 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Louise of Hesse-Kassel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait, 1893 | |||||
| Queen consort of Denmark | |||||
| Tenure | 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 | ||||
| Duchess consort of Schleswig,Holstein andLauenburg | |||||
| Tenure | 15 November 1863 – 30 October 1864 | ||||
| Born | (1817-09-07)7 September 1817 Kassel,Electorate of Hesse,German Confederation | ||||
| Died | 29 September 1898(1898-09-29) (aged 81) Bernstorff Palace,Gentofte,Denmark | ||||
| Burial | 15 October 1898 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Hesse-Kassel | ||||
| Father | Prince William of Hesse-Kassel | ||||
| Mother | Princess Charlotte of Denmark | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Louise of Hesse-Kassel (German:Luise Wilhelmine Friederike Caroline Auguste Julie,Danish:Louise Vilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie; 7 September 1817 – 29 September 1898) wasQueen of Denmark as the wife ofKing Christian IX, from 15 November 1863 until her death. From 1863 to 1864, she was concurrently Duchess of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. Born in Kassel, she was the daughter ofPrince William of Hesse-Kassel andPrincess Charlotte of Denmark, and a niece ofKing Christian VIII. Through her descent fromKing Frederick III, she supported her husband's claim to the Danish throne.
Louise played a pivotal dynastic role as the mother of six children who married into several European royal houses, earning Christian IX the epithet "Father-in-law of Europe." Her children included KingFrederick VIII of Denmark,Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, KingGeorge I of Greece, EmpressMaria Feodorovna of Russia,Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover, andPrince Valdemar of Denmark. She died atBernstorff Palace in Gentofte and was buried atRoskilde Cathedral.
Louise was born as the daughter ofPrince William of Hesse-Kassel andPrincess Charlotte of Denmark. Her siblings includedPrincess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel,Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel and PrincessAuguste Sophie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel. Louise of Hesse lived in Denmark from the age of three.
As a niece of KingChristian VIII, who ruled Denmark between 1839 and 1848, Louise was very close to the succession after several individuals of the royal house of Denmark who were elderly and childless. As children, her brotherFrederick Wilhelm, her sisters and she were the closest relatives of KingChristian VIII who were likely to produce heirs. It was increasingly obvious that the traditional male line succession might come to an end within a generation as thecrown prince was childless despite two marriages. Louise was one of the females descending fromFrederick III of Denmark, and she enjoyed the remainder provisions of the Danishagnatic-cognetic succession according to theKing's Law in the event that Frederick III's male line became extinct.
Louise and her siblings were not agnatic descendants of theHouse of Oldenburg. Louise was thus ineligible to inherit theHolstein throne – which was underagnatic succession. This threatened the continued existence of the joint monarchy between Denmark and the two duchies. Denmark and its fiefSchleswig both followed the succession rules in theKing's Law giving Louise a strong claim to the Danish throne.
Louise was married at theAmalienborg Palace inCopenhagen on 26 May 1842 to her double second cousinPrince Christian ofSchleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, who in 1863 became King Christian IX of Denmark.
The marriage combined Christian's weak claim to the throne with Louise's senior claim. The couple lived a quiet family life but their claims to the throne were disputed for more than a decade.
Louise's claim to the throne was challenged by theHouse of Augustenborg, which held the stronger claim to the Holstein throne and a subsidiary claim to the Danish and Schleswig thrones. The House of Augustenborg argued that the King's Law was purelyagnatic and presented itself as the opportunity to preserve the undivided monarchy.
In 1847, KingChristian VIII decided that the throne should pass to Prince Christian of Glücksburg in the event that crown princeFrederick (the later Frederick VII) fathered nodynastic sons. This choice was communicated to the Great Powers of Europe.
The situation remained disputed, and succession was a main reason for the House of Augustenburg rebelling against Denmark in the 1848–51First Schleswig War. That house was consequently struck from the line of succession. This cemented that Prince Christian of Glücksburg would become the next monarch.
Louise's mother and siblings renounced their rights to the Danish throne to her, and Louise herself in turn renounced her rights in favour of her husband. In 1852, this succession order was confirmed by the Nordic countries and foreign powers in London.
Christian and Louise's children would now be heirs to the Danish throne both due to compliance with the King's Law and due to international treaty. This resolved the succession to the Danish crown, but not Denmark's future relation to the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. German Holstein's historic law of succession was Salic, thus exclusively male, and could not easily be reconciled with Christian's claim as long as the Augustenborgs survived andPrussia offered itself as the international champion of German nationalism. In 1864, this conflict resulted in theSecond Schleswig War.
By 1853, Denmark had become a constitutional monarchy and Parliament amended the Danish law of succession proclaiming Christian Hereditary Prince of Denmark, thus cementing that he would succeed when King Frederick VII died (unless the uncle of King Frederick,Prince Ferdinand, would outlive his nephew). Although Frederick disapproved of this choice, he signed it into law on 3 July 1853.
