March 18, 1609:Birth of Frederik III, King of Denmark and Norway

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Absolute Monarchy, Christian IV of Denmark and Norway, Elective Monarchy, Frederick III of Denmark and Norway, Revolutions 1948, Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Frederik III (March 18, 1609 – February 9, 1670) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederik II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bishop) of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden (1623–29 and again 1634–44), and the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635–45).

Frederik was born at Haderslev in Slesvig, the second son of Christian IV and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. Anne Catherine was born in Halle (Saale) and raised in Wolmirstedt. Her parents were Joachim Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg and his first wife Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin. In his youth and early manhood, there was no prospect of Frederik ascending the Danish throne, as his older brother Christian was elected heir apparent in 1608. Frederik was only considered an heir to the throne after the death of his older brother Prince Christian in 1647.

With the death of his elder brother Christian in June 1647, it opened the possibility for Frederik to be elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. However, this issue was still unsettled when Christian IV died on February 28, 1648. However, due to misgivings about the rule of Christian IV, as well as Frederick’s previous confrontational administrations in Bremen and Verden and his quarrels with Anders Bille, he was only elected after he had signed a Haandfæstning charter which included provisions curtailing the already diminished royal prerogative in favour of increased influence for the Rigsraadet. On July 6, Frederik received the homage of his subjects, and he was crowned on November 23.

As king, he fought two wars against Sweden. He was defeated in the Dano-Swedish War of 1657–1658, but attained great popularity when he weathered the 1659 Assault on Copenhagen and won the Dano-Swedish War of 1658–1660.

Later that year, Frederik used his popularity to disband the elective monarchy and instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark-Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in Western historiography. Prior to the creation of the absolute monarchy the crown of Denmark had been elective. The absolute monarchy lasted until 1848 in Denmark, the year of revolutions, when the people of Denmark demanded a constitution from King Christian VIII. Frederik III also ordered the creation of the Throne Chair of Denmark.

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

On October 1, 1643 Prince Frederik married Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Castle Glücksburg. Sophie Amalie was born at the Herzberg Castle, in Herzberg am Harz. Her parents were Georg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt. Nothing is known of her childhood.

The marriage was arranged in 1640, as it was considered suitable for the current situation of the groom: he was, at that point, archbishop of Bremen and not heir to the throne, and was not expected to succeed to the throne. It is believed to be a political match, though the exact purpose of it is unknown. They had 8 children, including King Christian V of Denmark and Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark who married King Carl XI of Sweden.

Frederik III died at Copenhagen Castle aged 60, and is interred in Roskilde Cathedral.

Survival of Monarchies: Denmark

Tags

Carl X Gustav of Sweden, Charles X Gustav of Sweden, Christian IV of Denmark, Constitutional Monarchy, Denmark, Frederick III of Denmark, George of Denmark, Haandfæstning, Hereditary Monarchy, Queen Anne, Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

We have seen how England/Britain went from a monarchy where the sovereign had considerable power under the Tudors (although not absolute) to the constitutional form it has today. Denmark is another example of a thriving monarchy that once was absolute. Denmark has a long history of monarchy. Even longer than that of the United Kingdom. Denmark also has an interesting history of a monarchy that was once limited then became absolute only to transform again to a limited constitutional monarchy.

We begin our story with Denmark in the year 1660 when King Frederik III of Denmark and Norway began his absolute rule. He had come to the throne in 1648 and was the second son of Christian IV and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. He had an elder brother, Prince Christian, who was Prince-Elect of Denmark until his death in 1647. For centuries Denmark had been an elective monarchy with the eldest son often designated as Prince Elect. More times than not the eldest son would inherit the throne.

When Christian IV died after a reign of 59 years (longest in Danish history) the Rigsraadet (royal council) was the main power center of Danish politics and had been for centuries. It took the royal council several weeks to finally elect Frederik as King of Denmark and Norway. Upon his election, King Frederik III was forced to sign a Håndfæstning* which attempted to humiliate the king and greatly reduce his powers. For several years in the early part of his reign Denmark was at war with Sweden who was ruled by King Carl X Gustav (1654-1660). The war was ended by the Treaty of Copenhagen in May 1660.

After the war saw a rise in popularity for the king. The traditional loyalty of the Danish middle classes toward the king rose exponentially. Frederik III’s response to his new found popularity was to change the elective monarchy into an absolute hereditary monarchy by the Revolution of 1660. To ensure his status as absolute monarch Frederik III instituted a state of emergency in Denmark. In September of 1660 he gathered the Estates, and played them against one another thus dividing them and weakening them. In doing this he succeeded in gaining support for the hereditary monarchy,  annulled the Haandfæstning and inaugurated the institution of absolute monarchy by decree.

Incidentally, Frederik III was married to Princess Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg and their youngest son was Prince George,  Duke of Cumberland husband of Britain’s Queen Anne (1702-1714)

From 1660-1848 the Kingdom of Denmark was absolute. Next week we will see how the Danish Monarchy became the constitutional monarchy it is today.

*A Haandfæstning (Modern Danish: Håndfæstning & Modern Norwegian: Håndfestning, lit. “Handbinding”) was a document issued by the kings of Denmark from 13th to the 17th century, preceding and during the realm’s personal union with the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. Following Sweden’s independence, similar documents were also issued by its kings. In many ways it is a Scandinavian parallel to the English Magna Carta.

The haandfæstning was the result of the strength of the power of the nobility. The first Danish king who was forced to sign this kind of charter was King Eric V in 1282. It was used as a regular coronation charter for the first time in 1320. Between 1440 and 1648 it was a normal condition for the recognition of a new king. When absolute monarchy was introduced in 1660 the last haandfæstning was mortified. ~ wikipedia.