The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, also known by its short name as the House of Glücksburg, is the senior surviving branch of the German House of Oldenburg, one of Europe's oldest royal houses. Glücksburg house members have reigned at various times in Denmark, Norway, Greece, the United Kingdom and in northern German states. It takes its name from the family seat in Glücksburg, a small town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Patrilineal members of the House of Glücksburg include the current King of Norway, Haakon VIII, the former monarch Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and former consorts Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Queen Sofía of Spain, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.Michel Huberty, Alain Giraud, F. and B. Magdelaine. L'Allemagne Dynastique, Volume VII. Laballery, 1994. pp. 7–8, 27–28, 30–31, 58, 144, 168, 181, 204, 213–214, 328, 344, 353–354, 356, 362, 367. , Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume I: Europe & Latin America, 1977, pp. 325–326.
The present senior member of the House of Oldenburg and the House of Glücksburg and traditional heir to the family's ancestral lands, including Glücksburg itself, is Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 1985), who heads the foundation that owns the family's ancestral seat, Glücksburg Castle.
Etymology "House of Glücksburg" is the shortened form of "House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg"a collateral branch of the House of Oldenburg. The house derives its name from two regions and two towns on the Jutland Peninsula.
The two regions of Schleswig and Holstein are divided by the Eider River. While Schleswig for centuries constituted the southernmost region of Denmark, Holstein historically has been the northernmost area within the Holy Roman Empire. The northern border of Holstein along the Eider had already formed the northern border of Francia and the Carolingian Empire, after Emperor Charlemagne, upon the Saxon Wars, reached an agreement with King Hemming of Denmark in 811. The lands of Schleswig beyond the river remained a fief of the Danish Crown, while Holstein became an integral part of East Francia, the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. Even earlier, the Eider had already been the border river between Saxons and Polabian Slavs to the south, and Danes and North Frisians to the north. This is evidenced in the largely Slavic-derived toponomy in Eastern Holstein, as opposed to the many Danish-derived place names in Schleswig including Southern Schleswig. Since the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, Schleswig has been divided between Denmark (Northern Schleswig), and Germany (Southern Schleswig).
The town of Sønderborg—the German name of which is "Sonderburg"—is located on the northern shores of the Flensburg Firth in Denmark (Northern Schleswig), while Glücksburg lies on the southern shores of the firth in Germany (Southern Schleswig).
Since Glücksburg Castle is the ancestral seat of the house, the house is mostly shortened to just "House of Glücksburg". It is also spelled "House of Glücksborg" (the name of Glücksburg in the local Low German dialect) or Huset Lyksborg (the Danish name of Glücksburg). (See Glücksburgske slægt.)
The literal translation of "Glücksburg" is "Luck Castle" (Glück = luck; Burg = castle).
History
Glücksburg is a small coastal town on the German southern side of the fjord of Flensburg that divides Germany from Denmark. In 1460, Glücksburg came, as part of the conjoined Dano-German duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, to Count Christian of Oldenburg whom, in 1448, the Danes had elected their king as Christian I, the Norwegians likewise taking him as their hereditary king in 1450.
In 1564, Christian I's great-grandson, King Frederick II, in re-distributing Schleswig and Holstein's fiefs, retained some lands for his own senior royal line while allocating Glücksburg to his brother Duke John the Younger (1545–1622), along with Sønderborg, in appanage. John's heirs further sub-divided their share and created, among other branches, a line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg dukes at Beck (an estate near Minden bought by the family in 1605), who remained vassals of Denmark's kings.
By 1825, the castle of Glücksburg had returned to the Danish crown (from another ducal branch called Glücksburg, extinct in 1779) and was given that year by King Frederick VI, along with a new ducal title, to his kinsman Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck.Gothaisches Genealogisches Handbuch der Fürstlchen Häuser, Band I. Verlag des Deutschen Adelsarchivs. Marburg. 2015. p. 140 (German). . Frederick suffixed the territorial designation to the ducal title he already held, in lieu of "Beck" (an estate the family had, in fact, sold in 1745). Thus emerged the extant Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
The Danish line of Oldenburg kings died out in 1863, and the elder line of the Schleswig-Holstein family became extinct with the death of the last Augustenburg duke in 1931. Thereafter, the House of Glücksburg became the senior surviving line of the House of Oldenburg. Another cadet line of Oldenburgs, the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, consisted of two branches which held onto sovereignty into the 20th century. But members of the Romanov line were executed in or exiled from their Russian Empire in 1917, while the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg was abolished in 1918, although its dynastic line survives.
