King Christian IX of Denmark: Children, Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren and Notable Descendants

by Susan Flantzer

King Christian IX with his family in the Garden Hall of Fredensborg Palace in 1883 by Laurits Tuxen; Credit – Wikipedia

King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel had six children and 39 grandchildren. Their grandchildren sat upon the thrones of Denmark, Greece, Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom. They are the ancestors of six of the ten current European monarchs: King Philippe of Belgium, King Frederik X of Denmark, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Harald V of Norway, King Felipe VI of Spain, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, and two former monarchs, the late King Michael of Romania and the late King Constantine II of Greece. See Wikipedia: Monarchs descended from King Christian IX.

King Christian IX and his family in 1862 (Front: Dagmar, Valdemar, Queen Louise, Thyra, Alexandra; Back: Frederik, King Christian, Vilhelm); Credit – Wikipedia

However, King Christian IX of Denmark was not born destined to be a king. King Christian IX was born a German prince, the sixth child and fourth son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg- Glücksburg and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel, on April 8, 1818, at Gottorp Castle near the town of Schleswig in the Duchy of Schleswig, now in Germany.

Christian married his second cousin Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, the daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Charlotte of Denmark. Both Christian and Louise were great-grandchildren of King Frederik V of Denmark. Their descents from King Frederik V are below.

King Frederik V of Denmark married Princess Louisa of Great Britain (1st wife) → Princess Louise of Denmark married Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel → Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel married Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg → King Christian IX of Denmark

King Frederik V of Denmark married Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (2nd wife) → Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark married Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin → Princess Charlotte of Denmark married Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel → Louise of Hesse-Kassel

So how did Christian become King of Denmark? When King Christian VIII, the son of Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, died in 1848, he was succeeded by his son King Frederik VII, who had married three times but had no children, and this resulted in a succession crisis. Louise, Christian IX’s wife, had lived in Denmark from the time she was three years old. She was a niece of King Christian VIII of Denmark and a closer heir than her husband. Women could inherit the Danish throne only if there were no male heirs (Semi-Salic Law), and Louise and her mother Charlotte of Denmark both rescinded their succession rights to Christian, Louise’s husband, in 1851. The Act of Succession of 1853 officially made Christian the heir of King Frederik VII, and he became king in 1863 when King Frederik VII died.

Christian IX and his wife Louise were as much the “Grandparents of Europe” as were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Christian and Louise had 39 grandchildren and their grandsons included Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, King Constantine I of Greece, King George V of the United Kingdom, King Christian X of Denmark and King Haakon VII of Norway. Over the years, numerous large family reunions were held at Fredensborg Palace in Denmark with children, in-laws, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

A story has been told about King Christian IX. Whether it is true or not, it illustrates his relationship with other European monarchies:

One day, Christian IX and his son Vilhelm (George I of Greece) and the husbands of two of his daughters (Alexander III of Russia and the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom) went for a walk. They encountered a country gentleman who wondered who they were, thinking they were guests of some local squire. “I am your king,” explained Christian. “This is my son, the King of Greece, and this is my son-in-law, the Emperor of Russia, and my other son-in-law, the Prince of Wales.” The man was not impressed and said, “All right, I’ll tell you who I am. I am Jesus Christ!”

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All of King Christian IX’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are listed below. In addition, notable great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren are also included.  Monarchs and consorts from former monarchies and current monarchies, along with current heirs, who are King Christian’s descendants are in bold. The links below are either from Unofficial Royalty or Wikipedia. Not all people have Wikipedia links.

Frederik VIII and his wife with their four eldest children by Elfelt, bromide postcard print, (circa 1877), NPG x74398 © National Portrait Gallery, London

1) King Frederik VIII of Denmark (1843-1912) married (1869) Princess Louise of Sweden (1851-1926), had four sons and four daughters

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Embed from Getty Images 
Alexandra and her husband with their children, circa 1880

2) Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844 – 1925) married (1863) King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (1841 – 1910), had three sons and three daughters

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King George and Queen Olga with six of their children, circa 1890; Credit – Wikipedia

3) Prince Vilhelm of Denmark, later King George I of Greece (1845–1913) married (1867) Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia (1851-1926), had five sons and three daughters

Male-line descendants below of King Christian IX of Denmark also who held the title Prince or Princess of Greece also held the title of Prince or Princess of Denmark and are traditionally referred to as Prince or Princess of Greece and Denmark.

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Empress Maria Feodorovna and her husband with their five surviving children; Credit – Wikipedia

4) Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia (1847-1928) married (1866) Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia (1845–1894), had four sons and two daughters

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Thyra and her husband with their six children; Credit – Wikipedia

5) Princess Thyra of Denmark (1853–1933), married (1878) Crown Prince Ernst August of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (1845-1923), had three sons and three daughters

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Valdemar and his wife with their five children; Credit – Wikipedia

6) Prince Valdemar of Denmark (1858-1939) married (1885) Princess Marie of Orléans (1865-1909), had four sons and one daughter

  • Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg (1887-1940), born Prince Aage of Denmark, after marrying without the monarch’s consent, he lost his succession rights and his royal style and the title Prince of Denmark, married (1914) Matilda Calvi Dei Conti di Bergolo (1885-1949), had one son, divorced
    • Valdemar, Count of Rosenborg (1915-1995) married (1949) Baroness Floria d’Huart Saint-Mauris (1925-1995), no children
  • Prince Axel of Denmark (1888-1964), married (1919) Princess Margaretha of Sweden (1899-1977), had two sons
    • Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (1920-1986), married (1950) Anne Bowes-Lyon (maternal first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, no children
    •  Count Flemming Valdemar of Rosenborg (1922-2002), born Prince Flemming Valdemar of Denmark, after marrying without the monarch’s consent, he lost his succession rights and his royal style and title, married (1949) Alice Nielson (1924-2010), had three sons and one daughter
  • Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg (1890-1950), born Prince Erik of Denmark, after making an unequal marriage, he lost his succession rights and the title Prince of Denmark, he did retain his style His Highness, married (1924) Lois Frances Booth (1897-1941), had one son and one daughter, divorced
    • Countess Alexandra  of Rosenborg (1927-1992) married (1951) Ivar Emil Vind-Röj (1921-1977), had one daughter and two sons
    • Count Christian of Rosenborg (1932-1997), married (1962) Karin Lüttichau, had one son and one daughter
  • Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg (1893-1970), born Prince Viggo of Denmark, after marrying without the consent of the monarch, he lost his succession rights and his royal style and the title Prince of Denmark, married (1924) Eleonor Green (1895-1966), no children
  • Princess Margrethe of Denmark (1895-1992) married (1921) Prince René of Bourbon-Parma (1894-1962), had three sons and one daughter
    • Prince Jacques of Bourbon-Parma (1922-1964) married (1947) Birgitte von Holstein-Ledreborg, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg, had  three children
    • Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma (1923-2016) married (1948) former King Michael I of Romania (1921-2017), had five daughters
    • Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma (1926-2018) married (1) (1951) Princess Yolande de Broglie-Revel, had three daughters and two sons, divorced; married (2) (2003) Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, no children
    • Prince André of Bourbon-Parma (1928-2011) married (1960) Marina Gacry, had  three children

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