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{{Short description|King of Denmark (1808–39) and Norway (1808–14)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty {{Infobox royalty
|name = Frederick VI |name = Frederick VI
|image = Christoph Wilhelm Wohlien - Portræt af Frederik VI.jpg |image = Fiedrichvidenmark.jpg
|caption = Portrait by ], 1808
|image_size = 235px
|caption = Portrait by ] |succession = ]
|succession = ] |moretext = (])
|reign = {{nowrap|13 March 1808 – 3 December 1839}}
|moretext = (])
|coronation = 31 July 1815<br/>]
|reign = {{nowrap|13 March 1808 – 3 December 1839}}
|predecessor = ]
|coronation = 31 July 1815<br/>]
|predecessor = ] |successor = ]
|successor = ] |reg-type = {{nowrap|]}}
|regent = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list''|1=]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]}}
|succession1 = ]
|succession1 = ]
|reign1 = 13 March 1808 – 7 February 1814
|reign1 = 13 March 1808 – 7 February 1814
|predecessor1 = ]
|successor1 = ] |predecessor1 = ]
|spouse = ] |successor1 = ]
| succession2 = ]
|issue = ]<br />]
|house = ] | reign2 = 14 April 1784 – 13 March 1808
| reign-type2 = Tenure
|father = ]
| predecessor2 = ]
|mother = ]
| regent2 = ]
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1768|1|28|df=y}}
| reg-type2 = Monarch
|birth_place = ], ]
|spouse = {{marriage|]|1790}}
|issue = ]<br />]
|house = ]
|father = ]
|mother = ]
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1768|1|28|df=y}}
|birth_place = ], ]
|death_date = {{death date and age|1839|12|3|1768|1|28|df=y}} |death_date = {{death date and age|1839|12|3|1768|1|28|df=y}}
|death_place = ], Copenhagen |death_place = ], Copenhagen
|place of burial = ] |place of burial = ]
|religion = ] |religion = ]
|signature = Signature of Frederick VI of Denmark.svg
}} }}


'''Frederick VI''' (] and ]: ''Frederik''; 28 January 1768{{spaced ndash}}3 December 1839) was King of ] from 13 March 1808 to 3 December 1839 and King of ] from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814, making him the last king of ]. From 1784 until his accession, he served as ] during his father's mental illness and was referred to as the "Crown Prince Regent" (''kronprinsregent''). For his motto he chose ''God and the just cause'' ({{lang-da|Gud og den retfærdige sag}}) and since the time of his reign, succeeding Danish monarchs have also chosen mottos in the Danish language rather than the formerly customary Latin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbE8AAAAIAAJ&q=%22crown+prince+regent%22+frederick+of+denmark&pg=PA9|title=British Survey Handbooks, Denmark|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://snl.no/kronprinsregent |title=kronprinsregent |publisher=]|access-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> As Frederick VI had no surviving sons to succeed him (only two daughters), he was succeeded on the throne of Denmark by his half-first cousin ], who was his father's half-brother's son. '''Frederick VI''' (] and {{langx|no|Frederik}}; 28 January 1768{{spaced ndash}}3 December 1839) was ] from 13 March 1808 until his death in 1839 and ] from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814. He was the last king of ]. From 1784 until his accession, he served as ] during his father's mental illness and was referred to as the "Crown Prince Regent" ({{langx|no|kronprinsregent|link=no}}). For his motto he chose ''God and the just cause'' ({{langx|da|Gud og den retfærdige sag|link=no}}) and since the time of his reign, succeeding Danish monarchs have also chosen mottos in the Danish language rather than the formerly customary Latin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbE8AAAAIAAJ&q=%22crown+prince+regent%22+frederick+of+denmark&pg=PA9|title=British Survey Handbooks, Denmark|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://snl.no/kronprinsregent |title=kronprinsregent |publisher=]|access-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> He was succeeded by his half cousin ].



==Early life== ==Early life==
===Birth and family===
]
The future King Frederick VI was born between 10 and 11 p.m. on 28 January 1768 in the Queen's Bedchamber at ], the royal residence in central ].<ref name="kirkeboegerne">{{ cite web | url=http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm | access-date=18 February 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030558/http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm | archive-date=24 September 2015 | title=Kongelige i kirkebøgerne | trans-title=Royals in the church records | publisher=Dansk Historisk Fællesråd | website=historie-online.dk | language=da }}</ref> He was the first child born to King ] and Queen ] of ].{{sfn|Jensen|1935|p=256}} He was born 15 months after his parents' wedding, the day before his father's 19th birthday, and while his mother was just 16 years old. The King had shown little interest in the Queen after the marriage and only reluctantly visited her in her chambers. The King's advisors had to step in, among other things with love letters written in the King's name, in an attempt to make the marriage lead to a pregnancy and thus an heir to the throne.{{sfn|Engberg|2009|p=37}}{{stack|]. ] on ] by ], 1773 (The ]).]]}}
Frederick was born at ] in ]. Frederick belonged to the ]. His parents were ] and ]. He was born after 15 months of marriage, a day before his father's 19th birthday, when his mother was just 16. As the eldest son of the ruling king, he automatically became ] at birth. On 30 January of the same year, he was baptised at ] by ], ]. His godparents were King Christian VII (his father), the dowager queen ] (his step-grandmother) and his half-uncle, ] (''Arveprins Frederik'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm| title=Kongelig fødsel og dåb - om kirkebøgerne - fra Dansk Historisk Fællesråd|website=historie-online.dk| access-date=2013-02-18|language=da}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/Arveprins_Frederik|title= Arveprins Frederik|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>
{{stack|]}}The young prince was baptised already two days after the birth on 30 January at ] by the royal ] ], ], and was named after his late grandfather, King ].<ref name="kongeligedaab">{{cite book|first1=Lone|last1=Hindø|first2=Else|last2=Boelskifte|chapter=Fødselssmerter overfaldt Dronningen|trans-chapter=Labour pains assailed the Queen|title=Kongelig Dåb. Fjorten generationer ved Rosenborg-døbefonten|trans-title=Royal Baptisms. Fourteen generations at the Rosenborg baptismal font|publisher=Forlaget Hovedland|year=2007|isbn=978-87-7070-014-6|language=da|pages=49–55}}</ref> His godparents were King Christian VII (his father), the dowager queen ] (his step-grandmother) and his half-uncle, ].<ref name="kongeligedaab"/>


