Frederick IX of Denmark

Frederick IX King of Denmark, the Vends and the Goths Reign 20 April 1947- 14 January 1972Born 11 March 1899(1899-03-11) Birthplace Sorgenfri Palace Died 14 January 1972(aged 72) Place of death CopenhagenBuried Roskilde CathedralPredecessor Christian XSuccessor Margrethe IIConsort Ingrid of SwedenIssue Margrethe II, Benedikte, Anne-MarieRoyal House House of GlücksburgRoyal motto Med Gud for Danmark
(With God for Denmark) Father Christian XMother Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Danish Royalty
House of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch)
Christian IXChildren Frederick VIII Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom George I of Greece(formerly William) Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia(formerly Dagmar) Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale Prince Valdemar Frederick VIIIChildren Christian X Haakon VII of Norway(formerly Charles) Princess Louise Prince Harald Ingeborg, Duchess of Västergötland Princess Thyra Prince Gustav Princess Dagmar Christian XChildren Frederick IX Hereditary Prince KnudGrandchildren Princess ElisabethFrederick IX Children Margrethe II Princess Benedikte Anne-Marie, Queen of Greece Margrethe IIChildren
(paternally Laborde of Monpezat) Crown Prince Frederik Prince JoachimGrandchildren Prince Christian Princess Isabella Prince Nikolai Prince Felix

Frederick IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg) (11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 20 April 1947 until his death.

He was the son of King Christian X of Denmark and Queen Alexandrine, born Duchess of Mecklenburg.

Frederick was educated at the Danish Naval Academy (breaking Danish royal tradition by choosing a naval instead of an army career) and the University of Copenhagen. Before he became king, he had acquired the rank of Rear Admiral and he had had several senior commands on active service. In addition, with his great love of music, the king was an able piano player and conductor.

Frederick's reign saw great change. During these years, Danish society shook off the restrictions of an agricultural society and developed a welfare state. And, as a consequence of the booming economy of the 1960s, women entered the labour market. In other words, Denmark became a modern country, which meant new demands on the monarchy. In 1922, Frederick was engaged to Princess Olga of Greece, his cousin and the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece; however they never wed.

Instead, he married Princess Ingrid of Sweden (1910-2000, daughter of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf, later King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden) on 24 May 1935. They were related in several ways. In descent from Oscar I of Sweden, they were third cousins. In descent from Paul I of Russia, Frederick was a fourth cousin of Ingrid's mother. They had three daughters:

Princess Margrethe (born 1940), later Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Married French Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who was created Prince Henrik of Denmark, in 1967.
Princess Benedikte (born 1944). Married Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968.
Princess Anne-Marie (born 1946). Married King Constantine II of the Hellenes in 1964.

When he had no sons, it was expected that his younger brother Knud would inherit the throne, in accordance with Denmark's succession law (Royal Ordinance of 1853). However, in 1953, an Act of Succession was passed, changing the method of succession to cognatic primogeniture, meaning that his eldest daughter, Margrethe, could succeed if he had no sons, which she did, as Queen Margrethe II.

Shortly after the king had delivered his New Year's Address to the Nation at the 1971/72 turn of the year, he fell ill. On his passing in 1972, King Frederick IX was buried outside Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen. Previous rulers had been interred in the cathedral, but it was the king's wish to be buried outside.