Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, Princess Frederik of Denmark, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark was the first wife of the future King Frederik VII of Denmark, the wife of Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and the younger of the two surviving daughters of King Frederik VI of Denmark and his wife Marie of Hesse-Kassel. She was born on January 18, 1808, in Kiel Castle in Kiel, Duchy of Holstein, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Vilhelmine Marie had seven siblings but unfortunately, six of them died in infancy:

  • Christian (born and died September 1791), died in infancy
  • Marie Louise (1792 – 1793), died in infancy
  • Caroline (1793 – 1881), married her father’s first cousin Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, no children
  • Louise (August 1795 – December 1795), died in infancy
  • Christian (born and died September 1797), died in infancy
  • Juliana Louise (born and died February 1802), died in infancy
  • Frederikke Marie (June 1805 – July 1805), died in infancy

King Frederik VI and Queen Marie with their daughters Vilhelmine Maria and Caroline by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1821; Credit – Wikipedia

Vilhelmine Marie had several prospects for marriage including the future King Oscar I of Sweden of the new Bernadotte dynasty but an internal Danish marriage was arranged for her to Prince Frederik of Denmark (the future King Frederik VII), the only surviving child of King Christian VIII and his first wife Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Vilhelmine Marie and Frederik were half-second cousins, both descended from King Frederik V of Denmark. Vilhelmine Marie was a great-grandchild of King Frederik V of Denmark and his first queen Louisa of Great Britain. Frederik was a great-grandchild of King Frederik V and his second queen Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

The future King Frederik VII, Vilhelmine Marie’s first husband; Credit – Wikipedia

This marriage arrangement was mainly due to the desirability of a union of the two branches of the Danish royal family whose relationship was strained. Frederik and Vilhelmine Marie’s wishes and needs were not considered at all. Vilhelmine Marie and Frederick were engaged on May 28, 1826. The wedding was postponed for two years while Frederik was sent on an educational trip to Switzerland, France, and Italy. Frederik and Vilhelmine Marie were married on November 1, 1828, at the Christiansborg Castle Church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The wedding was very popular with the Danish people who participated in the many wedding festivities.

However, the marriage was childless and unhappy. Not only was Frederik a heavy drinker, but he was also unfaithful. Vilhelmine Marie, who had a kind-hearted and mild personality, was unable to have any influence on her husband who frequently hurt her feelings. Even Vilhelmine Marie’s parents, the reigning King Frederik VI and his wife Queen Marie, felt sorry for their daughter. The couple separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837.

Vilhelmine Marie’s second husband, Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg; Credit – Wikipedia

One year later, on May 19, 1838, at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Vilhelmine Marie married her first cousin Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the eldest son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel. Karl was also the elder brother of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the future King Christian IX of Denmark who would succeed King Frederik VII, Vilhelmine Marie’s thrice-married but childless first husband. The marriage was a happy one but Vilhelmine and Karl had no children. It is believed that Vilhelmine Marie was unable to have children as there are no records of any miscarriages or stillbirths.

During the First Schleswig War (1848–1851), which Denmark won, Karl served as commander of a Schleswig-Holstein brigade fighting against Denmark. This caused Vilhelmine Marie’s relations with her Danish family to be cut off for a period of time. In 1852, Vilhelmine Marie reconciled with her Danish relatives. From then on, Vilhelmine Marie and her husband Karl lived mainly in Kiel Castle and Louisenlund Castle in Schleswig-Holstein

In 1864, after the Second Schleswig War, which Denmark lost, Karl’s duchy was annexed by Prussia and Karl lost his ducal title. Vilhelmine Marie and Karl were able to live at the family ancestral home, Schloss Glücksburg, which Wilhelm I, German Emperor allowed the former ducal family to keep. On October 24, 1878, Karl died at Schloss Glücksburg.

Vilhelmine Marie’s charitable work made her popular in Glücksburg. She was sad about Denmark’s loss of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies but the new Danish dynasty founded by her brother-in-law King Christian IX gave her much joy. Eventually, she became more and more isolated as her hearing loss made it difficult to communicate. Vilhelmine Marie survived her husband Karl for thirteen years, dying on May 30, 1891, at the age of 83 at Schloss Glücksburg in Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, German Empire. She was buried next to her husband in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Neuer Friedhof Glücksburg (New Cemetery Glücksburg).

Entrance to the royal section at the Neuer Friedhof Glücksburg; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Vilhelmine af Danmark. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhelmine_af_Danmark [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl,_Duke_of_Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gl%C3%BCcksburg [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Vilhelmine_Marie_of_Denmark [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].