Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/852

Rh DENMARK.

Reigning King.

Christian X., born September 26, 1870; son of King Frederik VIII. and Queen Louisa; married April 26, 1898, to Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg; succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, May 14, 1912.

I. Prince Christian Frederik, born March 11, 1899.

II. Prince Knud, born July 27, 1900.

I. Prince Karl, born August 3, 1872; elected King of Norway, under the title of Haakon VII., November 1905; married. July 22, 1896, to Princess Maud Alexandra of Great Britain; offspring Prince Alexander (now Crown Prince Olav of Norway), born July 2, 1903.

II. Prince Harald, born October 8, 1876; married April 28, 1909, to Princess Helena of Sonderborg-Glücksborg; offspring Princess Feodora, born July 1, 1910; Princess Caroline Mathilde, born April 27, 1912; Princess Alexandrine Louise, born December 12, 1914.

III. Princess Ingeborg, born August 2, 1878; married August 27, 1897, to Prince Charles of Sweden

IV. Princess Thyra, born March 14, 1880.

V. Prince Gustav, born March 4. 1887.

VI. Princess Dagmar, born May 23, 1890.

The crown of Denmark was elective from the earliest times. In 1448, after the death of the last male scion of the Princely House of Svend Estridsen the Danish Diet elected to the throne Christian I., Count of Oldenburg, in whose family the royal dignity remained for more than four centuries, although the crown was not rendered hereditary by right till the year 1660. The direct male line of the House of Oldenburg became extinct with the sixteenth king, Frederik VII., on November 15. 1863. In view of the death of the king without direct heirs, the Great Towers of Europe, 'taking into consideration that the maintenance of the integrity of the Danish Monarchy, as connected with the general interests of the balance of power in Europe, is of high importance to the preservation of peace,' signed a treaty at London on May 8, 1852, by the terms of which the succession to the crown of Denmark was made over to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and to the direct male descendants of his union with the Princes Louise of Hesse Cassel, niece of King Christian VIII. of Denmark. In accordance with this treaty, a law concerning the succession to the Danish crown was adopted by the Diet, and obtained the royal sanction July 31, 1853.

King Christian X. has a civil list of 1,000,000 kroner. Annuities to other members of the royal house amount to 222,000 kroner.

Subjoined is a list of the Kings of Denmark, with the dates of their accession, from the time of election of Christian I. of Oldenburg:—