by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Frederik V, King of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein was born at Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 31, 1723. His birthplace was demolished in 1731 to make room for the first Christiansborg Palace.  The present Christiansborg Palace stands on the site and is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister’s Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Frederik was the only son and the eldest of the three children of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway and Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.

Frederik had two younger sisters, but only one survived infancy:

• Princess Louise (born and died 1724), died at six months
• Princess Louise (1726 – 1756), married Ernst Friedrich III, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Louise died after giving birth to her first child who died a month later

Frederik’s education was inadequate and he was far from an exemplary student. His teachers complained that he was more interested in hunting and other more pleasurable activities. Frederik was taught the basics of reading, writing, German, French, Latin, and history, but he never wanted to extend his learning. Curiously, Danish was not a subject. Frederik’s teachers were all German except for a Frenchman who taught him French. He was never really proficient in Danish. Ironically, his mother called him “Der Dänische Prinz” (The Danish Prince in German) because he spoke Danish only occasionally.

Frederik’s parents were both adherents to Pietism, a movement in Lutheranism with an emphasis on Biblical doctrine, the Reformed emphasis on individual piety, and living a vigorous Christian life. Pietism considered frugality, humility, restraint, and a sense of duty important virtues. However, Frederik had a very sensual nature and loved wine and women. He spent so much time visiting Copenhagen’s pubs and brothels that his father considered disinheriting him from the throne.

On December 11, 1743, in Altona, Duchy of Holstein, now in Germany, 20-year-old Frederik married 19-year-old Princess Louisa of Great Britain, the fifth daughter and the youngest of the nine children of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach. Frederik’s father, King Christian VI, hoped that this marriage would cause the British government to support his or his son’s claim to the Swedish throne.  Furthermore, the Danish government hoped (incorrectly) that marriage would put a damper on Crown Prince Frederik’s affairs and drunkenness. From 1745 – 1752, Frederik had an affair with Else Hansen, known as Madame Hansen and they had five children. Nevertheless, Frederik and Louisa got along reasonably well and although Frederik continued his affairs, Louisa pretended not to notice them.  Frederik and Louisa had five children:

• • Christian (1745 – 1747)
  • Sophia Magdalena (1746 – 1813) married King Gustav III of Sweden, had issue
  • Caroline (1747 – 1820) married Wilhelm I, Elector of Hesse, had issue
  • King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway (1749 – 1808) married his first cousin Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales, had issue
  • Louise (1750 – 1831) married Prince Karl of Hesse-Kassel, had issue

Louisa was popular with the Danish people and was interested in music, dance, and theater. The Danish people greatly appreciated Louisa’s efforts to learn and speak Danish and her insistence that her children learn Danish, a rarity in an almost German-language Danish court.

On August 6, 1746, King Christian VI died and Frederik became King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. Although Frederik took part in the government by attending council meetings, he was afflicted with alcoholism and most of his reign was dominated by his very able ministers Count Adam Gottlob Moltke, a favorite of King Frederik V, Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, and Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann.

While pregnant with her sixth child, 27-year-old Louisa died on December 19, 1751, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark due to complications from a miscarriage. She was buried in Roskilde Cathedral, the burial place of the kings and queens of Denmark, in Roskilde, Denmark.

Count Moltke thought it would be a good idea if Frederik married again, as soon as possible, in the hope of stabilizing his behavior. Moltke arranged a marriage with 22-year-old Princess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the youngest of the six daughters and the eleventh of the thirteen children of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Frederik and Juliana Maria were married at Frederiksborg Palace on July 8, 1752.

The couple had one child:

• Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (1753 – 1805), married Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, had five children including King Christian VIII of Denmark and Norway

In 1760, Frederik broke his leg in a drunken accident, which affected his health for the rest of his life. King Frederik V died on January 14, 1766, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark at the age of 42. He was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in the Frederik V Chapel.

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

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Works Cited

• Da.wikipedia.org. (2017). Frederik 5.. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_5. [Accessed 5 Aug. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Frederick V of Denmark. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_V_of_Denmark [Accessed 5 Aug. 2017].