Show christian IX aged king of denmark Is dead christian IX king of denmark dean of the crowned heads of europe fath er of king george of greece of queen alexandra of england and of the dowager embress maria feodor ovna of russia grandfather of the czar of russia and of king haakon of nor way and related by blood or by mar ariage to most of the european rulers died with startling suddenness in the palace at copenhagen jan 29 in the eight eighth year of his life and the forty third year of his reign frederick mil was proclaimed king of denmark next day in square in front of the palace was a notable ruler king christian tor nearly halt a cen tury was one of the notable monarchs of europe in spite of the fact that his kingdom was one of the smallest but his relationship to so many of the great rulers of the continent gave him an influence in old world powers wielded by but few men no european monarch excepting perhaps actoria counted more rela tives in the royal families of europe king christian s eldest daughter 1 gheen of england ills second daughd ter was czarina of russia and the mother of the present czar his third Is duchess ot cumberland the late king chr stian and her to the throne of hanover his eldest son succeeds him on the throne of denmark his second son Is king of greece one of his grandsons Is czar of russia a second king of nor way and a third lord commissioner of crete king christian was not a hereditary ruler of denmark he was an elected king and ascended the throne exe crated by the danish people in tact tie was mobbed an hour after he was proclaimed king and stoned on the streets of copenhagen christian IX was the fourth son of duke william of schleswig Sch leswig holstein and was born on april 8 1818 he was the son of poor parents and with his family was inured to poverty during all of the years of his life until he the throne he was educated as a soldier and until he ascended the throne was an officer in the danish army in those earlier years of his career christian and his wife lived in an old house in amalia street in copenhagen he had a small country place alve miles out of copenhagen his pay as an army officer was his only income and his family always knew the pinch of actual hard times his wife and daughters did the housework and made their own clothes it was in these days that the young prince of wales now edward VII of england chose christian s daughter alexandra for his wife she was then 19 years old A few years later chris tian s second daughter marle was be brothed to the czarowitz of russia with these royal betrothals the for tunes of christian began to mend but even then he continued to reside at the little of bernstorff five miles out of in 1863 the poor captain of infantry with scarcely an hour s warning found himself transported from a hum ble dwelling to a palace his cavalry sword changed 1 scepter and his officer s cap for a crown early in november of that year old king frederick VII of denmark died and without heirs the last of his house it developed upon the danish parliament to elect a new king to the surprise of the danish people par clament s choice fell on christian duke of christian himself was equally surprised the king s tactics were to remain perfectly quiet to make no manifesto no attempt to win popularity for the moment but to remain shut up in his palace and let the storm blow over this line 0 conduct met with sue cess and after brawling about the streets of copenhagen tor a few days the mob settled down by degrees and began to wonder whether after all it might not be perhaps advisable ta see what the new king might be worth be fore condemning him the earlier part of christian s reign was filled with troubles bously with his accession rival claim ants arose for the duchies of oIstein which had been part ot the possessions of kang frederick V of denmark the extinction of hie dynasty it was asserted and the substitution ution of a new one had entirely J altered the rights 0 succession in these provinces after diplomatic wrangles which closed in an appeal 0 o arms prussia austria and ger many all took a hand in the fight and the first of these countries succeeding tn taking from little denmark the three duchies of holstein schleswig Sch leswig and lauenberg and attaching them to her own dominions after this loss of one third of the kingdom internal troubles arose in that portion ot his dominions which still remained to king christian king and parliament could never agree a characteristic that both retained al most to the day of the king s death but in spite of the bicke rings with his parliament christian became to be universally loved by the danish peo pie his democracy his simple tastes his personal character and his family all combined to make him happy there was not a black sheep in his family ever a scandal shocked the danish people the king s sons and daughters led simple lives until they were married and when they married generally it was to ascend a throne king christian was a familiar figuro in the streets of copenhagen he went everywhere without a guard or any of the fuss and trappings of royal ty dressed as an ordinary citizen ot the middle class he visited the mar bets wandered through the parks stopped on the sidewalk to chat ath acquaintances or watched tha erection of new buildings frequently he would be seen at a table of one of the outdoor cates drinking a glass of beer and eating a black bread sandwich he roae on a street car otte faer tua he did in a royal carriage |