1744, on the site of Copenhagen Castle, Christian VI built a namesake palace, the first Christiansborg Palace as his new main residence. The palace was nearly completely destroyed by a fire in 1794. A second Christiansborg Palace was built on the site but was also destroyed by a fire in 1884. A third Christiansborg Palace was built in the early 20th century and today it houses the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister’s Office. Other places named after King Christian VI include Christian’s Church in Copenhagen, the town of Christiansted on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, formerly the Danish West Indies, and Fort Christiansværn also on Saint Croix.

Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway died at the age of 46 on August 6, 1746, at Hirschholm Palace in present-day Hørsholm municipality just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. He was buried in Frederik V’s Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. His wife Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach survived him by 24 years, dying in 1770 at the age of 69.

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Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Denmark Index
• Danish Orders and Honours
• Danish Royal Burial Sites: House of Oldenburg, 1448 – 1863
• Danish Royal Burial Sites: House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, 1863 – present
• Danish Royal Christenings
• Danish Royal Dates
• Danish Royal Residences
• Danish Royal Weddings
• Line of Succession to the Danish Throne
• Profiles of the Danish Royal Family

Works Cited

• Da.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian 6.. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_6> [Accessed 30 April 2020].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian VI. (Dänemark Und Norwegen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_VI._(D%C3%A4nemark_und_Norwegen)> [Accessed 30 April 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian VI Of Denmark. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_VI_of_Denmark> [Accessed 30 April 2020].
• Sv.wikipedia.org. 2020. Kristian VI Av Danmark. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristian_VI_av_Danmark> [Accessed 30 April 2020].