===Childhood and upbringing===
His father suffered from serious psychological problems, including suspected ] expressed by catatonic periods which resulted in the king ceding power to his doctor, ]. From 1770 to 1772, Struensee was de facto regent and lover of Caroline Matilda, Frederick's mother. Both were ideologically influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as ] and ]. While Struensee was in power, young Frederick was raised at ] following the educational approach advocated by Rousseau in his famous work '']''. Instead of receiving direct instruction, Frederick was expected to learn everything through his own efforts through playing with two commoner boys as per Struensee's instructions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/Johann_Friedrich_Struensee|title= Johann Friedrich Struensee|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>
].]]
At the time of Crown Prince Frederick's birth, conditions at the Danish court were characterized by Christian VII's increasing mental illness, including suspected ] expressed by catatonic periods. In the resulting intrigues and power struggles which followed, Christian's personal physician, the progressive and radical thinker ], became the King's advisor and rose steadily in power during the late 1760s, and from 1770 to 1772, Struensee was de facto regent of the country. Struensee soon also became the confidant of Queen Caroline Mathilde, Frederick's mother, partly because during a ] epidemic in the autumn of 1769, in which over 1,000 children died, he successfully ] Crown Prince Frederick with good results. In doing so, Struensee won the gratitude and trust of the neglected Queen and soon became her lover as well. It is widely believed that Struensee was also the biological father of Prince Frederick's only sister Princess ], who was born in 1771.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bjørn |first=Claus |author-link=Claus Bjørn |title=Louise Augusta |url=https://kvindebiografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Louise_Augusta |editor-first=Jytte |editor-last=Larsen |encyclopedia =] |volume=2 |location=] |publisher=] |year=2001 |isbn=8773574864 |pages=454–455 |lang=da }}</ref>


Both the Queen and Struensee were ideologically influenced by ] thinkers such as ] and ]. Therefore, the Queen also fully approved the harsh education recommended by Struensee for the Crown Prince, who was perceived as weak and needed to be strengthened physically and mentally. While Struensee was in power, the young Frederick was raised at ] following an interpretation of the educational approach advocated by Rousseau in his famous work '']''. Instead of receiving direct instruction, Frederick was expected to learn everything through his own efforts through playing with two commoner boys as per Struensee's instructions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/Johann_Friedrich_Struensee|title= Johann Friedrich Struensee|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>
]. Painted by ].]]
On 8 January 1772, after the revolt against Struensee, Frederick's 18-year-old half-uncle ] was made regent. The real power, however, was held by Hereditary Prince Frederick's mother (Crown Prince Frederick's step-grandmother), ], aided by ]. Frederick was raised under the supervision of ]. Finally, on 14 April 1784, the Crown Prince Frederick was declared of legal majority; he proceeded to seize and exercise the full powers of the regency, dismissing the ministers loyal to the Queen Dowager. It is said that during the coup, he engaged in a fistfight with his half-uncle over the regency. He continued as regent of Denmark-Norway under his father's name until the latter's death in 1808.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Ove_H%C3%B8egh-Guldberg|title= Ove Høegh-Guldberg|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>


]
===Crown prince's regency===
The general ill will against Struensee found expression in a conspiracy against him in the name of the Queen Dowager Juliana Maria, and in the early morning of 17 January 1772 Struensee was deposed in a ]. Struensee was later executed, while the King and Queen were divorced. Queen Caroline Mathilde was exiled, and the four-year-old Frederick and his sister were left behind, never to see their mother again. After the revolt against Struensee, Frederick's 18-year-old half-uncle ] was made regent. The real power, however, was held by Hereditary Prince Frederick's mother (Crown Prince Frederick's step-grandmother), Queen Dowager ], aided by ]. Frederick was raised under the supervision of ] and then under his chamberlain, ].
During the regency, Frederick instituted widespread liberal reforms with the assistance of Chief Minister ], including the abolition of ] in 1788. Crises encountered during his reign include disagreement with the ] over neutral shipping. This resulted in two British attacks on Copenhagen, the ] and the ]. The conflict continued in the ] between Denmark-Norway and the United Kingdom, which lasted until the ] in 1814.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/Fl%C3%A5teranet_i_1807|title= Flåteranet i 1807|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>


==Crown prince's regency==
There was speculation that he was to marry a Prussian princess, a choice supported by his step-grandmother Juliana Maria and her brother-in-law ]. To demonstrate his independence, however, he personally selected his first-cousin ], a member of a German family with close marriage links with the royal families of both Denmark and Great Britain. They married in ] on 31 July 1790 and had eight children. Their eldest daughter, ] married her father's first cousin, ]. The youngest, ], became the wife of the future ]. None of Frederick VI's sons survived infancy and when he died, he was succeeded by his half-cousin ], the son of his half-uncle Prince ].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/tag/frederick-vi-of-denmark/|title= Frederick VI of Denmark
===Coup d'état in 1784===
|publisher = European Royal History |access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>
], {{circa|1784}}]]
Already in 1782, Crown Prince Frederick came in contact with the minister ], who had been dismissed two years earlier. Later the Crown Prince entered into a conspiracy with other disaffected persons who were in opposition to the government. Despite the Crown Prince's age, the government deliberately postponed his ] that would confirm his adult status.{{sfn|Feldbæk|1990|p=234}} But in 1784, as Crown Prince Frederick turned 16, it could no longer be postponed, and he was finally confirmed on 4 April, and was declared of legal majority. Already, on 14 April 1784, he proceeded to seize the full powers of the regency, dismissing the ministers loyal to the Queen Dowager. It is said that during the coup, he engaged in a fistfight with his half-uncle over the regency. He continued as regent of Denmark-Norway under his father's name until the latter's death in 1808.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Ove_H%C3%B8egh-Guldberg|title= Ove Høegh-Guldberg|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>


=== Early reforms===
== King of Denmark and loss of Norway ==
] of King Frederick VI at ] on 31 July 1815. The ceremony was postponed due to the ].]] ]. Painted by ].]]
During the first years of the regency, Frederick instituted widespread liberal reforms in the spirit of ] with the assistance of Chief Minister ], including the abolition of ] in Denmark in 1788 and hanging as a capital punishment was abolished in 1789 in both Denmark and Norway. In 1803, ] in the ] was abolished by government decree.


===Marriage===
] supposedly holding a portrait of her ]. ] by ].]]
After Crown Prince Frederick was declared of legal majority and assumed the regency in 1784, the Danish royal court started to make inquiries to arrange a marriage for him. There was speculation that he was to marry a ] princess, a choice supported by his step-grandmother Juliana Maria and her brother-in-law ]. To demonstrate his independence, however, he personally selected his first-cousin ], a member of a German family with close marriage links with the royal families of both Denmark-Norway and ]. They married in ] on 31 July 1790 and had eight children. Their eldest daughter, ] married her father's first cousin, ]. The youngest, ], became the wife of the future ].


