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Thecoronation of the Danish monarch was areligiousceremony in which the accession of theDanishmonarch was marked by acoronation ceremony. It was held in various forms from 1170 to 1840, mostly inLund Cathedral inLund,St. Mary's Cathedral inCopenhagen and in the chapel ofFrederiksborg Palace inHillerød.
Enthronements of the Danishmonarch may be historically divided into three distinct types of rituals: themedievalcoronation, which existed during the period ofelective monarchy; theanointing ritual, which replaced coronation with the introduction ofabsolute monarchy in 1660; and finally the simpleproclamation, which has been used since the introduction of theconstitutional monarchy in 1849.
Historically anelective monarchy, the Danish kings had beenelected andacclaimed at theThing assemblies; this continued even after the tradition of coronations began. Ultimately, the acclamation rite only ceased with the introduction ofhereditary monarchy in 1660, the 1657 acclamation of crown prince Christian (the laterChristian V of Denmark) being the last occasion. The first coronation in Scandinavia took place inBergen inNorway in 1163 or 1164. The first coronation in Denmark was that ofCanute VI inSt. Bendt's Church inRingsted in 1170. The only Danish kings between 1170 and 1448 to not be crowned wereValdemar III,Valdemar IV, andOlaf II.[1]
The medieval monarchs used various locations for their coronations, withLund Cathedral inLund, thearchepiscopal seat of Denmark, being the most preferred. Other locations includeViborg,Vordingborg,Kalmar andRibe. After the accession of theHouse of Oldenburg to the Danish throne in 1448, the coronations were held inSt. Mary's Cathedral inCopenhagen, and usually performed by theBishop of Zealand.
The coronation ritual (as of 1537) began with aprocession of the ruler and hisconsort intoSt. Mary's cathedral inCopenhagen, followed by theDanish Crown Regalia. The monarch was seated before thealtar, where he swore to govern justly, preserve theLutheran religion, support schools, and help the poor. Following this, the king was anointed on the lower right arm and between the shoulders, but not on the head. Then the royal couple retired to a tented enclosure where they were robed in royal attire, returning to hear a sermon, theKyrie andGloria, and then aprayer and theEpistle reading.
Following the Epistle, the king knelt before the altar, where he was first given a sword. After flourishing and sheathing it, the still-kneeling monarch was crowned by theclergy andnobility, who jointly placed thediadem upon their ruler's head. Thesceptre andorb were presented, then returned to attendants. The queen was anointed and crowned in a similar manner, but she received only a sceptre and not an orb. Finally, a choral hymn was sung, following which the newly crowned king and queen listened to a secondsermon and the reading of theGospel, which brought the service to an end.[2]
With the introduction ofabsolute monarchy in 1660, the full coronation ritual was replaced with a ceremony ofanointing, where the new king would arrive at the coronation site already wearing the crown, where he was then anointed.
The anointings were held in the chapel ofFrederiksborg Palace inHillerød, with the exception of the 1767 anointing ofKing Christian VII which was held in the chapel ofChristiansborg Palace inCopenhagen.
This rite was in turn abolished with the introduction of theDanish constitution in 1849. Today thecrown of Denmark is only displayed at the monarch's funeral, when it sits atop their coffin. The present king,Frederik X, did not have any formalenthronement service; a public announcement of his accession was made from the balcony ofChristiansborg Palace, with the new sovereign being proclaimed by his prime minister at the time,Mette Frederiksen, then cheered with a ninefold "hurrah" by the crowds below.[3][4]
| Date | Site | Picture | Name | Reign | Other regnal titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 June 1671 | Frederiksborg Palace Chapel |  | Christian V | 9 February 1670 – 25 August 1699 | King of Norway |
| 15 April 1700 | Frederiksborg Palace Chapel |  | Frederick IV | 25 August 1699 – 12 October 1730 | King of Norway |
| 6 June 1731 | Frederiksborg Palace Chapel |  | Christian VI | 12 October 1730 – 6 August 1746 | King of Norway |
| 4 September 1747 | Frederiksborg Palace Chapel |  | Frederick V withLouise of Great Britain | 6 August 1746 – 14 January 1766 | King of Norway |
| 1 May 1767 | Christiansborg Palace Chapel |  | Christian VII withCaroline Matilda of Great Britain | 14 January 1766 – 13 March 1808 | King of Norway |
| 31 July 1815 | Frederiksborg Palace Chapel |  | Frederick VI withMarie of Hesse-Kassel | 13 March 1808 – 3 December 1839 | King of Norway |
| 28 June 1840 | Frederiksborg Palace Chapel |  | Christian VIII withCaroline Amalie of Augustenburg | 3 December 1839 – 20 January 1848 | King of Norway (prior of being king of Denmark) |
| Date | Site | Picture | Name | Reign | Prime Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 November 1863 | Christiansborg Palace |  | Christian IX | 15 November 1863 – 29 January 1906 | Carl Christian Hall |
| 30 January 1906 | Amalienborg Palace |  | Frederick VIII | 29 January 1906 – 14 May 1912 | Jens Christian Christensen |
| 15 May 1912 |  | Christian X | 14 May 1912 – 20 April 1947 | Klaus Berntsen | |
| 20 April 1947 | Christiansborg Palace | _-_Det_Kongelige_Bibliotek_(KE062449).jpg) | Frederik IX | 20 April 1947 – 14 January 1972 | Knud Kristensen |
| 15 January 1972 |  | Margrethe II | 14 January 1972 – 14 January 2024 | Jens Otto Krag | |
| 14 January 2024 |  | Frederik X | 14 January 2024 – present | Mette Frederiksen |
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