Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark



King Christian IX of Denmark (April 8, 1818 – January 29, 1906) ruled Denmark from 1863 to 1906. Known as the "father-in-law of Europe", he and his queen consort, Louise of Hesse-Kassel (September 7, 1817 – September 29, 1898), became the ancestors of many members of European royalty. Some of these descendants would later rule as monarchs over several European countries, including Greece, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The families of Christian and Louise, their children, and their grandchildren are described below.

King Christian IX
For the first 13 years of his life, Christian lived in Germany. Following the death of his father, FriedrichWilhelm, in 1831, Christian trained as an officer in Copenhagen. He fought on behalf of the DanishUnitaryState in the First Schleswig War.

In 1852, Christian became the heir presumptive to the Danish throne. Following the death of KingFrederickVII 11 years later, Christian became King of Denmark. Due to Christian's German background, he was unpopular among his subjects during the start of his reign. Moreover, he nearly abdicated in 1864 after Denmark's loss in the Second Schleswig War. However, Christian's popularity recovered as his children married into several European royal families.

Queen Louise
Born PrincessLouiseofHesse-Kassel, Louise became QueenofDenmark in 1863. Because her mother was a sister of KingChristianVIII, Louise's marriage to ChristianIX was an important factor in his rise to the Danish throne. Moreover, Louise was instrumental in marrying her children across European royalty, which helped increase her husband's popularity among the Danish people.

As QueenofDenmark, Louise exemplified the female ideas of her time. Despite remaining in the shadow of Christian, she showed artistic and social talent. Moreover, through her charity work, Louise founded the Diakonissestiftelsen in Copenhagen.

Marriage
Christian and Louise were married in 1842.

Children
KingChristianIX, together with QueenLouise, had six children: Frederick, Alexandra, George, Dagmar, Thyra, and Valdemar. Because of the strained finances and limited fortunes that Christian and Louise had before 1852, they were actively involved in the education of Dagmar and her siblings during that time. Later, from 1875 to 1900, Christian and Louise would annually welcome their children and grandchildren across six different European royalhouses at Fredensborg Palace in Denmark.

Within Christian and Louise's family, Thyra was called the "gentle and good daughter" by her father. In addition, Alexandra and Dagmar were respectively seen as the "pretty" and "clever" girls. In contrast, Christian rejected Frederick, then CrownPrinceofDenmark, because of their contrasting conservative and reformist mindsets, respectively.

Grandchildren
ChristianIX and Louise had forty grandchildren via eight children of FrederickVIII, six children of Alexandra, seven children of GeorgeI, six children of Dagmar, six children of Thyra,  and five children of Valdemar.

Children of Frederick VIII and Louise
At the age of 17, PrincessLouiseofSweden became engaged to KingFrederickVIIIofDenmark, then called Frederick,CrownPrinceofDenmark, at Bäckaskog Castle in Sweden. Frederick and Louise would later marry in 1869 in Stockholm. This marriage took place in the context of a desire for a Scandinavian union in both Denmark and Sweden.

Together, Frederick and Louise had eight children. Two of these children, Christian and Haakon, became KingofDenmark and KingofNorway, respectively. Frederick and Louise's family came to be defined by Louise's piety. Moreover, Louise oversaw the strictly disciplined education of her children.

Over time, Frederick and Louise's marriage became a reasonably happy one. However, because of Frederick's estrangement from his father, he and his wife kept their distance from his relatives. In addition, Louise had difficult relationships with her in-laws in the Danish royal family.

Children of Alexandra and Edward VII
In 1861, PrincessAlexandra met KingEdwardVIIoftheUnitedKingdom, then called AlbertEdward,Prince of Wales, at the Speyer Cathedral in Germany. Edward was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and PrinceAlbert. Edward later proposed to Alexandra in 1862, and they married in 1863 at StGeorge'sChapel in Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.

Although Alexandra and Edward got along fairly well, Edward engaged in several affairs during their marriage. However, for the most part, Alexandra did not pay attention to her husband's romantic liaisons.

Together, Alexandra and Edward had six children. One of these children, AlexanderJohn, died in infancy. Furthermore, Alexandra and Edward's eldest son, AlbertVictor, died in 1892 after contracting an illness during a flu pandemic. AlbertVictor's death devastated Alexandra.

The three daughters of Edward and Alexandra, Louise, Victoria, and Maud, were known for being active during their youth. As the daughters aged, they became more withdrawn. Alexandra did not want Louise, Victoria, and Maud to marry because her daughters had two brothers who could potentially follow Edward to the British throne. However, both Louise and Maud eventually married.

Children of George I and Olga
In 1863, the KingdomofGreece was without a monarch. The royal houses of Europe believed that GeorgeI, then Prince William of Denmark, would be a suitable candidate for the Greek throne. Consequently, George traveled to Greece, a country that he had never visited before, that same year to start his reign.

After arriving in Greece, George married GrandDuchessOlga ConstantinovnaofRussia in 1867. George and Olga had seven children together.

Children of Dagmar and Alexander III
QueenLouise, Dagmar's mother, hoped to find a suitable husband for her daughter in the Russian imperialcourt. Following the marriage of Dagmar's sister Alexandra, QueenLouise dedicated her enthusiasm to making this desire a reality. Eventually, in 1864, Dagmar became engaged to NicholasAlexandrovich, the then-heir to the Russian throne. However, Nicholas died one year later.

While on his deathbed, Nicholas insisted that his brother, EmperorAlexanderIIIofRussia (then called GrandDukeAlexanderAlexandrovichofRussia), marry Dagmar. Dagmar gradually developed a romantic attraction toward Alexander. They then married in October1866, and Dagmar took the name MariaFeodorovna after converting to Russian Orthodoxy.

Maria and Alexander would go on to have six children together, one of whom, Alexander, did not survive past infancy. Maria adored and spoiled her surviving children, especially Nicholas. Likewise, Alexander adored his daughters.

Of the five children of Maria and Alexander that survived past infancy, George died of tuberculosis. Moreover, both Nicholas and Michael, along with Nicholas's five children, were killed during the Russian Revolution.

Children of Thyra and Ernest Augustus
Finding a suitable husband for PrincessThyraofDenmark was an undertaking for her mother, QueenLouise. However, Louise had one potential suitor in mind for Thyra: PrinceErnestAugustus,DukeofCumberland. Eventually, Thyra married ErnestAugustus, which gave her the desired opportunity to have children.

Together, Thyra and ErnestAugustus had six children. Living in Gmunden, Austria, Thyra enjoyed a quiet life which allowed her to spend time with her children. However, two of her sons died at a young age. Namely, PrinceGeorge died in a car accident on the way to the funeral of KingFrederickVIIIofDenmark. In addition, PrinceChristian died of appendicitis.

Children of Valdemar and Marie
In 1885, PrinceValdemarofDenmark married MarieofOrléans, a French princess. Together, they had five children who were nicknamed the "naughty children from the YellowPalace". Nevertheless, both Valdemar and Marie were very popular in Denmark.

Because of Valdemar's interest in ships, he went on long sea voyages, a practice that continued during his marriage to Marie.