===English Wars===
Frederick became King of ] on 13 March 1808. When the throne of ] seemed likely to become vacant in 1809, Frederick was interested in being elected there as well. Frederick actually was the first monarch of Denmark and Norway to descend from ], who had secured Sweden's independence in 1520s after the period of the ] with other Scandinavian countries. However, Frederick's brother-in-law, ], was first elected to the throne of Sweden, followed by the French ].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Frederik_6|title= Frederik 6|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Knut Dørum|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>
Crises encountered during his reign include disagreement with the ] over neutral shipping. This resulted in two British attacks on Copenhagen, the ] and the ]. The conflict continued in the ] between Denmark-Norway and the United Kingdom, which lasted until the ] in 1814.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/Fl%C3%A5teranet_i_1807|title= Flåteranet i 1807|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>


== King of Denmark and loss of Norway ==
During the ], he tried to maintain neutrality; however, after the British ], he allied Denmark-Norway with ].<ref>A. N. Ryan, "The Causes of the British Attack upon Copenhagen in 1807." ''English Historical Review'' (1953): 37-55. </ref> After the French defeat in Russia in 1812, the Allies again asked him to change sides but he refused. Many historians portray the king as stubborn, incompetent, and motivated by a misconceived loyalty towards Napoleon. However, some historians in recent years have provided a different interpretation that sheds a better light on the king. He stayed with Napoleon in order to protect the exposed situation of Norway, which was dependent on grain imports and had become the target of Swedish territorial ambitions. He expected the wars would end with a great international conference in which Napoleon would have a major voice, and would help protect the crown's interests, especially in Norway.<ref>Michael Bregnsbo, "The motives behind the foreign political decisions of Frederick VI during the Napoleonic Wars," ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' (2014) 39#3 pp 335-352</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Norge_under_Napoleonskrigene|title= Norge under Napoleonskrigene|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>
] of King Frederick VI at ] on 31 July 1815. The ceremony was postponed due to the ].]]
On 13 March 1808, Christian VII died at the age of 59 at ] during a stay in the ]. At the death of his father, Frederick finally ascended the thrones of Denmark and Norway in name also as their seventh absolute monarch at the age of 40. When the throne of ] seemed likely to become vacant in 1809, Frederick was interested in being elected there as well. Frederick actually was the first monarch of Denmark and Norway to descend from ], who had secured Sweden's independence in the 1520s after the period of the ] with other Scandinavian countries. However, Frederick's brother-in-law, Prince ], was first elected to the throne of Sweden, followed by the French ].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Frederik_6|title= Frederik 6|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Knut Dørum|access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>


During the ], he tried to maintain neutrality; however, after the British ], he allied Denmark-Norway with ].<ref>A. N. Ryan, "The Causes of the British Attack upon Copenhagen in 1807." ''English Historical Review'' (1953): 37–55. </ref> After the ] in 1812, the Allies again asked him to change sides but he refused. Many historians portray the King as stubborn, incompetent, and motivated by a misconceived loyalty towards Napoleon. However, some historians in recent years have provided a different interpretation that sheds a better light on the King. He stayed with Napoleon in order to protect the exposed situation of Norway, which was dependent on grain imports and had become the target of Swedish territorial ambitions. He expected the wars would end with a great international conference in which Napoleon would have a major voice, and would help protect the crown's interests, especially in Norway.<ref>Michael Bregnsbo, "The motives behind the foreign political decisions of Frederick VI during the Napoleonic Wars," ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' (2014) 39#3 pp 335–352</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Norge_under_Napoleonskrigene|title= Norge under Napoleonskrigene|publisher = Store norske leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>
After the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the ] (as a result of the ], Frederick VI carried through an authoritarian and reactionary course, giving up the liberal ideas of his years as a prince ].{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Censorship and suppression of all opposition together with the poor state of the country's economy made this period of his reign somewhat gloomy, though the king himself in general maintained his position of a well-meaning autocrat. From the 1830s the economic depression was eased a bit and from 1834 the king reluctantly accepted a small democratic innovation by the creation of the Assemblies of the Estate (purely consultative regional assemblies); this had the unintended result of later exacerbating relations between Danes and Germans in ], whose regional assembly became a forum for constant bickering between the two national groups.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://nbl.snl.no/Frederik_6|title= Frederik 6|publisher = Norsk biografisk leksikon |author= Jon Gunnar Arntzen|access-date= August 15, 2016}}</ref>
], {{circa|1855}}]]
After the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the loss of the Norwegian crown (as a result of the ]), Frederick VI carried through an authoritarian and reactionary course, giving up the liberal ideas of his years as a prince ].{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Censorship and suppression of all opposition together with the poor state of the country's economy made this period of his reign somewhat gloomy, though the King himself in general maintained his position of a well-meaning autocrat. From the 1830s the economic depression was eased a bit and from 1834 the King accepted a small democratic innovation by the creation of the Assemblies of the Estate (purely consultative regional assemblies); this had the unintended result of later exacerbating relations between Danes and Germans in ], whose regional assembly became a forum for constant bickering between the two national groups.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://nbl.snl.no/Frederik_6|title= Frederik 6|publisher = Norsk biografisk leksikon |author= Jon Gunnar Arntzen|access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>


==Later life and succession==
]
].]] ].]]
Frederick VI was known as a patron of ] and in 1832 offered gold medal prizes to anyone who discovered a comet using a telescope. His successors continued this until 1850. The prize was terminated in the aftermath of the ]. On 23 February 1827,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seramporecollege.org/a-s-c/about/council/|title=The Council of Serampore College – Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College|access-date=5 October 2019|archive-date=25 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225040827/http://seramporecollege.org/a-s-c/about/council/|url-status=dead}}</ref> he granted a ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seramporecollege.org/a-s-c/about/history/|title=History – Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College|access-date=5 October 2019|archive-date=25 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225040713/http://seramporecollege.org/a-s-c/about/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> giving ] in ] the status of a university to confer degrees. It became the third Danish University after those in ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/research/research-projects/the-serampore-initiative/historical-background/ |title=Historical background |access-date=5 October 2019 |archive-date=7 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707140945/https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/research/research-projects/the-serampore-initiative/historical-background/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the discovery of the ] in a peat bog in Jutland in the year 1835, Frederick VI ordered a royal interment in an elaborately carved sarcophagus for the Iron Age mummy, decreeing it to be the body of Queen ]. Later this identification proved incorrect, but the action suited his political agenda at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/gunhild.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/E-31.pdf|title= Haraldskaer Woman|publisher= Archaeological Institute of America|access-date= 15 August 2016}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


