Christian IX of Denmark (April 8, 1818 - January 29, 1906) was King of Denmark from November 15, 1863 to January 29, 1906.

He was born in Gottorp the fourth son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Luise Caroline, Princess of Hesse-Kassel. Through his mother, Christian was a great-grandson of Frederik V of Denmark, great-great-grandson of George II of Great Britain and descendant of several other monarchs, but had no strong claim to any European throne.

He grew up in Denmark and was educated in the Military Academy of Copenhagen.

As a young man, he unsuccessfully sought the hand of Queen Victoria in marriage. In 1842 he married Luise of Hesse-Kassel , a niece of Christian VIII.

In 1847, he was, undder the blessing from the great powers of Europe, willed the Danish throne by Christian VIII, as Christian VIII did not expect his only surviving son, the future Frederik VII to have any sons. Formally, the justification for this choice of heir, was through Christian's wife Louise of Hesse-Kassel . (She was, as a niece of Christain VII closer "in line" to the throne than her husband)

Therefore, he succeeded Frederik VII to the throne in November 15, 1863. He was immediately plunged into a crisis over the possession and status of Schleswig and Holstein, two territories to Denmark's south when, under pressure, he signed the November Constitution, a treaty that made Schleswig part of Denmark. This resulted in a brief war between Denmark and a Prussian/Austrian alliance in 1864. The war ended with the incorporation of Schleswig into Prussia in 1865. Holstein was likewise incorporated into Prussia in 1865, following further battle between Austria and Prussia.

Europe's "Father in Law"

Christian and Louise gave birth to six, remarkable successful children:

• Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, later Frederik VIII of Denmark (June 3, 1843 - May 14, 1912). Married Princess Lovisa of Sweden. Had issue
• Princess Alexandra of Denmark, later the Queen consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (December 1, 1844 - November 20, 1925). Had issue
• Prince Vilhelm (December 24, 1845 - March 18, 1913), later King George I of Greece. Married Olga Konstantinova, Grand Duchess of Russia. Had issue
• Princess Dagmar of Denmark, later the consort of Tsar Alexander III of Russia (November 26, 1847 - October 13, 1928). Had issue.
• Princess Thyra of Denmark, later consort of Ernst August of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland (September 29, 1853 - February 26, 1933). Had issue.
• Prince Valdemar of Denmark , (October 27, 1858 - January 14, 1939). Married princess Marie de Orleáns-Bourbon (1865-1909). Had issue.

The great dynastical success of the six children, was to a great extent not the favor of Christain IX himself, but due to Christian's wife Louise of Hesse-Kassel dynastical ambitions. Some have compared her dynastical capabilities with the ones of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Christian's grandsons included Nicholas II of Russia, Constantine I of Greece, George V of the United Kingdom, Christian X of Denmark and Haakon VII of Norway. He was, in the last years of his life, named Europe's "father-in-law". Today, most of Europe's reigning and ex-reigning royal families is a direct descendant of Christian IX.

Christian died peacefully of old age at 87 in Copenhagen and was buried at Roskilde, Denmark.

Politics

Christian IX sought unsuccessfully, to prevent the spread of democracy throughout Denmark. However, he signed a treaty in 1874 which allowed Iceland, then a Danish possession, to have its own constitution, albeit one that still had Denmark ruling Iceland. In 1900, he approved the establishment of a Danish parliament which would have power over absolutism.

Another reform occurred in 1866, when the Danish constitution was revised so that Denmark's upper chamber would have more power than the lower.

Social security also took a few steps forward during his reign. Old age pensions were introduced in 1891 and unemployment and family benefits were introduced in 1892.

External links

• |The Danish Monarchy's official site
• A detailed listing of his descendants
• An ancestor chart of him ; not necessarily reliable