Princess Charlotte of Denmark

Danish princess (1789–1864)

Charlotte of Denmark

Portrait by August Schiøtt, c. 1830-39

Born| (1789-10-30)30 October 1789
Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen
Died| 28 March 1864(1864-03-28) (aged 74)
Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen
Burial|

Roskilde Cathedral

Spouse|

Prince William of Hesse-Kassel

(m. 1810)​

Issue| Caroline Frederica
Marie Luise Charlotte, Princess of Anhalt-Dessau
Louise, Queen of Denmark
Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse
Auguste Sophie
Sophie Wilhelmine
House| Oldenburg
Father| Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (officially)
Frederick von Blücher (rumored)
Mother| Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Danish Royalty

House of Oldenburg
Main Line
Frederick V

Children
Prince Christian
Sophia Magdalena, Queen of Sweden
Wilhelmina Caroline, Electress of Hesse
Christian VII
Princess Louise
Hereditary Prince Frederick
Grandchildren
Princess Juliana Marie
Christian VIII
Princess Juliana Sophie
Princess Louise Charlotte
Hereditary Prince Ferdinand

* v
* t
* e

Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (Danish: Charlotte af Danmark; 30 October 1789 – 28 March 1864) was a Danish princess, and a princess of Hesse-Kassel by marriage to Prince William of Hesse-Kassel.

Princess Charlotte was a significant figure in her time. She was one of the leading ladies in the country, and when her brother Christian VIII became king in 1839, she was close to the throne. She played an important role in the succession crisis in Denmark in the first half of the 19th century.

## Early life

[edit]

Hereditary Prince Frederick and Hereditary Princess Sophia Frederica with their three eldest children. Princess Charlotte sits on her mother's lap. Portrait by Jens Juel, 1790.

Princess Charlotte was born on 30 October 1789 at Christiansborg Palace, the principal residence of the Danish Monarchy in central Copenhagen.[1] She was a daughter to Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway, and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.[1] Her father was a younger son of King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway, while her mother was a daughter of Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At birth she had two older siblings, Prince Christian Frederick (who later became King of Norway in 1814 and was King of Denmark as Christian VIII from 1839) and Princess Juliane Sophie. She later had a younger brother, Prince Frederick Ferdinand.

When Princess Charlotte was born, her uncle Christian VII was the monarch of Denmark-Norway. Due to the king's mental illness, however, the real ruler was her cousin, Crown Prince Frederick (later King Frederick VI). Charlotte's family had a strained relationship with Crown Prince Frederick and his family due to the power struggles that the king's mental condition had created, but gradually the relationship between the two branches of the royal family was normalized.

Princess Charlotte. Portrait by Jens Juel, 1802.

Princess Charlotte spent the first years of her life at the large and magnificent baroque palace of Christiansborg. As a summer residence, the family owned Sorgenfri Palace, located on the shores of the small river Mølleåen in Kongens Lyngby north of Copenhagen.

The year 1794 was an eventful year for the young princess and her family. In February 1794, a fire destroyed Christiansborg Palace, and the family was forced to move to Levetzau's Palace, a rococo palace which forms part of the Amalienborg Palace complex in the district of Frederiksstaden in central Copenhagen. And in november 1794, when Princess Charlotte was five years old, her mother, who was in poor health, died at the age of just 36.

Princess Charlotte was confirmed on 22 May 1803 in the chapel of Frederiksberg Palace along with her brother Prince Christian Frederik and sister Princess Juliane Sophie.[2]

## Marriage

[edit]

Charlottenlund Palace, c. 1830.

On 10 November 1810 in Amalienborg Palace, she married Prince William of Hesse-Kassel. Her spouse was in Danish service from his youth, and the family lived in Denmark. The couple initially settled on Sankt Annæ Plads in central Copenhagen in what was called the Prince William Mansion. Later, the couple moved into the Brockdorff's Palace at Amalienborg. As their country residence they received Charlottenlund Palace, located on the shores of the Øresund Strait 10 kilometers north of Copenhagen.

## Later life

[edit]

Princess Charlotte of Denmark

Princess Charlotte was described as wise, practical and thrifty, keeping the finances of her household under strict control.[3] She had some interest in art and poetry, and reportedly felt herself to be a Danish patriot.[4] Charlotte played some part in the succession crisis which occurred because her half first cousin, King Frederick VI of Denmark, lacked a male heir. She supported the solution that her branch of the family should succeed to the throne, and because of this, she opposed the Schleswig-Holstein matter.[5]

In 1839, her brother Christian VIII of Denmark succeeded their cousin on the throne, and during his reign, Charlotte had an important position at the Danish royal court in Copenhagen because her brother favored that her line of the family should succeed to the throne after his male line had died out.[6]

In 1848, her brother died and was succeeded by his childless son, her nephew, king Frederick VII of Denmark. In 1850, the Danish government was pressured by the Empire of Russia to discontinue its support of her line in the succession order in favor of the Duke of Oldenburg, her son-in-law. Christian of Oldenburg had displayed anti-Danish sentiment during the recent war, and when gehejmeråd F.C. Dankwart, on behalf of the government, issued the demand that she should renounce her, her son's, and eldest daughter's right to the throne in favor of her second daughter and her husband, she replied: "It is impossible: the Danish people would under no circumstance accept as King a Prince from a house that has made war against Denmark, and that is so hostile toward us".[7] In exchange, she demanded that the House of Oldenburg purchase the Duchy of Hesse and declare it a kingdom, so that her son Frederick could "Switch one Kingdom for another".[8] On 18 July 1851, after having been persuaded that her terms were impossible and that Christian of Oldenburg in fact had good support for his claim, Charlotte agreed to renounce her, her son Frederick's, and her eldest daughter Marie Louise Charlotte's claims to the throne in favour of her second daughter Louise, who in turn renounced her own claim in favor of her spouse, Christian.[9]

Charlotte died in Christiansborg Palace in 1864.