Frederick VI died at the age of 71 at ] and was buried in Frederick V's chapel in ]. Frederick reigned over Denmark for a total of 55 years; 24 years as crown prince regent and 31 years as king. He was the 894th Knight of the ] in ] and the 654th Knight of the ] in 1822. The Royal Frederick University (now ]) in ] was named in his honour.
==Later life and succession==
Frederick VI was known as a patron of ] and in 1832 offered gold medal prizes to anyone who discovered a comet using a telescope. His successors continued this until 1850. The prize was terminated in the aftermath of the ]. On 23 February 1827,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seramporecollege.org/a-s-c/about/council/|title=The Council of Serampore College – Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College}}</ref> he granted a ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seramporecollege.org/a-s-c/about/history/|title=History – Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College}}</ref> giving ] in ] the status of a university to confer degrees. It became the third Danish University after the ones in ] and ].<ref>https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/research/research-projects/the-serampore-initiative/historical-background/</ref> After the discovery of the ] in a peat bog in Jutland in the year 1835, Frederick VI ordered a royal interment in an elaborately carved sarcophagus for the Iron Age mummy, decreeing it to be the body of ]. Later this identification proved incorrect, but the action suited his political agenda at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/gunhild.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/E-31.pdf|title= Haraldskaer Woman|publisher= Archaeological Institute of America|access-date= August 15, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


As Frederick VI had no surviving sons to succeed him, so he was succeeded on the throne of Denmark by his paternal half-first cousin ].
Frederick VI died at the age of 71 at ] and was buried in Frederick V's chapel in ]. Frederick reigned over Denmark for a total of 55 years; 24 years as crown prince regent and 31 years as king. He was the 894th ] in ] and the 654th ] in 1822. ] (now University of Oslo) in ] was named in his honour.

As Frederick VI had no surviving sons to succeed him (only two daughters), he was succeeded on the throne of Denmark by his half-first cousin ], who was his father's half-brother's son.


==Descendants== ==Descendants==
] ], 1821.]]
Frederick VI and his wife ] were the parents of eight children, but six of them died in infancy. Only two daughters grew to adulthood, and incidentally, both of them remained childless, meaning that Frederick VI and his wife had no grandchildren at all. Their children were: Frederick VI and his wife ] were the parents of eight children, six of whom died in infancy. Two daughters grew to adulthood and neither of them had children. The eight children of Frederick and Marie were:
* Christian (], 22 September 1791&nbsp;– ], 23 September 1791) * Christian (], 22 September 1791&nbsp;– Copenhagen, 23 September 1791)
* Marie Louise (], 19 November 1792&nbsp;– ], 12 October 1793) * Marie Louise (Copenhagen, 19 November 1792&nbsp;– ], 12 October 1793)
* ] (], 28 October 1793&nbsp;– ], 31 March 1881), married to her father's first cousin ], (d. 1863). Childless. * ] (Copenhagen, 28 October 1793&nbsp;– Copenhagen, 31 March 1881), married to her father's first cousin ], (d. 1863). Without issue.
* Louise (], 21 August 1795&nbsp;– ], 7 December 1795) * Louise (Copenhagen, 21 August 1795&nbsp;– Copenhagen, 7 December 1795)
* Christian (], 1 September 1797&nbsp;– ], 5 September 1797) * Christian (Copenhagen, 1 September 1797&nbsp;– Copenhagen, 5 September 1797)
* Juliana Louise (], 12 February 1802&nbsp;– ], 23 February 1802) * Juliana Louise (Copenhagen, 12 February 1802&nbsp;– Copenhagen, 23 February 1802)
* Frederikke Marie (3 June 1805&nbsp;– 14 July 1805) * Frederikke Marie (3 June 1805&nbsp;– 14 July 1805)
* ] (], 18 January 1808&nbsp;– ], 30 May 1891), married twice; firstly her second cousin Frederick (the future ]), but they divorced, and she married secondly ], who was eldest brother of the future ]. Both her marriages were childless. * ] (], 18 January 1808&nbsp;– ], 30 May 1891), married twice; firstly her second cousin Frederick (the future ]), but they divorced, and she married secondly ], who was eldest brother of the future ]. Both her marriages were without issue.


By his ] ] (Bente Mortensdatter Andersen (Rafsted)),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danmarkskonger.dk/konge47.htm|title=Kong Frederik VI|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref> King Frederick VI had the following children:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geneall.net/W/per_page.php?id=5342|title=Frederick VI, King of Denmark|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref> By his ] ] (Bente Mortensdatter Andersen (Rafsted)),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danmarkskonger.dk/konge47.htm|title=Kong Frederik VI|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref> King Frederick VI had these four children:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geneall.net/W/per_page.php?id=5342|title=Frederick VI, King of Denmark|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref>
* Lovisa, Countess of Dannemand (16 April 1810&nbsp;– 28 December 1888), married in 1836 Wilhelm von Zachariae (6 June 1807&nbsp;– 16 August 1871), and had issue * Louise Frederikke Dannemand, Countess of Dannemand (16 April 1810&nbsp;– 28 December 1888), married in 1836 Wilhelm von Zachariæ (6 June 1807&nbsp;– 16 August 1871), and had issue
* Karoline, Countess of Dannemand (1812–1844), married in 1837 Adolf Frederik Schack von Brockdorff (], 7 February 1810&nbsp;– 18 October 1859), and had issue * Caroline Augusta Dannemand, Countess of Dannemand (1812–1844), married in 1837 Adolf Frederik Schack von Brockdorff (], 7 February 1810&nbsp;– 18 October 1859), and had issue
* Frederik, Count of Dannemand (20 July 1813&nbsp;– 12 March 1888), married firstly in 1840 Franziska von Scholten (1820–44), without issue, married secondly in 1845 Lovisa Grefvinde Schulin (1815–1884), without issue, and married thirdly in 1884 Wilhelmina Laursen (1840–1886), without issue * ], Count of Dannemand (20 July 1813&nbsp;– 12 March 1888), married firstly in 1840 Franziska von Scholten (1820–44), without issue, married secondly in 1845 Lovisa Grefvinde Schulin (1815–1884), without issue, and married thirdly in 1884 Wilhelmina Laursen (1840–1886), without issue.
* Waldemar, Count of Dannemand (6 June 1819&nbsp;– 4 March 1835) * Frederik Waldemar Dannemand, Count of Dannemand (6 June 1819&nbsp;– 4 March 1835)


