Prince Gustav of Denmark (Christian Frederik Vilhelm Valdemar Gustav; 4 March 1887 – 5 October 1944) was a member of the

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...

. He was the fourth and youngest son and seventh child of King Frederick VIII and Queen Louise.

Early life

Prince Gustav was born on 4 March 1887 at his parents' country residence, the

Charlottenlund Palace Charlottenlund Palace ( da, Charlottenlund Slot) is a former royal summer residence in Charlottenlund, some north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The palace was named after Princess Charlotte Amalie, who was responsible for the construction of th ...

north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, during the reign of his paternal grandfather,

King Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

. He was the seventh child and fourth son of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and his wife

Louise of Sweden Louise Josephine Eugenie of Sweden ( sv, Lovisa Josefina Eugenia; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the spouse of King Frederick VIII. Born into the House of Bernadotte, Louise was the only surviv ...

. His father was the eldest son of

and

Louise of Hesse-Kassel da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie , succession = Queen consort of Denmark , image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg , reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 , spouse = , issue = , house = ...

, and his mother was the only daughter of King Charles XV of Sweden and Norway and

Louise of the Netherlands Louise of the Netherlands (Wilhelmina Frederika Alexandrine Anna Louise; 5 August 1828 – 30 March 1871) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 July 1859 until her death in 1871 as the wife of King Charles XV & IV. Youth Princess Louise was bor ...

. He was baptised with the names ''Christian Frederik Wilhelm Valdemar Gustav'', and was known as Prince Gustav. August Jerndorff - Kronprinsesse Louise med Prins Gustav i Slotsparken

August Jerndorff - Kronprinsesse Louise med Prins Gustav i Slotsparken

Prince Gustav was raised with his siblings in the royal household in Denmark and grew up between his parents' residence in

, the Frederick VIII's Palace at the

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

complex, and their country retreat, the

, located by the coastline of the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

strait north of the city. Prince Gustav remained unmarried and had no children.

Later life

On 2 February 1935 in the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

in Copenhagen he was, together with his cousin

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (russian: О́льга Алекса́ндровна; – 24 November 1960) was the youngest child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and younger sister of Emperor Nicholas II. Olga was raised at the ...

and her husband

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Nikolai Kulikovsky Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky (5 November 1881 – 11 August 1958) was the second husband of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, the sister of Tsar Nicholas II and daughter of Tsar Alexander III. He was born into a military landowning f ...

, a godparent at the christening of Aleksander Schalburg, son of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the Royal Danish Life Guards

Christian Frederik von Schalburg Christian Frederik von Schalburg (15 April 1906 – 2 June 1942) was a Danish army officer, the second commander of Free Corps Denmark and brother of Vera Schalburg. Biography Christian Frederik von Schalburg was born in Zmeinogorsk, Tomskaja Gub ...

. Prince Gustav died on 5 October 1944 at his estate Egelund House north of

in North Zealand,

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Title, style and honours

Title and style

*4 March 1887 – 5 October 1944: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Gustav of Denmark

Honours

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* 1887 births 1944 deaths House of Glücksburg (Denmark) Danish princes Sons of kings Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Prince Gustav of Denmark Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Burials at Roskilde Cathedral {{europe-royal-stub