131 A Beloved Buffoon

In 1848, Denmark faced uncertainty after king Christian VIII’s sudden death, just as political unrest started to spread across Europe. Would the inexperienced, and–frankly–incompetent, new king Frederik VII be able to handle the situation? Or would Denmark be swept up in the revolutionary chaos on the continent?

During the Golden Age, pressure mounted for political reforms in Denmark. The absolute monarchy was threatened by liberalism and nationalism, and the king feared that the smallest political reforms would start a process that would bring the whole kingdom down.

After the disasters of the Napoleonic Wars, state bankruptcy and losing Norway, Denmark was in bad shape. But even though the future looked bleak, a Golden Age was actually waiting right around the corner. Its writers and thinkers would shape Danish society for generations.

In 1818, Bernadotte became king of Sweden and Norway under the name Karl Johan. He was eager to develop his kingdoms economically and socially, but when his new subjects displayed dissatisfaction with his rule, the old revolutionary reverted to classic royal reactionary tactics.

In the fall of 1814, Norway had lost the war against Sweden. The defeat had come as an unpleasant surprise to many Norwegians, who had believed the rousing patriotic speeches about liberty or death. Even those who accepted that they’d have to enter into a union with Sweden were determined to give the Swedes as little influence over Norway as possible.

In the first half of 1814, Bernadotte had been busy wrapping up the war on the continent. But as summer arrived, the Swedes turned their full attention to Norway. Stockholm demanded that the Norwegians scrap their new constitution, ditch their new king and submit to Sweden. When the Norwegians refused, the Swedes threatened war.

During a few intense spring weeks in 1814, 112 representatives of the Norwegian people came together at Eidsvoll to draw up a constitution for Norway. They hoped the country would be an independent kingdom, but at the same time rumors of a Swedish invasion were swirling in the background.

The Napoleonic Wars strained the Danish-Norwegian union bringing starvation, unrest and a crisis of legitimacy. Even worse, Sweden exploited the fact that Copenhagen had sided with the losing French, and forced king Frederik VI to hand over Norway to Sweden. But the Norwegians didn’t want to join a new union with Sweden, and saw an opportunity.

After the death of Karl August, only five months after he had been elected crown prince, the Swedes needed to find another heir to the throne. The main candidate was yet another Danish prince, but there were those who had other ideas.

King Gustav IV Adolf was blamed for the loss of Finland, and even before the war against Russia ended, he was ousted in a coup. His uncle Karl was given the crown, but everyone knew this wasn’t a long term solution. Karl was old and childless, so the search for a new crown prince started immediately.