== Honours == == Honours ==
Line 87: Line 109:
* {{flag|Denmark}}: * {{flag|Denmark}}:
** ], ''28 January 1768'' ** ], ''28 January 1768''
** ], ''21 October 1774'' ** Royal Family ], ''21 October 1774''
** ], in Diamonds, ''1808''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tallinnmuseum.com/2018/06/15/order-of-the-dannebrog-dannebrogordenen-denmark/ |title=Order of the Dannebrog (Dannebrogordenen). Denmark |last=Levin |first=Sergey |date=15 June 2018 |website=Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood |access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref> ** ], in Diamonds, ''1808''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tallinnmuseum.com/2018/06/15/order-of-the-dannebrog-dannebrogordenen-denmark/ |title=Order of the Dannebrog (Dannebrogordenen). Denmark |last=Levin |first=Sergey |date=15 June 2018 |website=Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood |access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref>
** Founder of the ], ''26 June 1808''<ref>{{citation|title=Salmonsens Konversations Leksikon|edition=2|volume=5|chapter=Dannebrogordenen|chapter-url=http://runeberg.org/salmonsen/2/5/0810.html|via=runeberg.org|page=748|access-date=11 May 2020|language=da}}</ref> ** Founder of the ], ''26 June 1808''<ref>{{citation|title=Salmonsens Konversations Leksikon|edition=2|volume=5|chapter=Dannebrogordenen|chapter-url=https://runeberg.org/salmonsen/2/5/0810.html|via=runeberg.org|page=748|access-date=11 May 2020|language=da}}</ref>
* {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: ], ''1814''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|url-status=dead|title="A Szent István Rend tagjai"|archivedate=December 22, 2010}}</ref> * {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: ], ''1814''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|url-status=dead|title="A Szent István Rend tagjai"|archivedate=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}: ], ''1814''<ref>{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1835|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8tGAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA6|year=1835|publisher=Landesamt|page=6}}</ref> * {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}: ], ''1814''<ref>{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1835|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8tGAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA6|year=1835|publisher=Landesamt|page=6}}</ref>
* ]: * ]:
** {{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg}} ]: Grand Eagle of the ], ''1810''<ref>{{citation|title=Almanach impérial pour l'année 1810 : présenté à S.M. l'Empereur et Roi par Testu|year=1810|language=fr|chapter=Chapitre V|chapter-url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/almanac/chapter5/c_chapter5a.html|location=Paris|access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> ** {{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg}} ]: Grand Eagle of the ], ''1810''<ref>{{citation|title=Almanach impérial pour l'année 1810 : présenté à S.M. l'Empereur et Roi par Testu|year=1810|language=fr|chapter=Chapitre V|chapter-url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/almanac/chapter5/c_chapter5a.html|location=Paris|access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>
** {{flagicon image|Pavillon royal de France.svg}} ]: ], ''1818''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Teulet|first1=Alexandre|date=1863|title=Liste chronologique des chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit depuis son origine jusqu'à son extinction (1578-1830)|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k122126/f374.item.zoom|language=fr|trans-title=Chronological List of Knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from its origin to its extinction (1578-1830)|journal=Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France |number=2 |page=114 |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> ** {{flagicon image|Pavillon royal de France.svg}} ]: ], ''1818''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Teulet|first1=Alexandre|date=1863|title=Liste chronologique des chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit depuis son origine jusqu'à son extinction (1578–1830)|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k122126/f374.item.zoom|language=fr|trans-title=Chronological list of knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from its origin to its extinction (1578–1830)|journal=Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France |number=2 |page=114 |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} ]: ], ''15 September 1814''<ref>''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" </ref> * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} ]: ], ''15 September 1814''<ref>''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" </ref>
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}:<ref>{{cite book|title=Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817|year=1817|publisher=l'Académie Imp. des Sciences|pages=, }}</ref> * {{flag|Russian Empire}}:<ref>{{cite book|title=Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817|year=1817|publisher=l'Académie Imp. des Sciences|pages=, }}</ref>
** ], ''2 September 1808'' ** ], ''2 September 1808''
** ], ''2 September 1808'' ** ], ''2 September 1808''
* {{flag|Spain|1785}}: ], '' 14 July 1818''<ref>{{citation |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ucm.5325545189&view=1up&seq=44|title=Caballeros Existentes en la Insignie Orden del Toison de Oro|date=1819|journal=Calendario manual y guía de forasteros en Madrid|access-date=10 May 2020|page=42|language=es}}</ref> * {{flag|Spain|1785}}: ], '' 14 July 1818''<ref>{{citation |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ucm.5325545189&view=1up&seq=44|title=Caballeros Existentes en la Insignie Orden del Toison de Oro|date=1819|journal=Calendario manual y guía de forasteros en Madrid|access-date=10 May 2020|page=42|language=es|last1=Guerra|first1=Francisco}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|Svensk flagg 1815.svg}} ]: ], ''3 July 1786''<ref>{{cite book|author=Per Nordenvall |title=Kungliga Serafimerorden: 1748–1998 |year=1998 |chapter=Kungl. Maj:ts Orden |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=91-630-6744-7}}</ref> * {{Flagicon image|Svensk flagg 1815.svg}} ]: ], ''3 July 1786''<ref>{{cite book|author=Per Nordenvall |title=Kungliga Serafimerorden: 1748–1998 |year=1998 |chapter=Kungl. Maj:ts Orden |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=91-630-6744-7}}</ref>
* {{flag|Two Sicilies}}: ] * {{flag|Two Sicilies}}: ]
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==References== ==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|2}} {{Reflist|2}}


