The Father in Law of Europe: King Christian IX of Denmark

It is well known that European royal families tend to marry among each other to either maintain or expand their power-base. Yet the Danish King Christian IX managed to take it to a whole new level. After he became King of Denmark, even though he was not necessarily the initial heir to the throne, or even close, he immediately was caught up in a war with Prussia that ended up with Denmark losing nearly half their territory. Yet disregarding this lousy start of his reign, it was the marriage politics of his children that made up for it all. His children married into incredibly powerful royal houses in Europe, and often times had children of their own that in their turn too married into prominent royalty. Because of his cunning marriage politics, King Christian IX of Denmark is remembered as the ‘father in law of Europe’, and rightfully so, might I add.

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Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderborg-Glücksborg was born on the 8th of April 1818. Christian was born on Schloss Gottorf, to duke Vilhelm and Louise Caroline of Hessen-Kassel. He was the fourth son of the family and, from his father’s side, a far descendant of the Danish king Christian III that ruled the country during the 16th century. On his mother’s side, he was a descendant of Frederick V, King of Denmark-Norway. That was the same line that made him the great-great-grandson of George II of Great Britain, and descendant of several other European monarchs. Yet he didn’t have a direct claim, not to the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein and not to any other throne in Europe. Three years before his birth Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo, and the revolutions of 1848 would not wage over the European continent for another 30 years, meaning Christian grew up in a relatively peaceful and stable Europe.

He spent his childhood at Schloss Glücksborg but moved the capital of Denmark, Kopenhagen after his father passed away in 1831. In Copenhagen, Christian enlisted in the military before moving to the city of Bonn in North Rine-Westphalia to study law and history. During the first Schleswig war that broke out in 1848, Christian served in the army.

When he was 18 years old, he asked his third cousin, Queen Victoria, to marry him. She rejected him, however. Six years later, at the age of 24, he married his second-cousin, Louise of Hessen-Kassel, one year his senior. Louise was the niece of the king of Denmark, Christian VIII that ruled from 1839 to 48. After his death, the King was succeeded by his son, Frederick VII, that led the land from 1848 until he died in 1863.

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:03 Life before the coronation (1818-1863)
6:23 Marriage Politics

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