Christian, Prince Elect of Denmark
| Christian | |
|---|---|
| Prince Elect of Denmark Crown Prince of Norway |
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Portrait by Karel van Mander III, 1642
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| Born |
10 April 1603 Copenhagen Castle |
| Died | 2 June 1647 (aged 44) Gorbitz Castle |
| Burial | Roskilde Cathedral (1655) |
| Spouse | Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony |
| House | House of Oldenburg |
| Father | Christian IV of Denmark |
| Mother | Anne Catherine of Brandenburg |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Christian (10 April 1603 – 2 June 1647) was Prince-Elect of Denmark since 1610 and Heir Apparent to the Throne of the Kingdom of Norway since 1603. Dying in 1647, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Prince Frederik.
Prince Christian was born at Copenhagen Castle to King Christian IV (1577–1648) and Queen Anne Catherine (1575–1612) of Denmark, Norway, 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, 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, making Christian Crown Prince since his birth, it remains likely that the next King of Norway would not have been another person than the next King of Denmark. 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 (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.
In 1625, Denmark ventured into the Thirty Years' War. The Danish Intervention saw the war entering its second main phase, after the end of the Bohemian Revolt. 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 near the frontier, where he took seat in Segeberg. He later retreated when enemy troops overran South Denmark and Jutland, 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.
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