==External links== ===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{commonscatinline}}
* {{cite book|last1=Bjørn|first1=Claus|last2=Eller|first2=Povl|chapter=Frederik 6.|chapter-url=https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Frederik_6.|editor-first=Svend|editor-last=Cedergreen Bech|title=]|edition=3.|volume=4|location=Copenhagen|publisher=]|year=1980|isbn=8700055514|language=da}}
* at the website of the ]
* {{cite book|last=Bjørn|first=Claus|authorlink=Claus Bjørn|chapter=Fra reaktion til grundlov|trans-chapter=From reaction to constitution|chapter-url=https://danmarkshistorien.lex.dk/.taxonomy/738|editor-last=Olsen|editor-first=Olaf|title=Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie|volume=10: 1800-1850|publisher=] og ]|location=Copenhagen|year=1990|isbn=87-89068-12-2|language=da}}
* {{cite book|last=Busck|first=Jens Gunni|title=Frederik VI : ruler in an age of revolution|translator=Peter Sean Woltemade|year=2019|publisher=Historika|location=Copenhagen|isbn=9788772170480}}
* {{cite book|last=Engberg|first=Jens|author-link=Jens Engberg|title=Den standhaftige tinsoldat – en biografi om Frederik 6.|trans-title=The Steadfast Tin Soldier – a biography of Frederick VI|location=Copenhagen|publisher=Politikens Forlag|year=2009|isbn=978-87-567-9325-4|language=da}}.
* {{cite book|last=Feldbæk|first=Ole|authorlink=Ole Feldbæk|chapter=Den lange fred|trans-chapter=The long peace|chapter-url=https://danmarkshistorien.lex.dk/.taxonomy/442|editor-last=Olsen|editor-first=Olaf|title=Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie|volume=9: 1700-1800|publisher=] og ]|location=Copenhagen|year=1990|isbn=87-89068-11-4|language=da}}
* {{cite book|first=Hans|last=Jensen|chapter=Frederik VI|chapter-url=http://www.rosekamp.dk/DBL_All/DBL_7_text.pdf|editor1-first=Povl|editor1-last=Engelstoft|editor2-first=Svend|editor2-last=Dahl|title=]|edition=2.|pages=256–261|volume=5|location=Copenhagen|publisher=J.H. Schultz Forlag|year=1935|language=da}}
* {{ cite book | first=Jan | last=Møller | title=Frederik 6. – Træk af en konges liv | trans-title=Frederick VI – Traits of a king's life | location=Copenhagen | publisher=Sesam | year=1998 | isbn=87-7801-741-6 }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |first=Alexander |last=Thorsøe |title=Frederik VI |url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/5/0311.html |year=1891 |encyclopedia=] |editor1-last=Bricka |editor1-first=Carl Frederik |editor-link=Carl Frederik Bricka |volume=V |edition=1st |location=Copenhagen |publisher=] |pages=309–314 |language=da }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314224944/http://kongehuset.dk/english/the-monarchy-in-denmark/The-Royal-Lineage |date=14 March 2015 }} at the website of the ]
* at the website of the ] at ] * at the website of the ] at ]
* {{NPG name|name=Frederick IV, King of Denmark}}
* at ]


{{s-start}} {{s-start}}
{{s-hou|]|January 28|1768|December 3|1839|name=Frederick VI}} {{s-hou|]|28 January|1768|3 December|1839|name=Frederick VI}}
{{s-reg}} {{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=]}} {{s-bef|rows=2|before=]}}
{{s-ttl|title=]|years=1808–1814}} {{s-ttl|title=]|years=1808–1814}}
{{s-aft|rows=3|after=]}} {{s-aft|rows=3|after=]}}
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{{Monarchs of Denmark}} {{Monarchs of Denmark}}
{{Monarchs of Norway}} {{Monarchs of Norway}}
{{Monarchs of Iceland}}
{{Napoleonic Wars}} {{Napoleonic Wars}}
{{Authority control}} {{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 06 Of Denmark}}
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Latest revision as of 16:36, 11 January 2025

King of Denmark (1808–39) and Norway (1808–14)

Frederick VI
Portrait by Friedrich Carl Gröger, 1808
King of Denmark (more...)
Reign13 March 1808 – 3 December 1839
Coronation31 July 1815
Frederiksborg Palace Chapel
PredecessorChristian VII
SuccessorChristian VIII
Chief Ministers See list
King of Norway
Reign13 March 1808 – 7 February 1814
PredecessorChristian VII
SuccessorChristian Frederick
Crown Prince-Regent of Denmark-Norway
Tenure14 April 1784 – 13 March 1808
PredecessorHereditary Prince Frederick
MonarchChristian VII
Born(1768-01-28)28 January 1768
Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen
Died3 December 1839(1839-12-03) (aged 71)
Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen
BurialRoskilde Cathedral
Spouse Marie of Hesse-Kassel ​ ​(m. 1790)​
IssueCaroline, Hereditary Princess of Denmark
Vilhelmine, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
HouseOldenburg
FatherChristian VII of Denmark
MotherCaroline Matilda of Great Britain
ReligionLutheran
SignatureFrederick VI's signature

Frederick VI (Danish and Norwegian: Frederik; 28 January 1768 – 3 December 1839) was king of Denmark from 13 March 1808 until his death in 1839 and king of Norway from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814. He was the last king of Denmark–Norway. From 1784 until his accession, he served as regent during his father's mental illness and was referred to as the "Crown Prince Regent" (Norwegian: kronprinsregent). For his motto he chose God and the just cause (Danish: Gud og den retfærdige sag) and since the time of his reign, succeeding Danish monarchs have also chosen mottos in the Danish language rather than the formerly customary Latin. He was succeeded by his half cousin Christian.

Early life

Birth and family

The future King Frederick VI was born between 10 and 11 p.m. on 28 January 1768 in the Queen's Bedchamber at Christiansborg Palace, the royal residence in central Copenhagen. He was the first child born to King Christian VII and Queen Caroline Mathilde of Denmark and Norway. He was born 15 months after his parents' wedding, the day before his father's 19th birthday, and while his mother was just 16 years old. The King had shown little interest in the Queen after the marriage and only reluctantly visited her in her chambers. The King's advisors had to step in, among other things with love letters written in the King's name, in an attempt to make the marriage lead to a pregnancy and thus an heir to the throne.

Crown Prince Frederick with his mother Queen Caroline Matilda. Watercolor on ivory by Carl Daniel Voigts, 1773 (The Royal Collection).
18th-century engraving of the newborn prince with his mother Queen Caroline Matilda

The young prince was baptised already two days after the birth on 30 January at Christiansborg Palace by the royal confessor Ludvig Harboe, Bishop of Zealand, and was named after his late grandfather, King Frederick V. His godparents were King Christian VII (his father), the dowager queen Juliana Maria (his step-grandmother) and his half-uncle, Hereditary Prince Frederick.

Childhood and upbringing

Crown Prince Frederick with a playmate. Drawing by Johan Edvard Mandelberg.

At the time of Crown Prince Frederick's birth, conditions at the Danish court were characterized by Christian VII's increasing mental illness, including suspected schizophrenia expressed by catatonic periods. In the resulting intrigues and power struggles which followed, Christian's personal physician, the progressive and radical thinker Johann Friedrich Struensee, became the King's advisor and rose steadily in power during the late 1760s, and from 1770 to 1772, Struensee was de facto regent of the country. Struensee soon also became the confidant of Queen Caroline Mathilde, Frederick's mother, partly because during a smallpox epidemic in the autumn of 1769, in which over 1,000 children died, he successfully inoculated Crown Prince Frederick with good results. In doing so, Struensee won the gratitude and trust of the neglected Queen and soon became her lover as well. It is widely believed that Struensee was also the biological father of Prince Frederick's only sister Princess Louise Augusta, who was born in 1771.

