Danish Royalty: Frederick IX


Figure 1.--Several generations of Danish royalty are seen here with a young Prince Frederix in 1903. The future Frederick IX wears a sailor dress. Sailor suits were popular withbtheir mother.

King Frederik IX was born in 1898. His whole life centered on the sea and music. The King was educated as a Navy Officer as well as anOrchestra Conductor. He mairred Queen Ingrid (born in Sweden in 1910). Their eldest daughter, Margrethe Alexandrine Torhildur Ingrid, was born on April 16, 1940, during the dark days following the German invasion. The popular Crown Prince and his consort, stayed with the King in German to face the Germans with his people. Hitler's troops had invaded defenceless Denmark on April 6 (only months after signing a non-aggression pact) in preparation for the invasion of Norway. The birth of the little princess acquired a symbolic value as a ray of hope in a time of darkness. During the war years, Frederik the IX and Crown Princess Ingrid were very active instrengthening the Danish identity. They travelled all over the Danish realm (i.e. Faerorene and Greenland) and this became a major part of their lives as a Royal Family when peace finally arrived. When King Frederik and Queen Ingrid never had a son, the throne was destined to go to his brother's eldest son--Ingolf. But after the Danish referendum by the people, the law was changed and from 1953 King Fredriks direct deescendant was secure--Margrethe II. But it could not then be foreseen that Margrethe might become Denmark's first queen regnant. The Danish constitution did not permit a woman to succeed to the throne. It was not until an amendment to the constitution was adopted in 1953 that a referendum approved the introduction of female succession. It was a popular choice. In King Frederik, a man with the common touch and a gift for music, and in his wise and dignified consort, Queen Ingrid, Denmark had a royal couple who were loved and respected. And now their eldest daughter had to learn the craft of queenship. Her apprenticeship was planned with care and rofessionalism. A modern queen must possess many skills, and it is generally agreed that on the throne of Denmark there sits one of the world's best­trained monarchs.

Danish Summary

Frederik 9. havde hele sit liv et særligt forhold til søen og til musikken. Kongen var uddannet både som søofficer og som orkesterdirigent. I besættelsesårene var Frederik 9. og daværende Kronprinsesse Ingrid meget aktive, når det gjaldt om at styrke danskheden. Rejser rundt i landet - bl.a. til Færøerne og Grønland--blev en fast del af livet i kongefamilien, også da freden kom. Da Kong Frederik og Dronning Ingrid ikke fik en søn, skulle Tronen efter den tidligere tronfølgelov være overgået til Prins Knud og hans ældste søn Ingolf. Men efter en folkeafstemning blev loven ændret og fra 1953 var arvefølgen sikret for Kong Frederiks direkte efterkommer--Prinsesse Margrethe.

Parents

Frederick was the son and successor of King Christian X.

King Christian X

Christian X was born in 1870 at Charlottenlund. His parents were King Frederik VIII and Princess Lovisa of Sweden. Some of the major achievements of his reign were a new democratic constitution granting the vote to women and the sale of the Virgin Islands to the United States. After the German invasion in 1940 the King led his people in passive resistance to attempts to bring the Danes into the NAZI order. The King's bravery was an inspiration to the Danish people, one of the few countries to have sdome success in resisting the Germans. This was in part possible because the Germans with their racially based world view were unwilling to be as brutal in Denmark as they were in other countries like Poland.


Figure 2.--This photograph shows Frederick in 1904. He would have been about 5 years old. He wears a white dress or skirt with a back buttoning smock.

Alexandrine Auguste

Frederick's mother was Alexandrine Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Her parents were Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Anastasia Mihailovna, Grand Duchess. The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a German principality.

Brother

Frederik had one younger brother, Knud Christian Frederik of Denmark, Prince who was born in 1900. The boys were very close in age and were often dressed alike.

Childhood

King Frederik IX was born in 1898. HBRC at this time has few details about his boyhood.

Childhood Clothing

The young princes' mother appears to have been partial to sailor suits. As a young boy he wore white sailor dresses. He also wore smocks. As an older boy he wore long pants sailor suits as an older boy. He wore both white and dark middy blouses with his sailor suits. He an his older brother, the future Christain X, were close in age and appear to have been often dressed identically as boys.

Hats

The princes as younger boys wore wide-brimmed sailor hats.

Dresses

Frederick and Knud wore dresses as boys. An avilable image shows Fredeick wearing a dress at age 3-4. I'm not sure what kind of dresses they wore, but one image shows Frederick wearing a white skirt with a middy blouse. I'm not sure when the boys were breched, but Frederick in 1904 at about age 5 was still wearing dresses.

Smocks

Royal children were not commonly photographed in smocks. I believe that thery may have worn smocks much more than the photographic record suggest. The lack of photographs may reflect the view that the smock was an informal garment and that photographs required more formal dress. One photograph of Frederick in 1904 shows him still wearing dresses at about age 5. As he is outside playing, he wears a protective white smock. The smock is back buttoning and has a wide, strangely shaped collar, perhaps with a sailor-style back flap.


Figure 3.--This photograph shows Prince Frederick in a very traditioanlly styled dark sailor suit. He looks tp be about 12 years old.

