| King's Law - Lex Regia | |
|---|---|
 Stored at theNational Archives, this original copy was used at theanointing of Danish monarchs. | |
| Overview | |
| Original title | Kongeloven - Lex Regia |
| Jurisdiction | Realm ofDenmark-Norway |
| Created | 1664–1665 |
| Presented | 14 November 1665 Copenhagen Castle |
| System | Absolute monarchy |
| Repealed | Norway:17 May 1814 Denmark:5 June 1849(two articles still applicable) |
| Location | |
| Commissioned by | Frederick III of Denmark and Norway |
| Author(s) | ChieflyCount Peder Griffenfeld |
| Signatories | Estates of the Realm |
TheKing's Law (Danish:Kongeloven) orLex Regia (also called theDanish Royal Lawof 1665[1]) was theabsolutistconstitution ofDenmark and Norway from 1665 until1849 and1814, respectively. It established completehereditary andabsolute monarchy and formalized the king's absolute power, and is regarded the mostsovereign form[2] of all theEuropean expressions of absolutism.[3][4][5] Danish professor inlegal history of theUniversity of Copenhagen, Jens Chr. V. Johansen, asserts that with Europe's least circumscribed form of absolutism, Denmark "may be considered the most absolute of all the absoluteEuropean monarchies".[6] It is the only formal constitution of any absolute monarchy,[7][8] and has therefore been the subject of considerablehistorical andacademic attention.[9][10][11]
The King's Law comprises 40 articles and is divided into seven main chapters.[12][13] Articles 1 to 7 determine the royal absolute power, and the following articles contain rules on the king's authority andguardianship, on the king's accession andanointing, on the indivisibility of thekingdoms, onprinces andprincesses, on the king's duty to maintain absolute monarchy, and on thesuccession.[14]
In Denmark the King's Law was replaced in 1849 by theConstitution of the Kingdom of Denmark (June constitution), although two Articles of the King's Law are still applicable:[15][16] firstly Article 21, requiring the king's permission for the departure and marriage of princes and princesses, and secondly Article 25, according to which princes and princesses of the blood can becriminally prosecuted only on the king's orders.[14][17]
The King's Law was read aloud duringthe king's coronation and anointing, but not officially published until 1709. Two original copies are currently accessible to the public, one at theDanish National Archives, and one atRosenborg Castle (both inCopenhagen).[18] The copy at Rosenborg isKing Frederik X's private property and is stored in thetreasury vault along with theDanish Crown Regalia.[18]
AfterDenmark-Norway's catastrophic defeat bySweden in theDano-Swedish War (part of theSecond Northern War) in 1660, an assembly of theestates of the realm (Danish:stænderforsamling) was summoned toCopenhagen by kingFrederik III, above all in order to reorganize the kingdom's finances.[19] Theburghers especially felt that thenobility had not lived up to its responsibilities (securing the army and defence of the kingdom), which were the justification for its privileges.[6] In this tense situation, negotiations for various reforms went forward until the beginning of October, but in vain.[10] On 11 October, the king ordered thecity gates of Copenhagen to be closed so that no one could leave without the permission of the king and the mayor. Under intense pressure from the burghers of Copenhagen and through the threat that force might be employed against the Danish nobility, the estates were persuaded to "agree" to transfer absolute power to the crown,Frederik III.[20]
This newconstitution (lex fundamentalis) forDenmark–Norway, which in 40 articles gave the kingabsolute power and all therights of the sovereign, and also fixed the rules ofsuccession, was influenced by contemporary European political thinking, especially byJean Bodin andHenning Arnisaeus.[21]
When the constitutional discussions were completed,Schumacher rewrote the new King's Law in duplicate. One was placed in thePrivy Council's Archives (Danish:Gehejmearkivet), i.e. in theState Archives (afterwards theDanish National Archives), another atRosenborg Castle together with the state crowns (Christian IV's andChristian V's) and the othercrown regalia. Moreover, the fact that Schumacher had a very large part of the credit for the law is evident from the fact that hecountersigned it.[22]
The King's Law was published during the reign ofFrederick IV, engraved throughout, the royal copy bound in red velvet elaborately embroidered in gold and silver thread with the king's monogram in the centre.[23]
Essentially, the King's Law stated that the King was to be 'revered and considered the most perfect and supreme person on the Earth by all his subjects, standing above all human laws and having no judge above his person, [...] except God alone'.[24] It effectuated thedivine right of kings.[25]
A copy of the King's Law published by theRoyal Danish Library, may be found athere.
