recently on the DR TV been able to follow the series ‘Why is Ludwig not king?’ on the 19-year-old Ludwig of Rosenborg, who is the great-grandson of the heir presumptive prince Knud, who was the younger brother of king Frederik IX. If not arvefølgereglerne had been amended in connection with the new constitution in 1953, so Frederick’s daughter, Margrethe, could inherit the throne after him, would Canute have followed him, and one of canute’s descendants today would have been the king.
specifically, it would have been Ludwig, lets the series suggest. But is it now true?
In the best case it relies on, to up to several assumptions would have been different. If Canute had become king after Frederik IX in 1972, his eldest son, Ingolf, since have followed him, you would think.
But Ingolf had, however, lost its prinsetitel and thus its place in the succession to the throne, when he in 1968 and were married in a civil (d.v.p. one of the non-princely family), and instead received the title of count of Rosenborg. He has no children. Also his younger brother, Christian, lost his inheritance and became count of Rosenborg when he married a non-royal in 1971.
So none of canute’s sons and their descendants would thus have been able to succeed him on the throne. Unless that is, they had married a royal instead. That the royals only marry other royals in order to maintain their status, on the other hand, not any law, but a norm.
And in the day the more: Both crown prince Frederik and prince Joachim have married non-royals, and they have not only preserved the right of inheritance, but their spouses and their children have been royal. So the norm has changed. And of course, one could have amended the norm in the past.
But there are, however, several obstacles to ludwig’s path to the throne. Christian of Rosenborg had three daughters, but no sons. And according to the law on succession to the throne, which was valid until 1953, could only men inherit the throne. Thus there would not be any descendant of prince Knud back, there could be rulers.
It would in that case require, that at one time, had changed arvefølgelovgivningen, so the oldest of the Christian’s tvillingedøtre, Josephine, would have been ruling queen, or that she p.g.a. his gender could have been skipped over in favour of his eldest son.
But it is not Ludwig, he’s called however, Julius. Ludwig is the son of the youngest of count Christian’s twins, Camilla. And although he is born the year before Julius, so would this nevertheless, to get ahead of him in arverækken, because his mother is the firstborn twin.
There are many reasons why Ludwig is not king. First, it would have provided that the standards for who royal can marry with and continue to be a royal, had been changed in the past – or to ludwig’s grandfather had married the royal instead.
second, to arvefølgebestemmelserne at a time had been changed, so a dattersøn would be able to succeed his grandfather on the throne. For the second third, to ludwig’s mother had either been count Christian’s oldest child, or that her older tvillingsøster had not any offspring.
Ludwigs way to the Danish throne would, therefore, many reasons have been long and futile and would require both a new tronfølgelov and other family circumstances. It is therefore well that the brand is not just p.g.a. the new constitution in 1953.
Michael Bregnsbo
Michael Bregnsbo is an associate professor of history at the University of Southern denmark and has, among other things, concerned with the royal history, and has written several books on the royal family.
