1.
Monarchy of Denmark
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The Monarchy of Denmark, colloquially known as the Danish Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes not only Denmark, but the regions of Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark were already consolidated in the late 8th century, originally an elective monarchy, it became hereditary only in the 17th century during the reign of Frederick III. A decisive transition to a constitutional monarchy occurred in 1849 with the writing of the first Constitution, the current Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the same royal house as the Norwegian and former Greek royal families. The Danish Monarchy is constitutional and as such, the role of the monarch is defined and limited by the Constitution of Denmark, the monarch is, in practice, limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, Queen Margrethe II ascended the throne on the death of her father, King Frederick IX, on 14 January 1972. On her accession, Queen Margrethe II became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375‒1412, during the Kalmar Union. Danish regnal names have traditionally alternated between Frederick and Christian, Margrethe has taken the place of a Christian, and accordingly her heir apparent is Crown Prince Frederik. The modern Kingdom of Denmark dates back to Harthacnuts son, Gorm the Old, the first King of a united Scotland was King Kenneth MacAlpin who died around 80 years before Gorm the Old was born. The Danes were united and officially Christianized in 965 CE by Harald Bluetooth, furthermore, the Jelling stones attests that Harald had also won Norway. The son of Harald, Sweyn Forkbeard, mounted a series of wars of conquest against England, the reign of Cnut represented the peak of the Danish Viking age, his North Sea Empire included Denmark, Norway, England and held strong influence over the north-eastern coast of Germany. The last monarch descended from Valdemar IV, Christopher III of Denmark, Count Christian of Oldenburg, descendant of Valdemar IVs aunt Richeza, was chosen as his successor and became the next monarch of Denmark, ruling under the name Christian I. Originally the Danish monarchy was elective, but in practice the eldest son of the monarch was elected. Later a Coronation Charter was signed by the king to restrict the powers of the Danish monarch, in 1657, during the Second Northern War, King Frederick III launched a war of revenge against Sweden which turned into a complete disaster. The war became a disaster for two reasons, Primarily, because Denmarks new powerful ally, the Netherlands, remained neutral as Denmark was the aggressor and Sweden the defender. Secondly, the Belts froze over in an occurrence during the winter of 1657-1658. In the following Treaty of Roskilde, Denmark–Norway capitulated and gave up all of Eastern Denmark, in addition to the counties of Bohuslän, but the Second Northern War was not yet over. Three months after the treaty was signed, Charles X Gustav held a council of war where he decided to simply wipe Denmark from the map
2.
Coronation of the Danish monarch
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The coronation of the Danish monarch was a religious ceremony in which the accession of the Danish monarch was marked by a coronation ceremony. It was held in various forms from 1170 to 1840, mostly in Lund Cathedral in Lund, St. Marys Cathedral in Copenhagen and in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød. Historically an elective monarchy, the Danish kings had been elected and acclaimed at the Thing assemblies, ultimately, the acclamation rite only ceased with the introduction of hereditary monarchy in 1660, the 1657 acclamation of crown prince Christian being the last occasion. The first coronation in Scandinavia took place in Bergen in Norway in 1163 or 1164, the first coronation in Denmark was that of Canute VI in St. Bendts Church in Ringsted in 1170. The medieval monarchs used various locations for their coronations, with Lund Cathedral in Lund, other locations include Viborg, Vordingborg, Kalmar and Ribe. After the accession of the House of Oldenburg to the Danish throne in 1448, the coronations were held in St. Marys Cathedral in Copenhagen, and usually performed by the Bishop of Zealand. The coronation ritual began with a procession of the ruler and his consort into St. Marys cathedral in Copenhagen, the monarch was seated before the altar, where he swore to govern justly, preserve the Lutheran religion, support schools, and help the poor. Following this, the king was anointed on the right arm. Then the royal couple retired to an enclosure where they were robed in royal attire, returning to hear a sermon, the Kyrie and Gloria, and then a prayer. 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 the clergy and nobility, who jointly placed the diadem upon their rulers head. The sceptre and orb 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 hymn was sung, following which the newly crowned king and queen listened to a second sermon and the reading of the Gospel. This rite was in turn abolished with the introduction of the Danish constitution in 1849, today the crown of Denmark is only displayed at the monarchs funeral, when it sits atop their coffin. Coronations Monarchy of Denmark Hoffman, Erich, Coronation and Coronation Ordines in Medieval Scandinavia. In Bak, János M. Coronations, Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual, syv salvinger - ceremoniellet, teksterne og musikken
3.
