Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

In 1842, prior to becoming King of Denmark, Christian married Louise, whose familial connections allowed him to secure his status as the heir-presumptive to the Danish throne in 1852.

Christian and Louise had three sons and three daughters together, and the couple actively involved themselves in their children's education because of their limited finances.

After the commencement of Christian's reign as King of Denmark, his popularity gradually improved among his subjects, partially because of Louise's efforts to marry their children with members of royal families across Europe, including their daughter Princess Alexandra with Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and their daughter Princess Dagmar with Alexander, Tsarevich of Russia (later Alexander III).

For example, Christian and Louise's grandsons Constantine I, Nicholas II, and George V reigned over Greece, Russia, and the United Kingdom, respectively.

Moreover, Louise was instrumental in marrying her children across European royalty, which helped increase her husband's popularity among the Danish people.

[2][3][4] King Christian IX, together with Queen Louise, had six children: Frederick, Alexandra, George, Dagmar, Thyra, and Valdemar.

[3] Because of the strained finances and limited fortunes that Christian and Louise had before 1852, they were actively involved in the education of Dagmar and her siblings during that time.

[7] Later, from 1875 to 1900, Christian and Louise would annually welcome their children and grandchildren across six different European royal houses at Fredensborg Palace in Denmark.

[10] Furthermore, Christian had reservations about George becoming King of the Hellenes after the Greek National Assembly elected the latter to be their monarch, seeing the country's throne as a doubtful proposition.

[18] Edward later proposed to Alexandra in 1862, and they married in 1863 at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.

[45] Furthermore, Alexandra and Edward's eldest son, Albert Victor, died in 1892 after contracting an illness during a flu pandemic.

Alexandra did not want Louise, Victoria, and Maud to marry because her daughters had two brothers who could potentially follow Edward to the British throne.

The royal houses of Europe believed that George I, then Prince William of Denmark, would be a suitable candidate for the Greek throne.

[19][b] Queen Louise, Dagmar's mother, hoped to find a suitable husband for her daughter in the Russian imperial court.

Following the marriage of Dagmar's sister Alexandra, Queen Louise dedicated her enthusiasm to making this desire a reality.

[a] Living in Gmunden, Austria, Thyra enjoyed a quiet life which allowed her to spend time with her children.

[12] Because of Valdemar's interest in ships, he went on long sea voyages, a practice that continued during his marriage to Marie.