Sailor suits

The princes were commonly dressed in sailor suits. They were often photographed in identical sailor suits. Presumably this was Queen Alexandrine's choice as the boys even wore sailor suits before breaching. They wore middy blouses with while kilt skirts. I'm not sure to what extent the king was involved in the choice of the boys' clothing. The boys appear to have been commonly dressed alike in identical sailor suits. The sailor suits had very tradutionally styled. Available images show different styles of white middy blouses, but I'm not sure about the color of the trim. They wore both white and dark long pants. They may have worn shorts as younger boys. I am not sure to precisely what age the boys wore sailor suits. They appear to have worn sailor suits into their younger teens. Frederick as a young man showed a great interest in the sea and the navy.

Suits

Prince Frederick and his brother as mid-age teenagers, about age 15 and 16 years of age were wearing conservative dark double breasted suits.

Stockings

The boys appear to have worn white socks as younger boys. Presumably they wore long stockings during the winter.

Shoes

As a young child the boys wore strap shoes. For outdoor play theubappear to have worn high-top shoes.

Education

The King was educated as a Navy Officer as well as an orchestra conductor. He was the first Danish king to be trained by nation's navy; his predecessors trained by army.

Military Service

Prince Rederick joined the Danish Navy in 1917. He rose to the rank of commander by 1935 and in 1946 after World War II became rear admiral.

Adult Life

His whole life centered on the sea and music. King Frederick has recorded concerts such as one of him conducting the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Princess Ingrid (1910-2000)

Swedish Princess I Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta was born (1910). She was the third child and only daughter of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Ingrid's mother died in 1920 while pregnant with her sixth child. King Gustaf married Lady Louise Mountbatten (1923). Louise was a Ingrid's cousin. Ingrid met the British Prince of Wales (1928). There were rumors about a romance, but nothing developed. It was Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark who courted Ingrid. They married (1935). They were related through different family lines. The Germans during World War II invaded and occupied Denmark (1940). She gained great respect with her husband passively resisting the German occupation forces during World War II. Princess Ingrid became the Queen of Denmark when her husband assended to the Danish throne (1947). Queen Ingrid died (2000). She was interred next to her husband outside Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen.

Children

King Frederik and Queen Ingrid had three daughters. The eldest was born during the dark days of German occupation. At the time a girl could not inherit the throne, but the Danish people decided to change that so Princess Margrethe, the eldest daughter could become queen.

Margrethe Alexandrine Torhildur Ingrid (1940- )

Their eldest daughter, Margrethe Alexandrine Torhildur Ingrid, was born on April 16, 1940, during the dark days following the German invasion. The birth of the little princess acquired a symbolic value as a ray of hope in a time of darkness. Since 1972 Queen Margrethe II has reigned the country. First of all she is taking care of her official duties as the Queen. She married the Frenchman Henri de Laborde in 1967 and has two sons. But at the same time Queen Margrethe is a very modern queen: She is a painter, ascenographer, a writer, a speaker, a translator and a debater of social issues.

Benedikte (1944- )

Princes Benedikte was born during the World War II German occupation. She married Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1968

Anne-Marie of Denmark (1946- )

Princess Anne-Marie married King Constantine II Oldenburg of Greece in 1964. The king was exiled in 1967 and later deposed.

World War II

World War II involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939-45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, China). The Soviet Union, while not a member of the Axis, was until the German invasion in June 1941, a virtual ally of the Germans-seizing territory from neigboring states and occupying the Baltic states.

German Occupation

The popular Crown Prince and his consort, stayed with the King in German to face the Germans with his people. Hitler's troops invaded neutral and defenceless Denmark on April 9 (only months after signing a non-aggression pact) in preparation for the invasion of Norway. During the war years, the Crown Prince, like his father King Christian X, and Crown Princess Ingrid were very active in maintaining Danish identity and passively resisting the occupation. They travelled all over the Danish realm (such as the Faerorene and Greenland) and this became a major part of their lives as a Royal Family when peace finally arrived. Frederick began acting as regent for his aging father in 1942. The NAZI occupation authorities imprissoned Crown Prince Frederick and his his father, Christian X, in 1943 and they were not released until the end of the War..

Reign

In King Frederik, a man with the common touch and a gift for music, and in his wise and dignified consort, Queen Ingrid, Denmark had a royal couple who were loved and respected.

The Sucession

King Frederik and Queen Ingrid never had a son. But it could not then be foreseen that Margrethe might become Denmark's first queen regnant. The Danish constitution did not permit a woman to succeed to the throne. The throne was destined to go to the King's younger brother's eldest son--Ingolf. But after the Danish referendum by the people, the constitution was changed. The new constitution with King Frederick signedf June 1953 constitution provided for female succession to the throne and reduced Parliament to one house. Thuis from 1953 King Fredrik's direct deescendant was secure--Margrethe II. It proved to be a popular choice. And now their eldest daughter had to learn the craft of queenship. Her apprenticeship was planned with care and rofessionalism. A modern queen must possess many skills, and it is generally agreed that on the throne of Denmark there sits one of the world's best­trained monarchs.






HBRC








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Created: March 20, 2001
Last updated: 2:04 AM 7/28/2008