Coronation of the Danish monarch explained

The coronation of the Danish monarch was a religious ceremony in which the accession of the Danish monarch was marked by a coronation ceremony. It was held in various forms from 1170 to 1840, mostly in Lund Cathedral in Lund, St. Mary's Cathedral in Copenhagen and in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød.

Enthronements of the Danish monarch may be historically divided into three distinct types of rituals: the medieval coronation, which existed during the period of elective monarchy; the anointing ritual, which replaced coronation with the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660; and finally the simple proclamation, which has been used since the introduction of the constitutional monarchy in 1849.

Coronations of the elective monarchy

Historically an elective monarchy, the Danish kings had been elected and acclaimed at the Thing assemblies; this continued even after the tradition of coronations began. Ultimately, the acclamation rite only ceased with the introduction of hereditary monarchy in 1660, the 1657 acclamation of crown prince Christian (the later Christian V of Denmark) being the last occasion. The first coronation in Scandinavia took place in Bergen in Norway in 1163 or 1164. The first coronation in Denmark was that of Canute VI in St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted in 1170. The only Danish kings between 1170 and 1448 to not be crowned were Valdemar III, Valdemar IV, and Olaf II.[1]

The medieval monarchs used various locations for their coronations, with Lund Cathedral in Lund, the archepiscopal seat of Denmark, being the most preferred. Other locations include Viborg, Vordingborg, Kalmar and Ribe. After the accession of the House of Oldenburg to the Danish throne in 1448, the coronations were held in St. Mary's Cathedral in Copenhagen, and usually performed by the Bishop of Zealand.

The coronation ritual (as of 1537) began with a procession of the ruler and his consort into St. Mary's cathedral in Copenhagen, followed by the Danish Crown Regalia. The monarch was seated before the altar, where he swore to govern justly, preserve the Lutheran religion, support schools, and help the poor. Following this, the king was anointed on the lower right arm and between the shoulders, but not on the head. Then the royal couple retired to a tented enclosure where they were robed in royal attire, returning to hear a sermon, the Kyrie and Gloria, and then a prayer and the Epistle reading.

Following the Epistle, the king knelt before the altar, where he was first given a sword. After flourishing and sheathing it, the still-kneeling monarch was crowned by the clergy and nobility, who jointly placed the diadem upon their ruler's head. The sceptre and orb were presented, then returned to attendants. The queen was anointed and crowned in a similar manner, but she received only a sceptre and not an orb. Finally, a choral hymn was sung, following which the newly crowned king and queen listened to a second sermon and the reading of the Gospel, which brought the service to an end.[2]

Anointings of the absolute monarchy

With the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660, the full coronation ritual was replaced with a ceremony of anointing, where the new king would arrive at the coronation site already wearing the crown, where he was then anointed.

The anointings were held in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød, with the exception of the 1767 anointing of King Christian VII which was held in the chapel of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.

Proclamations of the constitutional monarchy

This rite was in turn abolished with the introduction of the Danish constitution in 1849. Today the crown of Denmark is only displayed at the monarch's funeral, when it sits atop their coffin. The present king, Frederik X, did not have any formal enthronement service; a public announcement of his accession was made from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, with the new sovereign being proclaimed by his prime minister at the time, Mette Frederiksen, then cheered with a ninefold "hurrah" by the crowds below.[3] [4]