Frederiksborg Castle
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Frederiksborg Castle is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. Situated on three islets in the Slotssøen, it is adjoined by a formal garden in the Baroque style. After a serious fire in 1859, the castle was rebuilt on the basis of old plans, thanks to public support and the brewer J. C. Jacobsen, the building and its apartments were fully restored by 1882 when it was reopened to the public as the Danish Museum of National History, open throughout the year, the museum contains the largest collection of portrait paintings in Denmark. The estate originally known as Hillerødsholm near Hillerød had traditionally belonged to the Gøyes, in the 1520s and 1530s, Mogens Gøye, Steward of the Realm, had been instrumental in introducing the Danish Reformation. He lived in a building on the most northerly of three adjoining islets on the estates lake. The property was known as Hillerødsholm, after his daughter, Birgitte, married the courtier and naval hero Herluf Trolle in 1544, the couple became its proprietors. In the 1540s, Trolle replaced the old building with a manor house. As the old building with towers was too small for the king. At the kings request, Trolle remained on the premises until the work was completed, the king then renamed the estate Frederiksborg. Interested in deer hunting, he used the castle with the neighbouring Bath House as a hunting lodge, centred as it was in the fields. The additions included a wall to the south, separating the estate from the town. Still standing today is the quadrangular red-brick, tip-roofed house on Staldgade known as Herluf Trolles Tower, adjoining this are two long, narrow red-brick stable buildings, the Kings Stables to the west and the Hussars Stables to the east. These in turn lead to a wall along the lake with two round towers completed in 1562 bearing the arms of Frederick II and his motto Mein Hoffnung zu Gott allein, on the central islet, the long pantry house with stepped gables can also be seen today. The most important building from Frederick IIs times is the Bath House in the park northwest of the islets, completed in 1581 in the Renaissance style with three protruding step-gabled wings, it served the king as a hunting lodge during the summer months. Frederiksborg Castle was the first Danish castle to be built inland, all previous castles had been on the coast or close to ports as the sea had traditionally been the principal means of travel. It was also the first to be built for recreational purposes rather than for defence. Its location in Hillerød led to the development of improved roads
4.
Frederick VI of Denmark
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Frederick VI was King of Denmark from 13 March 1808 to 3 December 1839 and King of Norway from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814. From 1784 until his accession, he served as regent during his fathers illness and was referred to as the Crown Prince Regent. For his motto he chose God and the just cause and since the time of his reign, Frederick was born at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. Frederick belonged to the House of Oldenburg and his parents were King Christian VII and Caroline Matilda of Great Britain. He was born after 15 months of marriage, just a day before his fathers 19th birthday, as the eldest son of the ruling king, he automatically became crown prince at birth. On 30 January of the year, he was baptised at Christiansborg Palace by Ludvig Harboe. His godparents were King Christian VII, the dowager queen Juliana Maria and his half-uncle, from 1770 to 1772, Struensee was de facto regent and lover of Caroline Matilda, Fredericks mother. Both were ideologically influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau, while Struensee was in power, young Frederick was raised at Hirschholm Palace following the educational approach advocated by Rousseau in his famous work Émile. Instead of receiving direct instruction, Frederick was expected to learn everything through his own efforts through playing with two boys as per Struensees instructions. On 8 January 1772, after the revolt against Struensee, Fredericks 18-year-old half-uncle Hereditary Prince Frederick was made regent, the real power, however, was held by Hereditary Prince Fredericks mother, Queen Dowager Juliana Maria, aided by Ove Høegh-Guldberg. It is said that during the coup, he engaged in a fistfight with his half-uncle over the regency and he continued as regent of Denmark under his fathers name until the latters death in 1808. During the regency, Frederick instituted widespread liberal reforms with the assistance of Chief Minister Andreas Peter Bernstorff, crises encountered during his reign include disagreement with the British over neutral shipping. This resulted in two British attacks on Copenhagen, the Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 and the Battle of Copenhagen of 1807, the conflict continued in the Gunboat War between Denmark-Norway and the United Kingdom, which lasted until the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. There was speculation that he was to marry a Prussian princess and they married in Gottorp on 31 July 1790 and had eight children. Their eldest daughter, Princess Caroline married her father’s first cousin, Ferdinand, the youngest, Princess Wilhelmine, became the wife of the future Frederick VII of Denmark. None of Frederick VIs sons survived infancy and when he died, he was succeeded by his cousin Christian VIII of Denmark, Frederick became King of Denmark on 13 March 1808. When the throne of Sweden seemed likely to become vacant in 1809, however, Fredericks brother-in-law, Prince Christian Augustus of Augustenborg, was first elected to the throne of Sweden, followed by the French Marshal Bernadotte. During the Napoleonic Wars, he tried to maintain Danish neutrality, however after the British bombardment of Copenhagen, after the French defeat in Russia in 1812, the Allies again asked him to change sides but he refused
5.
