by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019
Louise Rasmussen, Countess Danner; Credit – Wikipedia
Louise Rasmussen, Countess Danner was the morganatic third wife of King Frederik VII of Denmark. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 21, 1815, Louise Christine Rasmussen was born out of wedlock to a maid, Juliane Caroline Rasmussen, who raised her, and a merchant Gotthilf L. Køppen.
In 1826, Louise was admitted to the Royal Theater Ballet School which trained dancers for the Royal Danish Ballet. She received a contract with the Royal Danish Ballet in 1830 and became a member of the corps de ballet.
In 1841, Louise had a son, Carl Christian Berling, born out of wedlock, with Carl Berling, the heir of Berlingske Tidende, now known as just Berlingske, the oldest Danish newspaper still published and among the oldest newspapers in the world. Louise retired from the ballet and with Berling’s help, opened a women’s hat shop.
Louise Rasmussen; Credit – Wikipedia
Through Berling, Louise became acquainted with the son of King Christian VIII, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, who had already divorced two wives. Louise and Frederik had a relationship during the 1840s. In 1848, Frederik’s father died and he succeeded to the Danish throne as King Frederik VII. Upon becoming king, Frederik wished to marry Louise but the government was not in favor of the marriage. In 1849, King Frederik VII signed a new constitution, changing the monarchy from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The signing of the new constitution made Frederik so popular that the government permitted him to marry Louise Rasmussen.
On August 8, 1850, by royal decree, Louise Rasmussen was given the title Countess Danner and was married to King Frederik VII at the Frederiksborg Palace Chapel. However, the marriage was a morganatic one – neither Louise nor any children would have royal titles and the children would not be in the line of succession to the Danish throne. The marriage appears to have been happy but had much opposition and Louise was treated poorly in social circles. Frederik and Louise did not have any children.
Louise and Frederik, early 1860s; Credit – Wikipedia
On Louise’s birthday in 1854, Frederik bought a country manor, Jægerspris Palace, to spend their private life away from Copenhagen and the disdain of the aristocracy for their marriage. After Frederik died in 1863, Louise inherited Jægerspris Palace. In 1867, she had a wing of Jægerspris Palace converted into an orphanage.
Jægerspris Palace; Credit – Af Acrr – Eget arbejde, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5168738
In October 1873, six months before her death, Louise founded the King Frederik VII Foundation, still in existence. After her death, Louise intended for the foundation to convert Jægerspris Palace into a home for “destitute and abandoned girls, especially of the peasantry”. Today the King Frederik VII Foundation works on behalf of poor, young working-class women and has offices at Jægerspris Palace. Visitors to Jægerspris Palace can see the rooms where Louise and Frederik lived and view many of their collections but part of Jægerspris Palace remains a children’s home.
Louise died in Genoa, Italy on March 6, 1874, at the age of 58. While King Frederik VII was buried at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish Royal Family, Louise was not allowed a resting place near her husband. She was buried in a burial mound in the castle garden of Jægerspris Castle which is perhaps fitting as it is the place where she put her wealth to work for others.
Louise’s burial mound at Jægerspris Castle; Credit – Wikipedia
Louise’s tomb inside the burial mound; Credit – Wikipedia
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Works Cited
- Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grevinde Danner. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grevinde_Danner [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Jægerspris Castle. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A6gerspris_Castle [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louise Rasmussen. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Rasmussen [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
- Flantzer, S. (2018). King Frederik VII of Denmark. [online]. Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-frederik-vii-of-denmark/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].