The law dictated the three primary duties of the Danish absolute monarch:[26]
In exchange, the king was given unrestricted rights and was, according to the constitution, responsible only to God.[26] For example, he had the unrestrained legislative and executive power, he coulddeclare war andmake peace, and was the head ofthe church.[18][27]
| Chapter[12][13] | Articles (Sections) | Content | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prelude | Introduced with "Lex Regia, which is the supreme King's Law", the constitution starts with the phrase "The best beginning to everything is to begin withGod". The prelude puts forward arguments for the introduction ofabsolute monarchy. | |
| 2 | Constitutional provisions and absolute power | §§ 1-7 | The king was to be the supreme head and judge of the people, and independent of all laws except the King's Law itself and respect forrights of property. For anyone to suggest a change in the law was madetreason. The document itself expressly forbade anyamendment. |
| 3 | Rules for guardian rule in the case of an underage monarch | §§ 8-14 | The king is consideredof (legal) age at 14 years of age. The king himself can regulateguardianship in the event of his premature death. If he has not done so, then themother is the king'sguardian, to whom the sevenchief ministers are bound. If the mother is dead or otherwise unable to perform the duties of aregent, the next male relative, who has reached the age of 17, will take her place. |
| 4 | Provisions on the king's accession and anointing | §§ 15-18 | The king cannot give anyobligation oroath - "from him, orally or in writing, since he cannot be bound by hissubjects as a free and unbound sole king". As soon as the king hascome of age, he should be anointed to "receiveGod'sblessing as soon as possible and the Lord's powerful assistance". |
| 5 | Indivisibility of the realm | § 19 | Therealm of Denmark and Norway shall not be divided, since "reason and experience sufficiently teach that one unified and interconnected power is much stronger (...) than that which is separate and dispersed, and the greater the power anddominion of one lord and king, the safer he and his subjects live for the attacks of all external enemies". |
| 6 | Princes and princesses of blood | §§ 20-25 | Regulates the relationship of the king to the family members, for example, that no family member living in Denmark may marry without the king's permission (similar to the BritishRoyal Marriages Act). Theapanage and the maintenance of the princes are also regulated there. Articles 21 and 25 are still applicable to this day.[16] |
| 7 | Detailed provisions for hereditary succession | §§ 26-40 | The King's Law set forth a type ofagnatic succession law that only allows for the succession ofcognates (relations through females) in the alternative after the extinction of all the entitled to inheritagnates of theroyal house - even in the most distantgenealogical lines. Only when this occurs, that is, when there is no moreagnate in the entire dynasty, does King's Law grant thecognate, man or woman who is the last king's closest genealogical relation, a right of succession to the throne.[28] In practise, this was therefore a system ofagnatic-cognatic primogeniture.[29] |
In theepilogue to theJune Constitution of 1849, the King's Law was repealed except for Articles 27 to 40 (on thesuccession) and Articles 21 and 25 (concerning the royalprinces andprincesses).[30] The King's law's provisions on the succession were repealed by theAct of Succession of 1953. On the other hand, the provisions of Article 25 of the King's Law concerning, inter alia, thelegal immunity of royal princes and princesses are still applicable.[31] Likewise, the provisions of Article 21 concerning the king's permission for royal marriages and travels, are still applicable.[16]
Although the King's Law was repealed, many of the king'sprerogatives of the Danish Constitution have a precursor in the King's Law. Thus, several of the prerogatives are directly to be found in the King's Law.[32]
Christian VII of Denmark ascended theDanish throne in 1766 as absolute monarch. Throughout his reign he suffered from variousphysiological illnesses includingschizophrenia, which made him insane.[33] As the King's Law had no physical or mentalincapacity provisions, Christian could not officially be considered insane, as such a view would have constitutedlèse-majesté (Danish:Majestætsfornærmelse).[33] As a result, he could not be legally dismissed or forced toabdicate, nor could aregency be enacted. During the mental illness attacks of Christian's first cousin,George III of Great Britain, Britain's parliamentary system was not met with a similar problem. Christian marriedCaroline Matilda of Great Britain, George's sister, in 1766.[13]
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)Text of Rex Legia in Danish.http://thomasthorsen.dk/dk-lr-1655.html