Christian (10 April 16032 June 1647) was Prince-Elect of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

from 1610 and

Heir Apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the

Throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

of the Kingdom of Norway from 1603. Dying in 1647, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Prince

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

Biography

Early life

Prince Christian was born at Copenhagen Castle to King Christian IV (1577–1648) and Queen Anne Catherine (1575–1612) of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, etc. Christian was their second son and the oldest one living, as his elder brother Frederik had died in 1599, less than a year old. As such, his father saw him as the preferable heir to the Danish throne. Denmark was an

elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by a monarch who is elected, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, ...

, where elective power was held by the Council of the Realm. However, the King would usually choose an heir and have him hailed as such, thus limiting the Council's freedom of choice. Whilst Norway was formally a

hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is ...

, making Christian Crown Prince since his birth, it remains likely that the next King of Denmark would not have been another person than the next King of Norway. In 1608, the Council and representatives of the Estates supported the King in naming Christian as heir apparent. He was publicly hailed in 1610, both in Denmark and Norway. Titled ''Tugtmester'', Niels Jørgensen Æryleus (1610–1617) and

Jesper Brochmand Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand (5 August 1585 - 19 April 1652) was a Danish Lutheran clergyman, theologian and professor who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Zealand from 1638 until his death. Brochmand was a key founder of the dogmatic system th ...

(1617–1620) were responsible for educating the Prince. Leading the principal court, Christian Friis til Kragerup was ''Hofmester'' (1615–1616), succeeded by Christian Thomesen Sehested in 1616.

Career and marriage

In 1625, Denmark-Norway ventured into the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The Danish Intervention saw the war entering its second main phase, after the end of the

Bohemian Revolt The Bohemian Revolt (; ; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian Estates of the realm, estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both religious and power dispu ...

. With King Christian IV commanding on the battlefield, Prince Christian was installed as acting head of government. Christian held this post to 1627, but not without entering the battlefield in the meantime. He was even hit by two gunshots in November 1626. In 1627 he was sent to

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

near the frontier, where he took seat in

Segeberg Segeberg (; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ostholstein and St ...

. He later retreated to

when enemy troops overran

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, as the Danish Intervention failed. During this process he even broke a leg after a fall from a wagon. In 1626, his relationship with the noble Anne Lykke caused a conflict with his father and the Council of the Realm when his father arrested Lykke because of her influence on him and tried to have her charged with sorcery. In 1628, Christian received the

fief A fief (; ) 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 overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of Malmøhus. In January 1632, he was appointed Governor-General of the Danish parts of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

and

. He also received Laaland and

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

. In 1633, Christian was engaged to Magdalene Sibylle, daughter of Elector John George I of Saxony; the marriage had been discussed as early as 1630. The wedding took place on 5 October 1634 in Copenhagen among great festivities. The marriage was childless, and they resided at Nykøbing Castle in Falster. Christian was not much involved on the political scene in this phase of his life, partly to his own dismay, but he did act as head of government in 1644, when the King was absent due to the

Torstenson War The Torstenson War was fought between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645. The name derives from Swedish general Lennart Torstenson. Denmark-Norway had withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War in the 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. After its vic ...

. In the autumn of 1644, Prince Christian had a stay in the fortified Malmø, but Swedish forces threatened the city, and Christian retreated, first to Copenhagen due to illness, then to Falster.

Later life and legacy

Christian gained a reputation as lazy and as a drinker.Christian the Prince Elect
/ref> He was heavily indebted; despite his father's attempts to pay some of Christian's debts, he still owed more than 215,000 rigsdaler in 1647. Among others, he took a loan from the Duke of Gottorp in 1646 in order to finance a stay in a Bohemian spa. He left Nykøbing for Bohemia on 8 May 1647. He reached Dresden on 28 May, and continued on 1 June. Not long after leaving he was struck by a fit of illness. He was brought to a castle in

Gorbitz Gorbitz is an area in south-west Dresden, Germany. It is part of the '' Stadtbezirk'' Cotta, and is subdivided into three ''Stadtteile'': Gorbitz-Nord/Neu-Omsewitz, Gorbitz-Ost and Gorbitz-Sud. Gorbitz is the largest Plattenbau area of Dresden, ...

near Dresden, where he died on the next day. He was buried on 8 November 1647 in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen. In 1655, his remains were moved to the tombs at

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is one of the most important churches in D ...

Ancestry

References

External links

Christian the Prince Elect
at the website of the Royal Danish Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Prince Elect Of Denmark 1603 births 1647 deaths Children of Christian IV of Denmark Princes from Denmark–Norway Danish people of the Thirty Years' War Danish heirs apparent who never acceded Norwegian heirs apparent who never acceded Burials at Roskilde Cathedral Sons of kings Sons of dukes