Christian X of Denmark

King of Denmark

26 September 1870 Charlottenlund Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark

20 April 1947(1947-04-20) (76) Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark

NamesChristian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm

King of Denmark Christian XChristian X by Peter ElfeltKing of Denmark (more...) Reign14 May 1912 – 20 April 1947PredecessorFrederick VIIISuccessorFrederick IXPrime Ministers See list Carl Theodor Zahle Otto Liebe Michael Pedersen Friis Niels Neergaard Thorvald Stauning Thomas Madsen-Mygdal Vilhelm Buhl Erik Scavenius Knud Kristensen King of IcelandReign1 December 1918 – 17 June 1944PredecessorPosition createdSuccessorMonarchy abolished Sveinn Björnsson as President of Iceland Prime Ministers See list Jón Magnússon Sigurður Eggerz Magnús Guðmundsson Jón Þorláksson Tryggvi Þórhallsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Hermann Jónasson Ólafur Thors Björn Þórðarson Born(1870-09-26 ) 26 September 1870 Charlottenlund Palace, Copenhagen, DenmarkDied20 April 1947(1947-04-20) (aged 76) Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, DenmarkBurialRoskilde Cathedral, Roskilde, DenmarkSpouseAlexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin ​ ​(m. 1898 )​Issue Frederick IX of Denmark Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark HouseGlücksburgFatherFrederick VIII of DenmarkMotherLouise of SwedenReligionLutheranSignature Christian X (Danish: Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947, and the only King of Iceland (as Kristján X) between 1918 and 1944. He was a member of the House of Glücksburg, a branch of the House of Oldenburg, and the first monarch since King Frederick VII born into the Danish royal family; both his father and his grandfather were born as princes of a ducal family from Schleswig. Among his siblings was King Haakon VII of Norway. His son became Frederick IX of Denmark. His character has been described as authoritarian and he strongly stressed the importance of royal dignity and power. His reluctance to fully embrace democracy resulted in the Easter Crisis of 1920, in which he dismissed the democratically elected Social Liberal cabinet with which he disagreed, and installed one of his own choosing. This was in accordance with the letter of the constitution, but the principle of parliamentarianism had been considered a constitutional custom since 1901. Faced with mass demonstrations, a general strike organized by the Social Democrats and the risk of the monarchy being overthrown he was forced to accept that a monarch could not keep a government in office against the will of parliament, as well as his reduced role as a symbolic head of state. During the German occupation of Denmark, Christian become a popular symbol of resistance, particularly because of the symbolic value of the fact that he rode every day through the streets of Copenhagen unaccompanied by guards. With a reign spanning two world wars, and his role as a rallying symbol for Danish national sentiment during the German occupation, he became one of the most popular Danish monarchs of modern times. King Christian X was known to parade through town on his horse, Jubilee.