| Christian VIII | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait byJohan Vilhelm Gertner, 1845 | |||||
| King of Denmark (more...) | |||||
| Reign | 3 December 1839 – 20 January 1848 | ||||
| Coronation | 28 June 1840 Frederiksborg Palace Chapel | ||||
| Predecessor | Frederick VI | ||||
| Successor | Frederick VII | ||||
| King of Norway | |||||
| Reign | 17 May – 10 October 1814 | ||||
| Predecessor | Frederick VI | ||||
| Successor | Charles II | ||||
| Born | (1786-09-18)18 September 1786 Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen | ||||
| Died | 20 January 1848(1848-01-20) (aged 61) Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouses | |||||
| Issue | Frederick VII | ||||
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| House | Oldenburg | ||||
| Father | Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (officially) Frederick von Blücher (rumored) | ||||
| Mother | Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | ||||
| Religion | Lutheranism | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) wasKing of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, asChristian Frederick,King of Norway in 1814.[1]
Christian Frederick was the eldest son ofHereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of KingFrederick V of Denmark and Norway. As his cousinFrederick VI had no sons, Christian Frederick washeir presumptive to the throne from 1808.
Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark and Norway was born late in the morning on 18 September 1786 atChristiansborg Palace, the principal residence of theDanish Monarchy on the island ofSlotsholmen in centralCopenhagen.[2] He was officially the eldest son ofHereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway and DuchessSophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.[3] His father was a younger son of the deceased KingFrederick V of Denmark-Norway and his second wife, DuchessJuliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and his mother was a daughter ofDuke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
On 28 September 1786, the young prince was baptized with the namesChristian Frederick in his mother's chamber at Christiansborg Palace by the royal confessor Christian Bastholm.[4] His godparents wereKing Christian VII (his uncle), the dowager queenJuliana Maria (his grandmother),Crown Prince Frederick (his cousin),Princess Louise Augusta (his cousin), andHereditary Prince Frederick Christian of Augustenburg.[4]
In the family, however, it was widely acknowledged that the biological father most likely was the Hereditary Prince'saide-de-camp andhofmarschallFrederick von Blücher, who probably also fathered Christian Frederick's three younger siblings:Princess Juliane Sophie,Princess Louise Charlotte andPrince Frederick Ferdinand.[1][5][6][7] In a letter written byCrown Prince Frederick to his brother-in-lawDuke Frederick Christian II of Augustenburg in 1805, he thus mentions the Hereditary Prince's goodwill towards his hofmarschall and continues:
... my uncle appreciates the creator of the four, very adorable princes and princesses too much to want to send him away.[8]
When Prince Christian Frederick was born, his father's half-brother,Christian VII, was the King ofDenmark-Norway, but due to the king's mental illness, he was not able to rule himself. From 1772, Hereditary Prince Frederick had ruled together with his mother, the Dowager QueenJuliane Marie, and their adviserOve Høegh-Guldberg. In 1784, however, the king's only son, the young Crown Prince Frederick (later KingFrederick VI), had seized power in apalace revolution and was now the real ruler. In Prince Christian Frederick's childhood, his family had a strained relationship with the Crown Prince and his family as a result of these power struggles, but gradually the relationship between the two branches of the royal family was normalized.
Prince Christian Frederick spent the first years of his life with his siblings in the vast and magnificentBaroqueChristiansborg Palace. As the family's summer residence, Hereditary Prince Friedrich in 1789 bought the smaller and elegantcountry house,Sorgenfri Palace, on the banks of the small riverMølleåen inKongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen. On 26 February 1794, the family lost their Copenhagen home, as Christiansborg Palace was devastated by a fire. Instead the Hereditary Prince bought theLevetzau's Palace,[a] an 18th-centurytown house which forms part of theAmalienborg Palace complex in the districtFrederiksstaden in centralCopenhagen. In november of the same year, when he was eight years old, his mother, who had long suffered from a fragile health, died at Sorgenfri the age of just 36 years.
