Frederik VII: The Giver of the Constitution

by Jens Gunni Busck, Peter Sean Woltemade, Birgit Jenvold (Editor)

Frederik VII ruled Denmark from 1848 until 1863. In 1849 he introduced Denmark's first constitution. Despite his great weaknesses as a ruler, he is one of the most remarkable figures among the Danish monarchs. He was an odd individual with a rather unstable temperament, and in many ways he was a black sheep within the royal family. In particular, Frederik VII provoked people with his marriage to Countess Danner, but at the same time he added a completely new popular dimension to the monarchy. Frederik VII had a sense of the mood of the people that enabled him to become something as paradoxical as a royal icon of democracy in Denmark.

This book is part of the Crown Series , a series of small books on the Danish monarchy and related subjects published in cooperation with the Royal Danish Collection.

60 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2017

Reviews

[David Dunlap · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting fellow was Frederik VII: he had no real interest in becoming king and ruling Denmark. He was the black sheep in his family -- overindulging in alcohol, ruining two marriages, pursuing the ladies, lying at every opportunity. Yet he became the darling of his subjects by giving them a more liberal constitution (a project initiated by his father Christian VIII) and stepping down as an absolute monarch. He had the common touch; he was well aware of his limitations; and he demonstrated a remarkable modesty. His reign was not a success from an impartial point of view -- some of his actions inflamed sectional rifts that were appearing in Denmark, especially with respect to Schleswig and Holstein, and his morganatic third marriage to a commoner (who had been a dancer, and the mistress of one of his closest friends) turned proper Danish society against him, but there are numerous statues dedicated to him across the country, which surely is success of a kind. -- Another short overview that is perhaps lacking the final details that would make Frederik spring to life on the page, but I enjoyed reading this profile of a remarkable -- albeit flawed -- man.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This hard-cover booklet contains 59 pages, so it's not in-depth, but it's main pro is that this is a book about Danish King Frederik VII in the English language. The book also has a lot of nice pictures.

Frederik was not a nice man to his first two dynastic brides, whom he neglected, and both marriages ended in divorce. He finally married his great love who may have been a kind of mother-substitute.

As the author indicates, Frederik VII was lucky in the dates he ascended the throne and the day he died. If he ascended earlier, or died later, he may have been judged entirely differently. That he became "The Giver of the Constitution" also had to do with Frederik just not being interested in reigning himself.