Both the Queen and Struensee were ideologically influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Therefore, the Queen also fully approved the harsh education recommended by Struensee for the Crown Prince, who was perceived as weak and needed to be strengthened physically and mentally. While Struensee was in power, the young Frederick was raised at Hirschholm Palace following an interpretation of 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 commoner boys as per Struensee's instructions.

Crown Prince Frederick 6 years old.

The general ill will against Struensee found expression in a conspiracy against him in the name of the Queen Dowager Juliana Maria, and in the early morning of 17 January 1772 Struensee was deposed in a palace coup. Struensee was later executed, while the King and Queen were divorced. Queen Caroline Mathilde was exiled, and the four-year-old Frederick and his sister were left behind, never to see their mother again. After the revolt against Struensee, Frederick's 18-year-old half-uncle Hereditary Prince Frederick was made regent. The real power, however, was held by Hereditary Prince Frederick's mother (Crown Prince Frederick's step-grandmother), Queen Dowager Juliana Maria, aided by Ove Høegh-Guldberg. Frederick was raised under the supervision of Margrethe Marie Thomasine Numsen and then under his chamberlain, Johan Bülow.

Crown prince's regency

Coup d'état in 1784

Portrait of Frederick as Crown Prince Regent, by Jens Juel, c. 1784

Already in 1782, Crown Prince Frederick came in contact with the minister Andreas Peter Bernstorff, who had been dismissed two years earlier. Later the Crown Prince entered into a conspiracy with other disaffected persons who were in opposition to the government. Despite the Crown Prince's age, the government deliberately postponed his confirmation that would confirm his adult status. But in 1784, as Crown Prince Frederick turned 16, it could no longer be postponed, and he was finally confirmed on 4 April, and was declared of legal majority. Already, on 14 April 1784, he proceeded to seize the full powers of the regency, dismissing the ministers loyal to the Queen Dowager. It is said that during the coup, he engaged in a fistfight with his half-uncle over the regency. He continued as regent of Denmark-Norway under his father's name until the latter's death in 1808.

Early reforms

19-year-old Crown Prince Frederick, surrounded by his staff. In the background Frederiksberg Palace. Painted by Christian August Lorentzen.

During the first years of the regency, Frederick instituted widespread liberal reforms in the spirit of enlightened absolutism with the assistance of Chief Minister Andreas Peter Bernstorff, including the abolition of serfdom in Denmark in 1788 and hanging as a capital punishment was abolished in 1789 in both Denmark and Norway. In 1803, Dano-Norwegian involvement in the Atlantic slave trade was abolished by government decree.

Marriage

Marie Sophie supposedly holding a portrait of her fiancé. Miniature portrait by Cornelius Høyer.

After Crown Prince Frederick was declared of legal majority and assumed the regency in 1784, the Danish royal court started to make inquiries to arrange a marriage for him. There was speculation that he was to marry a Prussian princess, a choice supported by his step-grandmother Juliana Maria and her brother-in-law Frederick the Great. To demonstrate his independence, however, he personally selected his first-cousin Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel, a member of a German family with close marriage links with the royal families of both Denmark-Norway and Great Britain. They married in Gottorp on 31 July 1790 and had eight children. Their eldest daughter, Princess Caroline married her father's first cousin, Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark. The youngest, Princess Wilhelmine, became the wife of the future Frederick VII of Denmark.

English Wars

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.

King of Denmark and loss of Norway

The anointment of King Frederick VI at Frederiksborg Palace on 31 July 1815. The ceremony was postponed due to the Napoleonic Wars.

On 13 March 1808, Christian VII died at the age of 59 at Rendsburg during a stay in the Duchy of Holstein. At the death of his father, Frederick finally ascended the thrones of Denmark and Norway in name also as their seventh absolute monarch at the age of 40. When the throne of Sweden seemed likely to become vacant in 1809, Frederick was interested in being elected there as well. Frederick actually was the first monarch of Denmark and Norway to descend from Gustav I of Sweden, who had secured Sweden's independence in the 1520s after the period of the Kalmar Union with other Scandinavian countries. However, Frederick's 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 neutrality; however, after the British bombardment of Copenhagen, he allied Denmark-Norway with Napoleon. After the French defeat in Russia in 1812, the Allies again asked him to change sides but he refused. Many historians portray the King as stubborn, incompetent, and motivated by a misconceived loyalty towards Napoleon. However, some historians in recent years have provided a different interpretation that sheds a better light on the King. He stayed with Napoleon in order to protect the exposed situation of Norway, which was dependent on grain imports and had become the target of Swedish territorial ambitions. He expected the wars would end with a great international conference in which Napoleon would have a major voice, and would help protect the crown's interests, especially in Norway.

Posthumous portrait of Frederick VI, by Christoph Wilhelm Wohlien, c. 1855

After the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the loss of the Norwegian crown (as a result of the Treaty of Kiel), Frederick VI carried through an authoritarian and reactionary course, giving up the liberal ideas of his years as a prince regent. Censorship and suppression of all opposition together with the poor state of the country's economy made this period of his reign somewhat gloomy, though the King himself in general maintained his position of a well-meaning autocrat. From the 1830s the economic depression was eased a bit and from 1834 the King accepted a small democratic innovation by the creation of the Assemblies of the Estate (purely consultative regional assemblies); this had the unintended result of later exacerbating relations between Danes and Germans in Schleswig, whose regional assembly became a forum for constant bickering between the two national groups.

Later life and succession

Portrait of Frederick VI in his old age, c. 1830s
A bust of Frederick VI, modelled by Bertel Thorvaldsen.

Frederick VI was known as a patron of astronomy and in 1832 offered gold medal prizes to anyone who discovered a comet using a telescope. His successors continued this until 1850. The prize was terminated in the aftermath of the Three Years' War. On 23 February 1827, he granted a Royal Charter giving Serampore College in Danish India the status of a university to confer degrees. It became the third Danish University after those in Copenhagen and Kiel. After the discovery of the Haraldskær Woman in a peat bog in Jutland in the year 1835, Frederick VI ordered a royal interment in an elaborately carved sarcophagus for the Iron Age mummy, decreeing it to be the body of Queen Gunnhild. Later this identification proved incorrect, but the action suited his political agenda at the time.