Christian Frederick was raised conservatively according to the guidelines of ministerOve Høegh-Guldberg, who had been ousted from government in 1784 along with the hereditary prince. His upbringing was marked by a thorough and broad-spectrum education with exposure to artists and scientists who were linked to his father's court.[citation needed] He inherited the talents of his highly gifted mother, and his love of science and art was instilled at an early age and would follow him throughout his life. His amiability and handsome features are said to have made him very popular inCopenhagen.[9]
He wasconfirmed on 22 May 1803 in the chapel ofFrederiksberg Palace together with his sisters Princess Juliane Sophie and Princess Louise Charlotte.[10] A year and a half later, on 7 December 1805, the children's father, Hereditary Prince Frederick, died at the age of 52, and the nineteen-year-old Prince Christian Frederik inherited his place as second-in-line in the succession as well as the two residences, Levetzau's Palace and Sorgenfri Palace. As King Christian VII died on 13 March 1808, Crown Prince Frederick became king of Denmark and Norway as Frederick VI. Since the new king still had no male descendants, Christian Frederick thus becameheir presumptive to the throne.
On a visit to his mother's relatives inMecklenburg, Prince Christian Frederick stayed at his uncle's court in Schwerin, where he fell in love with his cousin, DuchessCharlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Charlotte Frederica was a daughter of the reigning DukeFriedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, andPrincess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. They married two years later, on 21 June 1806, atLudwigslust.
The young couple first settled atPlön Castle in theDuchy of Holstein. It was here, that Charlotte Frederica gave birth to their first-born son, Prince Christian Frederick, who was born and died on 8 April 1807. From 1808 the couple lived in Copenhagen, where they took residence partly at Levetzau's Palace at Amalienborg, and partly at Sorgenfri Palace. On 6 October 1808, their second son and only surviving child was born, Prince Frederick Carl Christian, the future KingFrederick VII of Denmark.
Nonetheless, their married life was unhappy. Charlotte Frederica was described as very beautiful in her youth, but her character was thought to be moody, capricious, frivolous and mythomaniac, qualities that were later said to recur in her son, Frederick VII. Her alleged affair with her singing teacher, Swiss-born singer and composerÉdouard Du Puy, led to her removal from the court. For this reason, her husband divorced her in 1810, sent her into internal exile in the town ofHorsens, and prohibited her from ever seeing her son again.[11]
In May 1813, as theheir presumptive of the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, Christian was sent asstattholder (Governor-general of Norway) to Norway to promote the loyalty of the Norwegians to theHouse of Oldenburg, which had been very badly shaken by the disastrous results ofFrederick VI's adhesion to the falling fortunes ofNapoleon I of France. Christian did all he could personally to strengthen the bonds between the Norwegians and the royal house. Though his endeavours were opposed by the so-called Swedish party, which desired a dynastic union with Sweden, he placed himself at the head of the Norwegian party of independence after theTreaty of Kiel had forced the king to cedeNorway to the king of Sweden. He was elected Regent of Norway by anassembly of notables on 16 February 1814.[9][12]
This election was confirmed by theNorwegian Constituent Assembly convoked atEidsvoll on 10 April, and on 17 May the constitution was signed and Christian was unanimously elected king of Norway under the name Christian Frederick (Kristian Frederik inNorwegian).Christian next attempted to interest the great powers in Norway's cause, but without success. On being pressed by the commissioners of the allied powers to bring about a union between Norway and Sweden in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Kiel, and then return to Denmark, he replied that, as a constitutional king, he could do nothing without the consent of the parliament (Storting), which would not be convoked until there was a suspension of hostilities on the part of Sweden.[9][13]
