Louise of Sweden
| Louise of Sweden | |
|---|---|
Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
Charles XV of Sweden | |
| Mother | Louise of the Netherlands |
| Signature |  |
Louise of Sweden (Swedish: Lovisa Josefina Eugenia; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the wife of King Frederick VIII.
Born into the
Louise was the mother of both King
Birth and family
Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway was born on 31 October 1851 at the
The following year Princess Louise's younger brother, the long-awaited
On 8 July 1859, when Princess Louise was seven years old, her grandfather King Oscar I died, and her father succeeded him as King of Sweden and Norway under the name of Charles XV. After his accession to the throne, her father made repeated attempts at obtaining a constitutional amendment which would recognize his daughter as heir presumptive to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.[6] These attempts were in vain, however, because after 1858, there was no longer any crisis of succession; Louise's uncle Prince Oscar became the father of several sons, beginning with the birth of the eldest in 1858, and the existence of males in the Bernadotte dynasty rendered action unnecessary.[6] The king could not secure support for a constitutional change which would disinherit his brother and nephews merely to satisfy his desire for his own progeny to ascend the throne; in any case, a daughter could make an advantageous marriage and become the queen of another realm, which is exactly what happened with Louise.[7]
Childhood and education
While her father often referred to her as "Sessan" (in English: "Sissy", a diminutive form of the title Princess), Louise herself made up the name "Stockholmsrännstensungen" ('Stockholm urchin'), and she often used that term in reference to herself. Her uncle, the future king
Louise was the center of society already as a child in Stockholm, where children's balls were arranged for her at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, which were considered as the most important part of the society children's social life and attended by among others her male cousins.[6] Her academic education was provided by her governess Hilda Elfving. In 1862, she and her mother became students of Nancy Edberg, the pioneer of swimming for women. The art of swimming was initially not regarded as being entirely proper for women, but when the Queen and her daughter supported it by attending the lessons, swimming was quickly made fashionable and became accepted for females.[8][9]
Engagement and marriage
Louise became the subject of speculations regarding her marriage early on. The most popular candidate was
Still, both parties had reservations about the proposed alliance. Charles XV was critical toward Christian IX, whose personal qualities he doubted, but he nevertheless wanted to see his daughter make an advantageous marriage and become the queen of Denmark. Also the Danish royal family had reservations about the alliance, as Princess Lovisa was no beauty, and her future mother-in-law, Queen Louise, feared that her personality did not fit into the Danish royal family. However, after the recent war with Germany, the marriage was preferred above a marriage to a German princess, which would have been the likely alternative.[10]
Louise and Frederick had been introduced to each other the first time in 1862, when the Princess was eleven and the Prince nineteen years old. However, Charles XV did not wish to force his beloved daughter into an arranged marriage, and therefore left the final decision entirely to her own taste.[6] On 14 April 1868, a meeting was arranged between Louise and Frederick at Bäckaskog Castle in Scania. As the matter was dependent upon whether Louise would like Frederick or not, the guests had not been informed about the purpose of the meeting. Except for Frederick, only the Danish King was present from the Danish royal family.[6] Upon meeting each other, both were apparently pleased, and Louise agreed to the marriage.[6][11] The couple were engaged on 15 June 1868 at Bäckaskog Castle.[12]
During the engagement in the winter of 1868–1869, Louise learned the
Crown Princess of Denmark
On 10 August 1869, the newlyweds made their entrance into
Due to the many children, Charlottenlund Palace was rebuilt to accommodate the large family, and in 1880-81 the palace was expanded with a dome and two side wings.
Louise had a difficult time during her long period as Crown Princess of Denmark, although she became very popular with the public. She was considered intelligent with an ability to act popularly and effortlessly at official functions, where she was described as majestic and impressive.[6] However, she became unpopular within the Danish court and royal family, and the marriage did not result in the desired improvement of the relationship between the Danish and Swedish royal houses. On the contrary, Louise experienced ostracism within the royal family, which was dominated by her mother-in-law, Queen Louise. She was not liked by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, and her husband was too timid to give her any support against his mother and sisters. Only with her youngest sister-in-law, Princess Thyra, did she have a good relationship. Her personality and frank nature did not fit in with the Danish royal court, where her cheeky straightforwardness could provoke consternation. On one occasion, when her mother-in-law saw her dressed in a Parisian evening gown and disapprovingly ordered her to change her hair style, Louise answered in the same informal way as she was used to in Sweden: “Take it easy, Pedersen!”. This incident caused Queen Louise to order her and Frederick to leave the country for three months.[6] Crown Princess Louise told Swedish visitor Fritz von Dardel that her mother-in-law tried to place her in the shadows even in ceremonial situations when her presence was required: on one occasion, the Queen had turned down a request from Uppsala University students to sing for the Crown Princess. When Dardel asked for the reason, Louise replied: "Out of jealousy, of course".[6]
The family lived a discreet life at Amalienborg Palace during the winter and Charlottenlund Palace during the summer. During the first years of her marriage, Louise often visited Sweden. She was present at the death of her mother in March 1871. At that time, she was given comfort by her uncle's spouse,
Frederick's lifestyle and adultery damaged his popularity and pained Louise.[6] In 1879, she visited her aunt, Queen Sophia of Sweden in Stockholm to ask for her advice; she was at this point described as distraught.[6] Queen Sophia then introduced her to Lord Radstock and Gustaf Emanuel Beskow.[6] From this point on, Louise reportedly found comfort in religion. She learned Greek, engaged in Bible studies and met Lord Radstock in Copenhagen in 1884.[6] She made friends with the Danish lady-in-waiting Wanda Oxholm, with whom she studied the Bible.[6] She was also interested in handcrafts such as leatherwork and painting.