Historical list of coronations

Coronations

width=10% Datewidth=10% Sitewidth=10% Picturewidth=25% Namewidth=25% Reignwidth=20% Other regnal titleswidth=5% Ref
25 June 1170 25 June 1170 – 12 November 1202 [5]
1202 1202–1241
1218 1215–1231
30 May 1232 Lund Cathedral 1232–1250
1 November 1250 Unknown 1250–1252
25 December 1252 Lund Cathedral 1252–1259
25 December 1259 1259–1286
25 December 1287 Lund Cathedral 1286–1319
15 August 1324 For Christopher II: 1320 – 1326; 1329 – 2 August 1332
For Eric: 1321–1326; 1329–1332
17 June 1397StorkyrkanEric VII1396 – 24 September 1439
1 January 1443Ribe CathedralChristopher III
with Dorothea of Brandenburg		9 April 1440 – 5 January 1448
28 October 1449St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenChristian I
with Dorothea of Brandenburg		1 September 1448 – 21 May 1481King of Norway
King of Sweden
18 May 1483St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenJohn
with Christina of Saxony		21 May 1481 – 20 February 1513King of Norway
King of Sweden
11 June 1514St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenChristian II
with Isabella of Austria		20 February 1513 – 13 April 1523King of Norway
King of Sweden
7 August 1524St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenFrederick I
with Sophie of Pomerania		13 April 1523 – 10 April 1533Elected King of Norway
12 August 1537St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenChristian III
with Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg		4 July 1534 – 1 January 1559King of Norway
20 August 1559St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenFrederick II
with Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow		1 January 1559 – 4 April 1588King of Norway
29 August 1596St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenChristian IV
with Anne Catherine of Brandenburg		4 April 1588 – 28 February 1648King of Norway
23 November 1648St. Mary's Cathedral, CopenhagenFrederick III
with Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg		28 February 1648 – 9 February 1670King of Norway

Anointings (1660–1849)

width=10% Datewidth=10% Sitewidth=10% Picturewidth=25% Namewidth=25% Reignwidth=20% Other regnal titles
7 June 1671Frederiksborg Palace ChapelChristian V9 February 1670 – 25 August 1699King of Norway
15 April 1700Frederiksborg Palace ChapelFrederick IV25 August 1699 – 12 October 1730King of Norway
6 June 1731Frederiksborg Palace ChapelChristian VI12 October 1730 – 6 August 1746King of Norway
4 September 1747Frederiksborg Palace ChapelFrederick V
with Louise of Great Britain		6 August 1746 – 14 January 1766King of Norway
1 May 1767Christiansborg Palace ChapelChristian VII
with Caroline Matilda of Great Britain		14 January 1766 – 13 March 1808King of Norway
31 July 1815Frederiksborg Palace ChapelFrederick VI
with Marie of Hesse-Kassel		13 March 1808 – 3 December 1839King of Norway
28 June 1840Frederiksborg Palace ChapelChristian VIII
with Caroline Amalie of Augustenburg		3 December 1839 – 20 January 1848King of Norway
(prior of being king of Denmark)

Proclamations (1849-present)

width=10% Datewidth=10% Sitewidth=10% Picturewidth=25% Namewidth=25% Reignwidth=25% Prime Minister
16 November 1863Christiansborg PalaceChristian IX15 November 1863 – 29 January 1906Carl Christian Hall
30 January 1906Amalienborg PalaceFrederick VIII29 January 1906 – 14 May 1912Jens Christian Christensen
15 May 1912Christian X14 May 1912 – 20 April 1947Klaus Berntsen
20 April 1947Christiansborg PalaceFrederik IX20 April 1947 – 14 January 1972Knud Kristensen
15 January 1972Margrethe II14 January 1972 – 14 January 2024Jens Otto Krag
14 January 2024Frederik X14 January 2024 – presentMette Frederiksen

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Bak . János M. . Coronations: Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual . 1990 . University of California Press . Berkeley, CA . 978-0-520-06677-9 . 131–137 . en.
  2. Hoffmann (1990)
  3. Web site: Dronning Margrethe av Danmark går av . Queen Margrethe of Denmark abdicates . Silja Björklund . Einarsdóttir . 31 December 2023 . NRK.
  4. Web site: 2023-12-31 . Missede du det store øjeblik? Se hele dronning Margrethes tale her . Did you miss the big moment? See Queen Margrethe's entire speech here . 2023-12-31 . DR . da-DK.
  5. Book: Bak . János M. . Coronations: Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual . 1990 . University of California Press . Berkeley, CA . 978-0-520-06677-9 . 131–137 . en.

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