Princess Charlotte of Denmark

Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (Danish: Charlotte af Danmark; 30 October 1789 – 28 March 1864) was born in Christiansborg Palace to Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway, and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

1789

On 10 November 1810 in Amalienborg Palace she married Prince William of Hesse-Kassel.

They were parents to:

• Karoline Friederike Marie of Hesse-Kassel (15 August 1811 – 10 May 1829).
• Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (9 May 1814 – 28 July 1895). Married Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau.
• Louise of Hesse-Kassel (7 September 1817 – 29 September 1898). Married Christian IX of Denmark.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Adolf, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (26 November 1820 – 14 October 1864). Married, first, Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia, a daughter of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. She died soon after their marriage. He married, second, Princess Anna of Prussia.
• Auguste Sophie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel (30 October 1823 – 17 July 1899. Married Baron Charles Frederick von Blixen-Finecke.
• Sophie Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel (18 January – 20 December 1827).

Princess Charlotte was described as a wise, practical and thrifty, and kept the finances of her household under strict control. She had some interest in art and poetry, and reportedly felt herself to be a Danish patriot. She supported the solution that her branch of the family should succeeded to the throne, and because of this, she opposed the Schleswig-Holstein matter. Her spouse was in Danish service from his youth, and the family lived in Denmark.

During the reign of her brother Christian VIII of Denmark (r. 1839-1848), she had an important position at the Danish royal court in Copenhagen because her brother favored that her line of the family should succeed to the throne after the male line had died out.

In 1848, her brother died and was succeeded by his childless son. In 1850, the Danish government was influenced by the demand of the Empire of Russia to discontinue its support of her line of the family in the succession order in favor of the Duke of Oldenburg, her son-in-law. Christian of Oldenburg had displayed an anti-Danish sentiment during the recent war, and when gehejmeråd F.C. Dankwart, on behalf of the government, issued negotiations with her that she should renounce her and her sons right to the throne in favor of her son-in-law, she replied: "It is impossible: the Danish people would under no circumstance accept as King a Prince from a house who has made war against Denmark, and who is so hostile toward us". In exchange, she demanded that the House of Oldenburg purchased the Duchy of Hesse and name if Kingdom, so that her son Frederick could "Switch one Kingdom for another". After having been persuaded that her terms was impossible and that Christian of Oldenburg in fact had good support for his claim, she agreed to renounce her and her sons claims to the throne.

On 18 July 1851, she and her son Frederick renounced their claim to the Danish throne in favour of her daughter Louise, who in turn renounced it in favour of her spouse.

Louise Charlotte is the matrilineal great-grandmother of Nicholas II of Russia, William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and George V.

She died in Christiansborg Palace.