Louise was described as a strict but caring parent, who gave her children a childhood dominated by religion and duty. Because of her inheritance from her maternal grandparents, the family lived well. It had long been known that she wished to see her daughter married back into the Swedish royal house, which happened when her daughter Princess Ingeborg married Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland in 1897.[6]
As Crown Princess, Louise was active in charitable and religion activities: she founded several charity organisations, among them the home «Bethania» and the «Kronprinsesse L.s Asyl» (Asylum of Crown Princess Louise), and formed a lifelong interest in
In 1905, Norway became independent from Sweden with Danish support, which caused tension between Denmark and Sweden, and she was saddened when this made it difficult for her to visit Sweden.
Constitutionally, Louise was unable to inherit the thrones of Sweden and Norway. Her father
Queen of Denmark and Queen Mother
Louise became Queen of Denmark in 1906. As Queen, she was mainly known for her many charity projects, an interest that she shared with her spouse. She did not care for ceremonial duties and public events, and lived a discreet life dedicated to her children and her interests in art, literature and charity.
Louise was widowed in 1912. Her eldest son
Legacy
Queen Louise was the 862nd Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa. Queen Louise Land in Northeast Greenland was named in her honour.[17]
Honours and arms
Honours
Danish honours
Denmark:[18]
- Commemorative Medal for the Golden Wedding of King Christian IX and Queen Louise, 1892
- Insignia of the Order of the Elephant, 31 October 1906
Foreign honours
Kingdom of Portugal: Dame of the Order of Queen Saint Isabel[18]
Kingdom of Prussia: Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Division[18]
Russian Empire: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Catherine[18]
Spain: Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 21 January 1886[19]
Arms
-
Marital arms of Queen Louise of Denmark
Issue
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Louise of Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Louise, 1724–51 Frederik V's Dronning". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ a b c Lager-Kromnow 1982–1984, p. 150.
- ^ "Lovisa – Lovisa Josephina Eugenia". Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ Holm, Nils F. (1982–1984). "Lovisa". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). 24: 148. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Berger, Ossian (1877). Om arfsrätten till Sverges och Norges riken (in Swedish). Uppsala: Berling. p. 29. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Anne-Marie Riiber (1959). Drottning Sophia. (Queen Sophia) Uppsala: J. A. Lindblads Förlag. page . ISBN (Swedish)
- ^ "Lovisa – Lovisa Josephina Eugenia". Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ J.N. (1890). "Nancy Edberg" (PDF). Idun. Praktisk Veckotidning för Kvinnan och Hemmat. (in Swedish). 3 (15 (121)). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ Rundquist, Angela (1989). "Blått blod och liljevita händer: en etnologisk studie av aristokratiska kvinnor 1850–1900" (in Swedish). Stockholm: Carlsson.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Lovisa (Louise)". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Kronpinsessaii Lovisa" (PDF). IDUN. 8 February 1889. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Thorsøe 1896, p. 401.
- ^ a b c d Thorsøe 1896, p. 402.
- ^ "Louise (Frederik VIII's Dronning)". Salmonsens konversationsleksikon (in Danish). Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ISBN 0-220-66222-3.. pp. 69–70.
- ^ Knud J.V. Jespersen. "Louise (Frederik 8.s dronning)". Den Store Danske, Gyldendal. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland". Geological Survey of Denmark. Retrieved 1 July 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1913) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1913 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1913] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via da:DIS Danmark.
- ^ "Real orden de Damas Nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1898. p. 176. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-8202225261
- Bramsen, Bo (1992). Huset Glücksborg. Europas svigerfader og hans efterslægt [The House of Glücksburg. The Father-in-law of Europe and his descendants] (in Danish) (2nd ed.). Copenhagen: Forlaget Forum. ISBN 87-553-1843-6.
- Lars Elgklou (1995) Familjen Bernadotte. En kunglig släktkrönika (Stockholm : Fischer) ISBN 9170547556
- Lerche, Anna; Mandal, Marcus (2003). A royal family : the story of Christian IX and his European descendants. Copenhagen: Aschehoug. ISBN 9788715109577.
- Kay Nielsen, Ib Askholm: (2007) Danmarks konger og dronninger (Hamlet) ISBN 9788773210376
- Rikke Agnete Olsen: (2005) Kongerækken (Lindhard & Ringhof) ISBN 87-595-2525-8
- Lager-Kromnow, Birgitta (1982–1984). "Lovisa (Louise)". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). 24: 150. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- Thorsøe, Alexander (1896). "Louise (L. Josephine Eugenie)". In Bricka, Carl Frederik (ed.). Dansk biografisk Lexikon, tillige omfattende Norge for tidsrummet 1537–1814 (in Danish). Vol. X (1st ed.). Copenhagen: Gyldendals forlag. pp. 401–402. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
External links
- Aage Friis Oscar II:s förhållande till Danmark och Nordslesvig
- Royal House of Sweden
- Royal House of Denmark
- Queen Lovisa at the website of the Royal Danish Collection at Amalienborg Palace
The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy by Frederick III in 1660. | ||
| 1st generation |  | |
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
| 6th generation | ||
| 7th generation | ||
| 8th generation | ||
| 9th generation |
| |
| 10th generation | ||
| 11th generation | ||
| 12th generation | ||
*also a princess of Greece by marriage ^also a Danish princess by birth §title lost due to divorce and subsequent remarriage | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