Sweden refused Christian's conditions and a shortmilitary campaign ensued in which the Norwegian army was defeated by the forces of the Swedish crown princeCharles John. The brief war concluded with theConvention of Moss on 14 August 1814. By the terms of this treaty, King Christian Frederick transferred executive power to the Storting, then abdicated the throne and returned to Denmark. The Storting in its turn adopted the constitutional amendments necessary to allow for a personal union with Sweden and on 4 November electedCharles XIII of Sweden as the new king of Norway, Charles II.[14]
Upon his return to Denmark, Christian married his second wife, PrincessCaroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (daughter ofLouise Augusta of Denmark, the only sister of Frederick VI) atAugustenborg Palace on 22 May 1815. The couple was childless and lived in comparative retirement as leaders of the literary and scientific society of Copenhagen until Christian ascended the throne of Denmark.[15]
Christian had ten extramarital children, for whom he carefully provided. It has been suggested that these extramarital children included the fairy tale authorHans Christian Andersen, though there is little evidence to support this.[16]
On 3 December 1839 he ascended the Danish throne as Christian VIII. The Liberal party had high hopes of "the giver of constitutions." However, by this time, Christian had become more conservative, and disappointed his admirers by steadily rejecting every Liberal project. Administrative reform was the only reform he would promise.[9] In his attitude to the growing national unrest in the twin duchies ofSchleswig andHolstein he often seemed hesitant and half-hearted, which damaged his position there. It was not until 1846 that he clearly supported the idea of Schleswig being a Danish area.[17]
King Christian VIII continued his predecessor's patronage ofastronomy, awarding gold medals for the discovery ofcomets bytelescope and financially supportingHeinrich Christian Schumacher with his publication of the scientific journalAstronomische Nachrichten. It was during his reign that the last remnants ofDanish India, namelyTranquebar in the south andSerampore in Bengal, were sold to the British in 1845.
His only legitimate son, the future Frederick VII (1808–1863) was married three times, but produced no legitimate issue. Since he was apparently unlikely to beget heirs, Christian wished to avert a succession crisis. Christian commenced arrangements to secure thesuccession in Denmark. The result was the selection of the futureChristian IX as hereditary prince, the choice made official by a new law enacted on 31 July 1853 after an international treaty made in London.
King Christian died ofsepsis inAmalienborg Palace in 1848 and was interred inRoskilde Cathedral on the island ofZealand, the traditional burial site forDanish monarchs since the 15th century.
Some historians and biographers believe that King Christian would have given Denmark a free constitution had he lived long enough; his last words are sometimes recorded as "I didn't make it" (Jeg nåede det ikke).[18]
He received the following orders and decorations:[19]
Denmark:[20]
Austrian Empire:Grand Cross of St. Stephen,1819[21]
Kingdom of Bavaria:Knight of St. Hubert,1838[22]
Belgium:Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold,22 November 1843[23]
Kingdom of France:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Kingdom of Hanover:[24]
Oldenburg:Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown,6 January 1840[25]
Kingdom of Portugal:Grand Cross of the Sash of the Three Orders
Kingdom of Prussia:Knight of the Black Eagle,13 February 1840[26]
Russian Empire:Knight of St. Andrew
Spain:Knight of the Golden Fleece,13 January 1840[27]
Sweden-Norway:Knight of the Seraphim,28 January 1836[28]
Two Sicilies:Knight of St. Januarius,1827[29]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Christian VIII.".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 278.
Christian VIII of Denmark Born: 18 September 1786 Died: 20 January 1848 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Denmark Duke of Schleswig,Holstein &Saxe-Lauenburg 3 December 1839 – 20 January 1848 | Succeeded by |
| King of Norway 17 May – 10 October 1814 | Succeeded by | |
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| Preceded by | Governor-general of Norway 1 May 1813 – 16 February 1814 | Succeeded by |
The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy byFrederick III in 1660. | ||
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1 Also prince of Norway 2 Also prince of Greece 3 Also prince of Iceland 4 Also prince of the United Kingdom 5 Not Danish prince by birth, but created prince of Denmark Princes that lost their title are shown in italics | ||
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