The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg () was a branch of the dukes of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg was the name of a branch line of the House of Oldenburg as well as the name of their land. It existed from 1564 until 1668 and was a titular duchy under the King of Denmark, rather than a true territorial dukedom in ...
of the
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig, Duchy ...
. The line descended from
Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, (20 January 157313 May 1627) was a Danish nobleman.
Alexander was born in Sønderborg (German: ''Sonderburg'') in Schleswig, the third son of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and Eli ...
. Like all of the secondary lines from the Sonderburg branch, the heads of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg were first known as Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein and Dukes of Sonderburg. The family took its name from its ancestral home,
Augustenborg Palace
Augustenborg Palace (or Augustenborg Castle; da, Augustenborg Slot, german: Schloss Augustenburg) is a Rococo-style palace in the southwestern part of Augustenborg, Als Island, Denmark, overlooking Augustenborg Fjord. The palace owes its name t ...
in
Augustenborg,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
History
![Duchess Auguste](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Duchess_Auguste.jpg)
The branch originated from
Ernest Günther, a member of the ducal house of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
(its branch of
Sønderborg
(; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),[Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...]
, 2nd Duke of Sonderborg (1573–1627), and thus a grandson of
John the Younger (1545–1622), the first duke, who was a son of King
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...
.
Ernest Günther had a castle built in the years after 1651, which received the name of Augustenborg in honor of his wife,
Auguste. She was also from a branch of the
Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein
The following is a list of rulers (usually dukes) who ruled both Schleswig and Holstein, starting from the first Holstein count who received Schleswig, until both territories were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866; and afterwards, titular ...
as a daughter of Philip (1584–1663), Duke of Glücksburg. As that castle became the chief seat of their line, the family eventually used the name of Augustenborg as its branch name. As they were
agnates
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
of the ducal house, the title of duke belonged to every one of them (as is the Germanic custom).
The Dukes of Augustenborg were not sovereign rulers—they held their lands in
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
to their dynastically-senior kinsmen, the sovereign Dukes of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
—who were the Oldenburg Kings of Denmark.
Later, a Danish king made the head of that line specifically Duke of Augustenborg. In the late 18th century, since 1764, the branch of Schleswig-Holsten-Sønderborg-Augustenborg was genealogically the next senior branch immediately after the main line of Danish kings. King
Frederick VI of Denmark
Frederick VI (Danish and no, Frederik; 28 January 17683 December 1839) was King of Denmark
The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes ...
(or, rather, his chief adviser
Andreas Peter Bernstorff
Andreas Peter Bernstorff (28 August 173521 June 1797), also known as Andreas Peter Graf von Bernstorff, was a Danish diplomat and Foreign Minister. He was a guardian of civil and political liberty.
Background and early career
Bernstorff was born ...
), made his only sister
Louise Auguste of Denmark
Princess Louise Augusta of Denmark and Norway (7 July 1771 – 13 January 1843) was the daughter of the Queen of Denmark-Norway, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain. Though officially regarded as the daughter of King Christian VII, it is widely a ...
marry the then
Hereditary Prince Christian of Augustenborg.
In 1764,
Sønderborg castle
(; german: Sonderburg ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022), , the seat of that elder Schleswig-Holstein branch, passed upon its owners' extinction into the hands of the Duke of Augustenborg, but against expectations it did not become a residence (they remained at Augustenborg). Instead it was rented out as a warehouse. The penultimate Duke of Augustenborg, also named Ernst Günther, allowed Sønderborg County Museum to move into a part of the castle in 1920. The next year the Danish state bought the castle from the Duke.
In 1810, a younger scion of the family,
Prince Christian August, was chosen as the Crown Prince of Sweden, and adopted by king
Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sw ...
. An Augustenborg dynasty on a royal throne was however not to be, as Prince Christian August died a couple of months after his arrival in Sweden.
In the early 19th century, the Danish royal line started to go extinct. The Duke of Augustenborg was the next male-line heir to the royal house, though not descended in male line from
Frederick III of Denmark and Norway
Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...
. This made the duke a player in the convoluted
Schleswig-Holstein Question
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schl ...
, as well as a candidate in the
Danish succession. Frederik August of Augustenborg attempted to proclaim himself reigning Duke
Frederick VIII of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864, upon the final extinction of the senior branch of the Danish kings. His daughter,
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
, house = Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
, father = Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
, mother = Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Dolzig Palace ...
, became German Empress as consort of
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
.
The ducal line died out in 1931. In November 1920, its penultimate head had adopted Prince Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his sister Princess Marie Luise, children of Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
After Augustenborg's extinction in 1931, seniority fell to the line of the Dukes of
Glücksburg
Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany.
It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet ...
, heads of the second line of Holstein, known in German as ''
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg'' and in Danish as Slesvig-Holsten-Sønderborg-Lyksborg.
List of Dukes
;Dukes of Augustenborg
*
Ernest Günther, (1647–1689)
*
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
(1689–1692), son
*
Ernest August (1692–1731), brother
*
Christian August (1731–1754), nephew
*
Frederik Christian I (1754–1794), son
*
Frederik Christian II (1794–1814), son
*
Christian August II (1814–1869), son
;Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein
*
Frederik VIII August (1863–1880), son
:Frederick proclaimed himself Duke of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
in 1863, but did not obtain sovereign possession.
*
Ernest Günther (1880–1921), son
*
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
(1921–1931), cousin
Like the kings of the earlier Oldenburg line, of which the House of Glücksburg is a
cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...
, monarchs of the Glücksburg dynasty in Denmark also bore the titles of Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein.
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
abandoned this tradition upon ascending the Danish throne in 1972.
References
External links
{{authority control
Danish nobility