Frederick VII of Denmark
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Frederick VII was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg, during his reign, he signed a constitution that established a Danish parliament and made the country a constitutional monarchy. Fredericks motto was The peoples love, my strength, Frederick was born at Amalienborg Palace to Christian VIII of Denmark and Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His maternal grandparents were Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the kings first two marriages both ended in scandal and divorce. He was first married in Copenhagen on 1 November 1828 to his second cousin Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark and they separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837. On 10 June 1841 he married for a time to Duchess Caroline Charlotte Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Køppen and of Juliane Caroline Rasmussen and this marriage seems to have been happy, although it aroused great moral indignation among the nobility and the bourgeoisie. Countess Danner, who was denounced as a gold digger by her enemies. She also worked at maintaining his popularity by letting him meet the people of the provinces, the expectation that Frederick would not likely produce offspring, despite numerous affairs, was widespread, but sources rarely state the reasons. Some speculate that Frederick was infertile, during the reign of Fredericks father, King Christian VIII, the succession question was already being brought forward. This was brought forward in a book published in 1994 and again in a book published in 2009, the letters are quoted in the book. In all cases, however, extramarital offspring were and still are barred from the line of succession and it has been claimed Frederick had a same-sex relationship with his friend, Carl Berling (1812-1871 publisher and owner of the newspaper Berlingske Tidende. To retain a tinge of decency, the King married Louise Rasmussen, the public indignation within higher circles over Fredericks morganatic marriage is well-known, but reasons have rarely been explained in detail. Frederick, who was the last king of the branch of the Oldenburg dynasty, had a rather neglected childhood after the divorce of his parents. His youth was marked by scandals and for many years he appeared as the problem child of the royal family. When he succeeded to the throne in January 1848, he was almost at once met by the demands for a constitution, the Schleswig-Holsteiners wanted an independent state while the Danes wished to maintain South Jutland as a Danish area. The king soon yielded to the Danish demands, and in March he accepted the end of absolutism, during his reign, Frederick on the whole behaved as a constitutional monarch. He did not, however, quite give up interfering in politics, in 1854, he contributed to the fall of the strongly conservative Ørsted cabinet, and in 1859–60, he accepted a liberal government appointed on the initiative of his wife
6.
Charles XIII of Sweden
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Charles XIII & II also Carl, Swedish, Karl XIII, was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death. He was the son of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Though known as King Charles XIII in Sweden, he was actually the seventh Swedish king by that name, Prince Charles was appointed grand admiral when he was but few days old. He was described as a dancer at the amateur theatre of the royal court. Reportedly he was not very close to his mother, the Queen preferred her youngest children, Sophie Albertine and Frederick Adolf. Charles was, however, his fathers favorite, and similar to him in personality and he was also described as close to his brother Gustav during their childhood. This was in the period following the December Crisis. In 1770, he made a journey through Germany and France alone, upon the departure of his mother to Prussia, and the return of his brother, however, Gustav III managed to win him to his side. In 1772 he cooperated in the Revolution of 1772 of his elder brother and he was given the task to use his connections in the Caps party to neutralize it and secure the southern provinces by use of the military, tasks he performed successfully. As a sign of recognition, he was given the title Duke of Södermanland by him, Duke Charles was early on the object of his mothers plans to arrange political marriages for her children. On the wish of his mother, he was to be married to her niece, his cousin Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt, the government, however, refused to issue negotiations because of the costs. As the King had not consummated his own marriage, he wished to place the task of providing an heir to the throne to his brother, Charles agreed to the marriage in August 1773, and the marriage took place the following year. After a false alarm of a pregnancy of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in 1775, the royal couple lived de facto separate private lives and both had extramarital affairs. Charles was described as dependent and easily influenced and his numerous affairs gave him the reputation of being a libertine. He unsuccessfully courted Magdalena Rudenschöld, and her refusal of his advances has been pointed out as the cause of the treatment he exposed her to as regent during the Armfelt conspiracy. After the late 1790s, when his health deteriorated by a series of attacks, his relationship to his consort improved. The Duke was also known for his interest in the supernatural and mysticism and he was also of the Freemasons. He was reportedly a client of the fortune teller Ulrica Arfvidsson, in 1811, he founded the Order of Charles XIII, a Swedish order of chivalry awarded only to Protestant Freemasons
7.
