Frederick IV | |
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Portrait by Rosalba Carriera, 1709
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King of Denmark and Norway (more...) | |
Reign | 25 August 1699 – 12 October 1730 |
Predecessor | Christian V |
Successor | Christian VI |
Born |
Copenhagen Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark |
11 October 1671
Died | 12 October 1730 Odense Palace |
(aged 59)
Burial | Roskilde Cathedral |
Spouse |
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg Anna Sophie Reventlow |
Issue |
Christian VI of Denmark Princess Charlotte Amalie |
House | House of Oldenburg |
Father | Christian V of Denmark |
Mother | Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel |
Signature |
Frederick IV (11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his consort Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel.
As crown prince, Frederick broadened his education by travelling in Europe, led by his chamberlain Ditlev Wibe. He was particularly impressed by the architecture in Italy and, on his return to Denmark, asked his father, Christian V, for permission to build a summer palace on Solbjerg, as the hill in Valby was then known, the future site of Frederiksberg Palace. The one-story building, probably designed by Ernst Brandenburger, was completed in 1703.
Frederick was allowed to choose his future wife from a number of Protestant royal daughters in northern Germany. In 1695, he visited the court of Gustav-Adolph in Güstrow. But his visit there was cut short by a message telling of his brother Christian's serious illness (he had, in fact, already died in Ulm). Frederick later returned to Güstrow, where he was forced to choose the eldest of the unmarried princesses. On 5 December 1695 at Copenhagen Castle, he married Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, herself a great-great-granddaughter of Frederick II of Denmark. The couple were crowned King and Queen of Denmark-Norway on 25 August 1699 in the Frederiksborg Chapel.