Louise of Sweden (Swedish: Lovisa Josefina Eugenia; Danish: Louise Josephine Eugenie; Stockholm, 31 October 1851 – Amalienborg Palace, 20 March 1926) was Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Frederick VIII of Denmark. She was the only daughter of King Charles XV of Sweden (1826–1872) and Louise of the Netherlands (1828–1871).

[edit] Biography

Louise had a happy childhood. After the death of her brother in 1854, her father treated her like a boy and let her grow up as one, and she was therefore allowed to develop much less restrained than most girls of her time, becoming a confident, natural and happy person. This somewhat worried her mother, Queen Louise, herself very eager to behave according to the feminine ideal of the time. But her father once lovingly said about her : "She's an ugly devil, but she's funny!", and treated her with the same gruff affectionate manners as he would have with a son. She called herself "The Stockholm urchin", something her uncle, the future king Oscar II found shocking and tried to stop her from using, while the public referred to her as "Sessan" (in English: "(Princ)ess").

There were several discussions about making Louise the heir to the throne of Sweden and Norway, as her mother could not have any more children and she was the only surviving child. But although Sweden had previously had female monarchs, and approval of female succession was declared in 1604, provision had not been made for it in the new constitution of 1809. Louise's succession would have required a change in the law, as would also have been necessary regarding the throne of Norway, which did not have female succession. The matter became moot when Louise's uncle, her father's brother, had his first son in 1858.

Louise married Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark (1843–1912) in Stockholm on 28 July 1869. The wedding was celebrated with great pomp and splendor at a time when Sweden was in a state of famine, and the princess's dowry consisted of things manufactured in Sweden, to benefit the Swedish economy. The marriage was suggested as a way of creating friendship between Denmark and Sweden. The two countries were in a tense situation after Sweden had not assisted Denmark during the war with Germany in 1863. Louise and Frederick met for the first time in 1862, but in 1868, Frederick was invited to Sweden to get to know Louise, and their meeting was described as a success. The same year, they were engaged. In Denmark, a Swedish princess was much preferred over a German princess after the recent war with Germany. The marriage was welcomed by all three countries as a symbol of the new Scandinavism. She was the first Swedish princess to be married in to the Danish royal house since the Middle Ages.

In Denmark, the marriage was popular among the public, and although she was unpopular within the royal family, Louise became quite popular among the public during her long time as Crown Princess, and contiuned to be so as Queen. She was described as friendly, natural and informal. The marriage was not a happy one, nor did it have any affect on the relationship between the two countries. Louise did not have a good relationship with her husband's family, especially not with her mother-in-law and her sister-in-laws, and she received no support from her spouse.

As the years passed by, her personality changed. She became more reserved and firm, and her husband's infidelity caused her to have a greater interest in religion.^{[says who?]} She took personal care of her children's upbringing, and raised them very strictly, much unlike her own free upbringing. Her only pleasure^{[says who?]} was her visits to her old home-country, Sweden, where she visited her old family and friends. She was often in Sweden, already in the early years, such as in 1871 and in 1872, being present and both her parent's death. She became known as strict and religious. She founded various charity organisations, such as «Bethania» and «Kronprinsesse L.s Asyl». She was also interested in handicrafts, such as leather work and painting.

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. She became Queen of Denmark in 1906. As a Queen, she is mainly known for her many charity projects, an interest which 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. She was widowed in 1912. She died in 1926.

[edit] Issue

She eventually became Queen of Denmark in 1906 as Frederik's consort. The couple had 8 children, four sons and four daughters:

1. Crown Prince Christian of Denmark (1870–1947), later King Christian X of Denmark. He married Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1898 and had issue.
2. Prince Carl of Denmark (1872–1957), later King Haakon VII of Norway. He married Princess Maud of Wales in 1896 and had issue.
3. Princess Louise of Denmark (1875–1906). She married Prince Frederick of Schaumburg-Lippe in 1896 and had issue.
4. Prince Harald of Denmark (1876–1949). He married Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in 1909 and had issue.
5. Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (1878–1958). She married Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway in 1897 and had issue.
6. Princess Thyra of Denmark (1880–1945). No issue.
7. Prince Gustav of Denmark (1887–1944). No issue.
8. Princess Dagmar of Denmark (1890–1961). She married Jørgen Castenskiold and had issue.

Queen Louise was the 862nd Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa.

As tradition precluded the succession of a woman to the thrones of Sweden and Norway, Louise could not inherit them. Her father Charles XV was succeeded by his brother Oscar II. By a twist of fate, Louise's son, Prince Carl, did, in fact, eventually became King of Norway. He was elected to succeed her uncle to the Norwegian throne as a result of Norway's independence from Sweden in 1905.

Queen Louise died at Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, in 1926 and is interred next to her husband in Roskilde Cathedral.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] References

• Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2004): "Folket – Haakon & Maud II" (in Norwegian)
• Lars Elgklou: "Familjen Bernadotte. En kunglig släktkrönika" (The Bernadotte family. A royal family chronicle) (In Swedish)
• Aage Friis Oscar II:s förhållande till Danmark och Nordslesvig. Publicerad i Stig Hadenius (red.) Historia kring Oscar II, Wahlström & Widstrand 1963. Översatt av Clara Nevéus. ISBN 9968-04-651-5 (In Swedish)
• http://runeberg.org/dbl/10/0403.html (in Danish)
• http://runeberg.org/sbh/b0095.html (in Swedish)
• http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_historie/Danmark_1849-1945/Louise (in Danish)
• http://www.gravsted.dk/person.php?navn=dronninglouise (in Danish)
• http://runeberg.org/salmonsen/2/15/1083.html (in Danish)
• Kay Nielsen, Ib Askholm: Danmarks Kongelige Familjer och 1000 år, 2007, ISBN 978-87-91679-09-4
• Rikke Agnete Olsen: Kongerækken , Kopenhaga 2005, ISBN 87-595-2525-8 Rikke Agnete Olsen: Kongerækken, Köpenhamn 2005, ISBN 87-595-2525-8

[edit] External links

• Royal House of Sweden
• Royal House of Denmark