Louise disapproved of Frederick VII's non-dynastic marriage toLouise Rasmussen, and in turn the King disapproved of Christian succeeding him. The two couples thus had a tense relationship and spent little time together.
On 15 November 1863 King Frederick VII died and Christian becameKing of Denmark. The relationship between Louise and Christian seems to have been at least partially a marriage of love, and is described as happy: she supported him in his struggle to be acknowledged as heir-presumptive to the throne of Denmark, and the couple became strongly attached to each other during the years of succession struggle. Her loyalty is said to have been of great importance to him, and Christian is described as dependent upon her intelligence, judgment and psychological strength, all of which were considered to be superior to his own. Their life style is described as simple and puritan, and as this suited the contemporary view of an exemplary family life, the royal family was regarded as a morally correct role model. Because of this, thepregnancy of her unmarried daughter Thyra in 1870 became a burden; Louise took control of the situation and hid it from public knowledge by sending Thyra to give birth abroad, keeping the whole affair a family secret.
As queen, Louise lived a life isolated from the people and did not seek a relationship with or recognition from the public. She took no part in state affairs; her political interests focused on the arranged dynastic marriages of her children and were affected by her anti-German views. The high status marriages she arranged for her children secured the newly established Danish dynasty international status, connecting Denmark toGreat Britain,Russia,Sweden andGreece. Known as "The Mother-in-law of Europe," her annual family gatherings atBernstorff andFredensborg attracted more attention every year and made her a popular symbol of family life. Significant events in her life included hersilver wedding anniversary on 26 May 1867, when she received great public praise; her 70th birthday celebration of 1887; thegolden wedding anniversary of 1892, and her 80th birthday in 1897.
The great dynastic success of Louise's six children was to a great extent a result of Louise's own ambitions rather than the efforts of her husband Christian IX. Some have compared Louise's dynastic capabilities with those ofQueen Victoria.
She was interested in music and painting. She acted as thepatron of artists such asElisabeth Jerichau Baumann. Some of Louise's own paintings were exhibited and given as gifts to members of other royal dynasties.
Louise supported 26 different charitable organizations. Among them wereVallø stift;Kronprinsesse Louises praktiske Tjenestepigeskole (The Servant Girls' School of Crown Princess Louise) and theDronning Louises Børnehospital (Queen Louise's Children's Hospital). In 1857, she founded theLouisestiftelsen (Louise Foundation), anorphanage for girls with the purpose of raising them to a life of domestic servants, which illustrated her deeply conservative ideals. Her most known project, and one which she herself referred to as her most important, was theDiakonissestiftelsen (The Deaconess Foundation) in 1863, which introduced theDeaconess profession in Denmark. In 1891, she initiated theForeningen til Oprettelse af Friskolebørneasyler i Kbh.s Arbejderkvarter (Foundation for the Establishment of Charter school's Asylums in the Labour Quarters of Copenhagen). She founded theBelønnings- og Forsørgelsesforeningen (The Reward- and Self-supporting Foundation) in 1881, supported domestic servants by providing financial aid to the ill, during unemployment and in retirement. Louise was deeply conservative, and her charitable work has been interpreted as a fear ofsocialism and the growingworkers movement.
Queen Louise died peacefully atBernstorff Palace aged 81 on 29 September 1898 and was interred inRoskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen on 15 October 1898. During her last years, she become deaf and infirm, and her needs were taken care of by two deaconesses from theDeaconess institution she founded. Louise wasqueen consort of Denmark for 35 years, longer than any other Danish queen before her.
Mexican Empire: Grand Cross of the ImperialOrder of Saint Charles,10 April 1865[3]
Grand Duchy of Hesse: Dame of theGrand Ducal Hessian Order of the Golden Lion,30 April 1884[4]
Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Precious Crown,12 April 1892[5]
Kingdom of Portugal: Dame of theOrder of Queen Saint Isabel[1]
Russian Empire:[1]
Spain: Dame of theRoyal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa,25 January 1878[6]
United Kingdom:.jpg)
Louise had the following six children with Christian. Eventually, they had forty grandchildren, including theillegitimate daughter of Thyra.
Louise of Hesse-Kassel Cadet branch of theHouse of Hesse Born: 7 September 1817 Died: 29 September 1898 | ||
| Danish royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Caroline Amalieof Augustenburg | Queen consort of Denmark 1863–1898 | Vacant Title next held by Louise of Sweden |
The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy byFrederick III in 1660. | ||
| 1st generation | .svg) | |
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
| 6th generation | ||
| 7th generation | ||
| 8th generation | ||
| 9th generation |
| |
| 10th generation | ||
| 11th generation | ||
| 12th generation | ||
*also a princess of Greece by marriage ^also a Danish princess by birth §title lost due to divorce and subsequent remarriage | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
