1660 state of emergency in Denmark

However, the political situation surrounding his election was tense, and following a brief period of interregnum he had to offer several concessions to the riksråd in return for their vote.

These concessions meant that Frederik had limited use of his powers early in his reign, until the late 1650s when, using some clever political manoeuvering, the young king was able to oust two of his primary rivals from the council: Hannibal Sehested in 1651 over mismanagement of funds as the Governor-general of Norway,[2] and Corfitz Ulfeldt in 1657 over treasonous conduct in helping Sweden during the Dano-Swedish War (1657–58).

[4] He saw this as a distinct opportunity, and with his power in the Riksråd secured, he was able to convince them on 23 February 1657 to grant significant subsidies for a mass military mobilisation for a strike on Sweden while their army was overseas in Poland.

The situation seemed dire, but impressively the Danish-Norwegian king made a name for himself by dismissing advice given to him by the council to flee the city, famously insisting "Jeg vil dø i min rede", or "I will die in my nest".

[4] It was during this siege that the king worked with and struck up a personal friendship with the merchantman Hans Nansen, who also took a hand in the defence and spent much of his own money to assist in the equipping of the garrison, making him also popular.

The three estates were represented as follows: The nobility were attempting to defend their traditional tax exemptions but were surprised by the fierce opposition from the clergy and the burghers.

The nobles dug their feet in and refused to concede any ground, which irritated the leaders of the other two factions to the extent that at a hint from the king Hans Nansen, senior burgomaster of Copenhagen, made an impassioned speech to the other burgesses about a revolutionary proposal for a fundamental restructuring of the Danish state, calling for the abolition of Frederick's election charter, the Haandfæstning, as well as introducing a permanent hereditary monarchy (as Norway had been since 1537) and the abolition of all noble privileges in the form of tax exemptions and land grants.

On the evening of 20 October Frederick made it publicly known that he intended to accept the offer without the position of the council, and placed Copenhagen under martial law, as well as tightened military control across the country.

The Riksråd council was unpopular, and with the military acting on the side of the king they were completely outmanoeuvered and decided to yield under this extreme pressure.

A Commission was established, in which nobles were heavily outnumbered, to consider the constitutional implications, and on 27 October, Frederik's coronation charter ( Haandfæstning ) was ceremoniously returned to him.