Frederick VI died at the age of 71 at Amalienborg Palace and was buried in Frederick V's chapel in Roskilde Cathedral. Frederick reigned over Denmark for a total of 55 years; 24 years as crown prince regent and 31 years as king. He was the 894th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain and the 654th Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1822. The Royal Frederick University (now University of Oslo) in Oslo was named in his honour.

As Frederick VI had no surviving sons to succeed him, so he was succeeded on the throne of Denmark by his paternal half-first cousin Christian.

Descendants

King Frederick VI and Queen Marie with Princesses Caroline and Vilhelmine. Portrait by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1821.

Frederick VI and his wife Marie of Hesse-Kassel were the parents of eight children, six of whom died in infancy. Two daughters grew to adulthood and neither of them had children. The eight children of Frederick and Marie were:

By his mistress Frederikke Dannemand (Bente Mortensdatter Andersen (Rafsted)), King Frederick VI had these four children:

  • Louise Frederikke Dannemand, Countess of Dannemand (16 April 1810 – 28 December 1888), married in 1836 Wilhelm von Zachariæ (6 June 1807 – 16 August 1871), and had issue
  • Caroline Augusta Dannemand, Countess of Dannemand (1812–1844), married in 1837 Adolf Frederik Schack von Brockdorff (Vejle, 7 February 1810 – 18 October 1859), and had issue
  • Frederik Wilhelm Dannemand, Count of Dannemand (20 July 1813 – 12 March 1888), married firstly in 1840 Franziska von Scholten (1820–44), without issue, married secondly in 1845 Lovisa Grefvinde Schulin (1815–1884), without issue, and married thirdly in 1884 Wilhelmina Laursen (1840–1886), without issue.
  • Frederik Waldemar Dannemand, Count of Dannemand (6 June 1819 – 4 March 1835)

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestry

Ancestors of Frederick VI of Denmark
8. Christian VI of Denmark
4. Frederick V of Denmark
9. Sophie Magdalene of Kulmbach
2. Christian VII of Denmark
10. George II of Great Britain
5. Louise of Great Britain
11. Caroline of Ansbach
1. Frederick VI of Denmark
12. George II of Great Britain (= 10)
6. Frederick, Prince of Wales
13. Caroline of Ansbach (= 11)
3. Caroline Matilda of Great Britain
14. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
7. Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
15. Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst

References

Citations

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  2. "kronprinsregent". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  3. "Kongelige i kirkebøgerne" [Royals in the church records]. historie-online.dk (in Danish). Dansk Historisk Fællesråd. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  4. Jensen 1935, p. 256.
  5. Engberg 2009, p. 37.
  6. ^ Hindø, Lone; Boelskifte, Else (2007). "Fødselssmerter overfaldt Dronningen" [Labour pains assailed the Queen]. Kongelig Dåb. Fjorten generationer ved Rosenborg-døbefonten [Royal Baptisms. Fourteen generations at the Rosenborg baptismal font] (in Danish). Forlaget Hovedland. pp. 49–55. ISBN 978-87-7070-014-6.
  7. Bjørn, Claus (2001). "Louise Augusta". In Larsen, Jytte (ed.). Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon (in Danish). Vol. 2. Copenhagen: Rosinante. pp. 454–455. ISBN 8773574864.
  8. Magne Njåstad. "Johann Friedrich Struensee". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  9. Feldbæk 1990, p. 234.
  10. Magne Njåstad. "Ove Høegh-Guldberg". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
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  13. A. N. Ryan, "The Causes of the British Attack upon Copenhagen in 1807." English Historical Review (1953): 37–55. in JSTOR
  14. Michael Bregnsbo, "The motives behind the foreign political decisions of Frederick VI during the Napoleonic Wars," Scandinavian Journal of History (2014) 39#3 pp 335–352
  15. Magne Njåstad. "Norge under Napoleonskrigene". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  16. Jon Gunnar Arntzen. "Frederik 6". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  17. "The Council of Serampore College – Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College". Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
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  19. "Historical background". Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
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  23. Kongelig Dansk Hof-og Statscalender Statshaandbog for det danske Monarchie for Aaret 1838, p. 5 (in Danish). Retrieved 10 May 2020
  24. Levin, Sergey (15 June 2018). "Order of the Dannebrog (Dannebrogordenen). Denmark". Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  25. "Dannebrogordenen", Salmonsens Konversations Leksikon (in Danish), vol. 5 (2 ed.), p. 748, retrieved 11 May 2020 – via runeberg.org
  26. ""A Szent István Rend tagjai"". Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.
  27. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1835. Landesamt. 1835. p. 6.
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  29. Teulet, Alexandre (1863). "Liste chronologique des chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit depuis son origine jusqu'à son extinction (1578–1830)" [Chronological list of knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from its origin to its extinction (1578–1830)]. Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France (in French) (2): 114. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  30. Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" p. 17
  31. Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817. l'Académie Imp. des Sciences. 1817. pp. 62, 76.
  32. Guerra, Francisco (1819), "Caballeros Existentes en la Insignie Orden del Toison de Oro", Calendario manual y guía de forasteros en Madrid (in Spanish): 42, retrieved 10 May 2020
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  34. Trigueiros, António Miguel (1999), D. João VI e o seu Tempo (PDF) (in Portuguese), Ajuda National Palace, Lisbon: Portuguese Commission on Discoveries, p. 236, archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013, retrieved 10 May 2020
  35. Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 52
  36. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 56.

Bibliography

External links

Frederick VIHouse of OldenburgBorn: 28 January 1768 Died: 3 December 1839
Regnal titles
Preceded byChristian VII King of Norway
1808–1814 		Succeeded byChristian VIII/Christian Frederick
King of Denmark
Duke of Holstein and Schleswig
1808–1839
VacantNapoleonic Wars Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
1814–1839
Danish princes
The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy by Frederick III in 1660.
1st generation
2nd generation
3rd generation
4th generation
5th generation
6th generation
7th generation
8th generation
9th generation
10th generation
11th generation
12th generation
13th generation
Also prince of Norway
Also prince of Greece
Also prince of Iceland
Also prince of the United Kingdom
Not Danish prince by birth, but created prince of Denmark
Princes that lost their title are shown in italics
Monarchs of Denmark
Knýtlinga
c. 916 – 1042
Fairhair
1042–1047
Estridsen
1047–1375
Bjälbo
1376–1387
Estridsen
1376–1412
Pomerania
1397–1439
Palatinate-Neumarkt
1440–1448
Oldenburg
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    1814
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