## Issue

[edit]

* Princess Caroline Frederica of Hesse-Kassel (15 August 1811 – 10 May 1829)
* Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (9 May 1814 – 28 July 1895) married Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau.
* Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel (7 September 1817 – 29 September 1898) married Christian IX of Denmark.
* Frederick William, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (26 November 1820 – 14 October 1884) married first Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia and she died soon after their marriage, and second Princess Anna of Prussia.
* Princess Auguste Sophie of Hesse-Kassel (30 October 1823 – 17 July 1889) married Baron Carl Frederik Blixen-Finecke.
* Princess Sophie Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel (18 January – 20 December 1827)

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Princess Charlotte of Denmark

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Christian VI of Denmark

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Frederick V of Denmark|

|  |  |
| 9\. Princess Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

| 2\. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

| 5\. Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|

|  |  |
| 11\. Princess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

| 1\. Princess Charlotte of Denmark |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Christian Ludwig II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

| 6\. Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|

|  |  |
| 13\. Duchess Gustave Caroline of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

| 3\. Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

| 7\. Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|

|  |  |
| 15\. Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Thorsøe 1889, p. 439.
2. ^ Thorsøe 1889, p. 439-40.
3. ^ Dansk biografisk Lexikon / III. Bind. Brandt - Clavus (in Danish)
4. ^ Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 1933-44
5. ^ Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 1933-44
6. ^ Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 1933-44
7. ^ Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 1933-44
8. ^ Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 1933-44
9. ^ Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 1933-44

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Bramsen, Bo (1985). Ferdinand og Caroline : en beretning om prinsen, der nødig ville være konge af Danmark [Ferdinand and Caroline: an account of the prince who was reluctant to be king of Denmark] (in Danish) (4th ed.). Copenhagen: Nordiske Landes Bogforlag. ISBN 8787439220.
* Thorsøe, Alexander (1889). "Louise (L. Charlotte)". In Bricka, Carl Frederik (ed.). Dansk biografisk Lexikon, tillige omfattende Norge for tidsrummet 1537-1814 (in Danish). Vol. III (1st ed.). Copenhagen: Gyldendals forlag. pp. 439–440.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Danish princesses

Generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy by Frederick III in 1660.

1st generation|

* Anna Sophie, Electress of Saxony1
* Frederica Amalia, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp1
* Wilhelmine Ernestine, Electress Palatine1
* Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden1

2nd generation|

* Princess Sophia1

3rd generation|

* Princess Charlotte Amalie1

4th generation|

* Louise, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen1

5th generation|

* Sophia Magdalena, Queen of Sweden1
* Wilhelmina Caroline, Electress of Hesse1
* Louise, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel1

6th generation|

* Princess Louise, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg1
* Juliana, Landgravine of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld1
* Louise, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel1

7th generation|

* Hereditary Princess Caroline of Denmark1
* Vilhelmine, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg1

8th generation|

* Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India4
* (Dagmar) Empress Maria Feodorovna of All the Russias4
* Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover and Duchess of Cumberland

9th generation|

* Princess Louise of Schaumburg-Lippe
* Princess Ingeborg, Duchess of Västergötland
* Princess Thyra
* Princess Dagmar, Mrs. Castenskiold
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia2
* Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia2
* Princess Margaret of Bourbon-Parma

10th generation|

* Princess Feodora of Schaumburg-Lippe
* Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark
* Princess Alexandrine, Countess of Castell-Castell
* Helen, Queen Mother of Romania2
* Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta2
* Lady Katherine Brandram2
* Princess Eugénie, Duchess of Castel Duino2
* Princess Olga of Yugoslavia2
* Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach2
* Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent2
* Margarita, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg2
* Theodora, Margravine of Baden2
* Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine2
* Princess Sophie of Hanover2

11th generation|

* Queen Margrethe II3
* Benedikte, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg3
* Anne-Marie, Queen of the Hellenes
* Princess Elisabeth3
* Alexándra, Queen of Yugoslavia2
* Sofía, Queen of Spain2
* Princess Irene2

12th generation|

* Princess Alexía, Mrs. Morales2
* Princess Theodora2

13th generation|

* Princess Isabella
* Princess Josephine
* Princess Athena
* Princess Olympía2

1 Also princess of Norway
2 Also princess of Greece
3 Also princess of Iceland
4 Not Danish princess by birth, but created princess of Denmark
Princesses that lost their title are shown in italics

* v
* t
* e

Princesses and Landgravines of Hesse by marriage

1st generation|

* none

2nd generation|

* Princess Louise of Denmark1
* Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen1

3rd generation|

* Princess Augusta of Prussia1
* Princess Charlotte of Denmark1

4th generation|

* Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia
* Princess Anna of Prussia

5th generation|

* Princess Margaret of Prussia

6th generation|

* Princess Mafalda of Savoy
* Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden
* Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark

9th generation|

* none

1 Princess and Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel until 1803

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[c.]: circa