Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 1, 1534, at Haderslevhus Castle in Haderslev, Duchy of Schleswig, now in Denmark, Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway was the eldest of the three sons and the second of the five children of Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg.

Frederik II had one elder sibling and three younger siblings:

When Frederik was eight-years-old, he traveled around Denmark so the people could see the heir to the throne. He made a similar trip to Norway when he was fourteen-years-old which would turn out to be his only trip to Norway. Frederik was educated with a group of boys from noble families. Frederik’s father Christian III had established Lutheranism as the Danish National Church in 1536, and so Frederik got a strong dose of Lutheran theology. While Frederik was intelligent and had a good memory, he had difficulties with reading and spelling. Most likely, Frederik was dyslexic but his contemporaries perceived him as illiterate. In 1554, when he was twenty, Frederik was given his own court at Malmö Castle in Scania, now in Sweden.

Frederik II had a close relationship with his brother-in-law August, Elector of Saxony, who was six years older than Frederik. In 1557 – 1558, Augustus took Frederik on a trip throughout the Holy Roman Empire. They attended the coronation of the new Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and met his son, the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange, and other prominent rulers. The experience gave Frederik an appreciation of the complex nature of European politics and a love for all things military.

Frederik’s father Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway died on January 1, 1559, and 24-year-old Frederik succeeded him as Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway. On August 20, 1559, Frederik II was crowned at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark. During his reign, finances were improved, agriculture and trade were promoted, and the privileges the German Hanseatic League had with Denmark were limited or abolished. Friedrich revolutionized shipping by establishing the modern lighthouse system.  He also promoted the sciences, especially astronomy, and was a patron of pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe.

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Frederik’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

During the end of his father’s reign and during the 1560s, marriage negotiations were conducted to find a bride for Frederik II. The negotiations were difficult because Frederik insisted on meeting the prospective bride before committing to her. He wanted to marry Anne Hardenberg, a noblewoman who served as a lady-in-waiting to his mother. However, the marriage was prevented by the Danish Royal Council because Anne was not a royal princess. In 1572, Frederik’s aunt Elizabeth of Denmark who had married Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, arranged for Frederik to meet a prospective bride, Margaret of Pomerania, at Nykøbing Castle in Denmark. Elizabeth and her husband brought along their only child 14-year-old Princess Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Frederik and Sophie were half-first cousins through their grandfather Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway. Instead of being interested in Margaret of Pomerania, Frederik II was interested in Sophie. On July 20, 1572, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Frederik II married Sophie. Despite a 23-year age difference, Frederik and Sophie had a happy marriage. Sophie is consistently mentioned in Frederik’s handwritten diary as “mynt Soffye“, meaning “my Sophie” and she always accompanied him on his travels.

Frederik and Sophie had seven children. Through their daughter Anna, they are ancestors of the British Royal Family.

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Frederik’s mother; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite his harmonious relationship with his wife, Frederik II had a quite different relationship with his mother Dorothea. Frederik and Dorothea had a tense relationship and Dorothea had always favored her younger sons Magnus and Hans. She had often used her parental authority to reprimand Frederik‘s lifestyle and this did not change after he became king. Frederik II detested his mother’s reprimands and her attempts to be involved in state affairs as she had done during his father’s reign. During the Nordic Seven Years War (1563 – 1570), fought against Sweden, Frederik discovered his mother had conducted secret negotiations with her nephew, King Eric XIV of Sweden, without his knowledge and during ongoing warfare, to arrange a marriage between his brother Magnus and Princess Sofia of Sweden, the half-sister of King Eric XIV. Frederik II put a stop to the marriage plans. Although Dorothea told her son that she only intended to benefit Denmark and to establish peace, in Frederik II’s mind, his mother had committed treason and she was informally exiled to Sønderborg Castle, where she lived out the remainder of her life.

Frederik II in his later years; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway died, aged 53, on April 4, 1588, at Antvorskov Castle, a former abbey now in ruins, in Slagelse, Zealand, Denmark. His death was sudden and unexpected and some modern historians speculate that his health deteriorated very rapidly as a result of lung cancer. Frederik II was buried in the Chapel of the Magi at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. Frederik’s wife Sophie, who survived him by forty-three years, dying on October 14, 1631, at the age of 74, was buried with him at Roskilde Cathedral.

Tomb of King Frederik II and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow – Photo by Susan Flantzer

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Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederik 2.. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_2.> [Accessed 16 January 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Friedrich II. (Dänemark Und Norwegen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_II._(D%C3%A4nemark_und_Norwegen)> [Accessed 16 January 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Frederick II Of Denmark. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II_of_Denmark> [Accessed 16 January 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dorothea-of-saxe-lauenburg-queen-of-denmark-and-norway/> [Accessed 16 January 2021].