He was a younger son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in a near-total dissolution of the Danish state.

[4][5] The magnates wanted a weak royal power, and Christopher was elected as king in January 1320;[1] in return he signed a contractual håndfæstning, the first time this kind of document was used as a coronation charter.

During the following years Christopher tried to strengthen his position by reviving Erik's policy of warfare against the duchies, counties, and cities of northern Germany.

Christopher was forced into abdication and exile, while the 12-year-old Duke Valdemar of Southern Jutland was made king of Denmark, with Count Gerhard as regent.

[11][12] Christopher was restored as Danish king in 1329–1330 with the cooperation of Count Johan, but this time he was reduced to the position of a puppet from the start.

In 1331 Christopher attempted to exploit a conflict between Counts Gerhard and Johan by joining the latter, but it ended in a clear military defeat at Dannevirke.

History's judgment of Christopher has been extremely hard, and he has often been regarded as a weak, unreliable and incapable tyrant— "the king who mortgaged Denmark to the Germans".

It would be incorrect to call him a passive ruler; the power of the Danish and German high nobility and their co-operation with church establishment undermined his freedom of action.

[7] With his wife, Euphemia of Pomerania, whom he wed before 1307: Illegitimate with a lady, who according to legend was of the noble family Lunge:[15] Media related to Christopher II of Denmark at Wikimedia Commons