Christiansborg Palace
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Christiansborg Palace is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Ministers Office, also, several parts of the palace are used by the Danish monarch, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables. The palace is home to the three supreme powers, the executive power, the legislative power, and the judicial power. It is the building in the world that houses all three of a countrys branches of government. The name Christiansborg is thus also used as a metonym for the Danish political system. The present building, the third with this name, is the last in a series of castles and palaces constructed on the same site since the erection of the first castle in 1167. The palace today bears witness to three eras of Danish architecture, as the result of two serious fires, the first fire occurred in 1794 and the second in 1884. The main part of the current palace, finished in 1928, is in the historicist Neo-baroque style, the chapel dates to 1826 and is in a neoclassical style. The showgrounds were built 1738-46, in a baroque style, Christiansborg Palace is owned by the Danish state, and is run by the Palaces and Properties Agency. Several parts of the palace are open to the public, the first castle on the site was Absalons Castle. According to the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, Bishop Absalon of Roskilde built a castle in 1167 on an island outside Copenhagen Harbour. The castle was made up by a wall, encircling an enclosed courtyard with several buildings, such as the bishops palace. At the death of Absalon in 1201, possession of the castle, a few decades later, however, a bitter feud erupted between crown and church, and for almost two centuries the ownership of the castle and city was contested between kings and bishops. Furthermore, the castle was frequently under attack, for example by Wend pirates and the Hanseatic cities, in 1369, following a conflict with king Valdemar IV of Denmark, the Hanseatic League sent 40 stonemasons to demolish the castle stone by stone. The castle had long been a nuisance to the Hanseatic cities trade in the Sound. The castle had a wall and was surrounded by a moat and with a large. The castle was still the property of the Bishop of Roskilde until King Eric VII usurped the rights to the castle in 1417, from then on the castle in Copenhagen was occupied by the king. In the middle of the 15th century, the became the principal residence of the Danish kings
8.
Copenhagen
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Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
9.
Amalienborg
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For its Antillian namesake, see Charlotte Amalie, U. S. Virgin Islands Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Amalienborg was originally built for four families, however, when Christiansborg Palace burned on 26 February 1794. Over the years various kings and their families have resided in the four different palaces, the Frederiksstaden district was built on the former grounds of two other palaces. The first palace was called Sophie Amalienborg, other parts of the land were used for Rosenborg Castle, Nyboder, and the new Eastern fortified wall around the old city. Work on the began in 1664, and the castle was built 1669-1673. The King died in 1670, and the Queen Dowager lived there until her death on 20 February 1685, the presentation was a great success, and it was repeated a few days later on 19 April. However, immediately after the start of the performance a stage decoration caught fire, causing the theatre and the palace to burn to the ground. The King planned to rebuild the palace, whose church, Royal Household, ole Rømer headed the preparatory work for the rebuilding of Amalienborg in the early 1690s. In 1694, the King negotiated a deal with the Swedish building master Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and his drawing and model were completed in 1697. The King, however, found the plans too ambitious, and instead began tearing down the buildings that same year. The second Amalienborg was built by Frederick IV at the beginning of his reign, the second Amalienborg consisted of a summerhouse, a central pavilion with orangeries, and arcades on both side of the pavilion. On one side of the buildings was a French-style garden, the pavilion had a dining room on the groundfloor. On the upper floor was a salon with an out to the harbour, the garden. This development is thought to have been the brainchild of Danish Ambassador Plenipotentiary in Paris. Heading the project was Lord High Steward Adam Gottlob Moltke, one of the most powerful and influential men in the land, with Nicolai Eigtved as royal architect and supervisor. The project consisted of four identical mansions, built to house four distinguished families of nobility from the royal circles and these mansions form the modern palace of Amalienborg, albeit much modified over the years. The noblemen who owned them were willing to part with their mansions for promotion and money, and the Moltke and Schack Palaces were acquired in the course of a few days. A colonnade, designed by royal architect Caspar Frederik Harsdorff, was added 1794-1795 to connect the recently occupied King’s palace, Moltke Palace, with that of the Crown Prince, Schack’s Palace
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Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold in 1845.[10]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Christian VIII.". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
