Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark

Christian (10 April 16032 June 1647) was prince-elect of Denmark from 1610 and heir apparent to the throne of Norway from 1603. Because he died before his father, King Christian IV, the throne passed instead to his brother, King Frederick III.

Biography The Crown Prince of Norway and his mother, Queen Anne Catherine.

Early life 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 heir apparent since his birth, it remained 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. 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 to Norway when enemy troops overran Jutland, as the Danish Intervention failed. During this process he even broke a leg after a fall from a wagon. 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 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.