King Frederik VIII of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Frederik VIII of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

His Serene Highness Prince Frederik of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the future King Frederik VIII of Denmark, was born at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen Denmark on June 3, 1843. Frederik’s given names were Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl and he was the eldest of the six children of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (the future King Christian IX of Denmark) and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. When Frederik was ten years old, his father was chosen as the heir presumptive to the Danish throne due to a succession crisis and Frederik became a Prince of Denmark. Frederik had three sisters and two brothers:

Frederik with his parents and siblings; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Frederik grew up in his birthplace, the Yellow Palace, adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace where the Danish Royal Family lived. When Frederik’s father became the Danish heir presumptive, the family gained an additional home, Bernstorff Palace in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark. After his confirmation in 1860, Frederik started his military training. He then began studying political science at Oxford University in England but returned to Denmark in November 1863, when his father succeeded to the Danish throne as King Christian IX. As Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederik served as a lieutenant in North Jutland during the Second Schleswig War against Austria and Prussia. Frederik later became Inspector General of the Danish Army and was a leading member of the Danish Masonic Order. He was given a seat on the State Council and assisted his father in government duties.

Frederik as Crown Prince; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Louise had a goal for her children: to marry well. She wanted Frederik to marry either Princess Helena or Princess Louise, two daughters of Queen Victoria. However, Queen Victoria did not want her younger daughters to marry foreign heirs as this would necessitate them leaving England. In July 1868, Frederick became engaged to Princess Louise of Sweden, the 17-year-old, the only surviving child of King Charles XV of Sweden and his wife Louise of the Netherlands. The relations between Denmark and Sweden were tense because Sweden had not helped Denmark during the Second Schleswig War. The marriage was suggested to improve the relations between the two countries.

Frederik and Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederik and Louise were married at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden on July 28, 1869. The couple resided at Amalienborg Palace during the winter and Charlottenlund Palace during the summer. Louise was popular with the Danish people but experienced ostracism within the royal family, dominated by her mother-in-law.

Frederik and Louise had eight children:

by Elfelt, vintage postcard print, (circa 1877)

Frederick VIII, King of Denmark with his family by Elfelt, bromide postcard print, (circa 1877), NPG x74398 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Four generations of Danish kings: Frederik IX in front; in back left to right: Christian IX, Christian X, Frederik VIII; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After being Crown Prince for 43 years, Frederik became King of Denmark upon his father’s death in 1906. Unlike his father, Frederik VIII was a liberal ruler who supported the parliamentary system introduced in 1901.

Returning to Copenhagen after a trip to Nice, France, Frederik made a stop in Hamburg, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Germany on May 13, 1912. He registered at the Hamburger Hof Hotel using the pseudonym Count Kronborg. On May 14, 1912, Frederik left the hotel alone for an evening stroll. When he was not found in his hotel room the next morning, a discreet search revealed that the body of a well-dressed unknown gentleman had been found on a park bench. The body, which had been moved to the city morgue a little before midnight, was that of the 68-year-old King Frederik VIII who had died of a heart attack.

On May 16, 1912, Frederik’s body was placed on a special train to Travemünde, Kingdom of Prussia on the Baltic Sea. The coffin was loaded on the royal yacht and brought back to Denmark. He was buried in the Glücksburger Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral.  Queen Louise died at age 74 on March 20, 1926, at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was buried with her husband.

Tomb of King Frederik VIII and Queen Louise; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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