Frederik VIII
Frederik VIII was a crown prince for most of life and only reigned for six years. I 1906, he was the second monarch of the Royal House of Glücksborg.
School and education
Frederik VIII was the eldest child of Christian IX and Queen Louise. When he was born, in 1843, he was named Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl, but both as a crown prince and as a king, he went by the name of Frederik.
Frederik (VIII) attended a private school for boys in Copenhagen. After his confirmation, his father, Christian IX, hired a tutor to introduce The Crown Prince to politics and international relations. As a young man, Frederik (VIII) therefore chose to study political science, among other subjects, at Oxford University in England. After his studies, he made a career in the army as an attaché to General Cai Hegermann-Lindencrone’s staff in Jutland during the war of 1864.
Ægteskab
Frederik (VIII) and Princess Lovisa of Sweden-Norway were married in 1869. The couple had eight children. Their eldest son, Prince Christian (X) became the king of Denmark, while their second son, Prince Carl (Håkon VII), later became king of Norway. In fact, Håkon took to the throne before his father.
The marriage between Frederik VIII and Lovisa was part of a larger political plan to strenegthn the ties between the Nordic countries. Frederik (VIII) and Lovisa were known to have a harmonious marriage, although Frederik VIII’s family was not always welcoming toward Lovisa. From journals and letters, we know that Frederik’s (VIII) sisters were sometimes downright rude in their descriptions of Lovisa.
Den evige kronprins uden indflydelse
Frederik (VIII) was crown prince for no less than 43 years, and for all those years, his father generally gave him no influence on the affairs of state. Unlike his father, Frederik VIII was in favour of reforms and democracy. Among other issues, Frederik (VIII) supported the introduction of a constitutional monarchy and allegedly participated in the public debate on this topic, albeit anonymously.
Frederik (VIII) was 62 years old when his father, Christian IX, died, in 1906, and Frederik VIII became king. However, his reign only lasted six years.
Death and legacy
Frederik VIII was the first king to hold an actual New Year’s address. He did so at the New Year’s banquet in 1907, concluding his address with the now traditional statement ‘God Bless Denmark!’. Frederik VIII died from a stroke, on 14 May 1912, during a stroll in Hamburg, where he and Queen Lovisa had made a stop-over on their way home from a stay at a health resort. He happened to collapse near the city’s entertainment district, which sparked gossip and rumours and unfairly tainted his posthumous reputation.