Neither the Dukes of Beck nor of Glücksburg had been sovereign rulers; they held their lands in fief from the ruling Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein, i.e. the Kings of Denmark and (until 1773) the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp.
Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the fourth son of Duke Friedrich of Glücksburg, was recognized in the London Protocol of 1852 as successor to the childless King Frederick VII of Denmark. He became King of Denmark as Christian IX on 15 November 1863.
Prince Vilhelm, the second son of Crown Prince Christian and Crown Princess Luise, was elected King of the Hellenes on 30 March 1863, succeeding the ousted Wittelsbach Otto of Greece and reigning under the name George I.
Prince Carl, the second son of Frederick VIII of Denmark, Christian IX's eldest son, became King of Norway on 18 November 1905 as Haakon VII.
Christian IX's daughters, Alexandra and Dagmar (as Maria Feodorovna), became the consorts of, respectively, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Emperor Alexander III of Russia. As a result, by 1914 descendants of King Christian IX held the crowns of several European realms, and he became known as the "Father-in-law of Europe".
Christian IX's older brother inherited formal headship of the family as Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, followed by their brother Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. It is his descendants who now represent the senior line of the Schleswig-Holstein branch of the House of Oldenburg, with Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, as its current head.
Patrilineal ancestry of Duke Friedrich Wilhelm Elimar I, Count of Oldenburg Elimar II, Count of Oldenburg Christian I, Count of Oldenburg (Christian the Quarrelsome) Maurice, Count of Oldenburg Christian II, Count of Oldenburg John I, Count of Oldenburg Christian III, Count of Oldenburg John II, Count of Oldenburg Conrad I, Count of Oldenburg Christian V, Count of Oldenburg Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg Christian I of Denmark Frederick I of Denmark Christian III of Denmark John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Frederick Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Peter August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Karl Anton August, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
The Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg constitute the senior male line of the branch. They hold the headship by primogeniture of the cadet house of Glücksburg. The headship by agnatic primogeniture of the entire House of Oldenburg is held by Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein.
Portrait Name Life ReignDuration Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 1785–1831 1825–18316 years Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 1813–1878 1831–187847 years Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 1814–1885 1878–18857 years Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein 1855–1934 1885–193449 years Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein 1891–1965 1934–196531 years Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein 1922–1980 1965–198015 years Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein 1949–2023 1980–202343 years , Prince of Schleswig-Holstein born 1985 2023–presentIncumbent
The heir apparent is Prince Alfred of Schleswig-Holstein (born 2019).
Denmark
In 1852, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg became heir-presumptive to the Kingdom of Denmark, and in 1863, he ascended the throne. He was the fourth son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, whose elder brother (and male-line descendants) retained the Glücksburg dukedom. The Danish royal family still calls itself Glücksborg, using a slightly Danicized form of Glücksburg.
Portrait Name Life Reign Additional titles Christian IX 1818–1906 1863–1906 King of the WendsKing of the GothsDuke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg and Oldenburg Prior to ascending the throne: Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg(Danish: Prins af Slesvig-Holsten-Sønderborg-Glückborg) Frederik VIII 1843–1912 1906–1912 King of the WendsKing of the GothsDuke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg and Oldenburg Christian X 1870–1947 1912–1947 King of Iceland (used 1918–1944)King of the WendsKing of the GothsDuke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg and Oldenburg Frederik IX 1899–1972 1947–1972 King of the WendsKing of the GothsDuke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg and Oldenburg Margrethe II born 1940 1972–2024 Frederik Xborn 19682024–presentCount of Monpezat
Greece
In 1863 and with the name George I, Prince Wilhelm of Denmark was elected King of the Hellenes on the recommendation of Europe's Great Powers. He was the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark.
Portrait Name Life Reign Additional titles George I 1845–1913 1863–1913 Constantine I 1868–1923 Alexander 1893–1920 1917–1920 George II 1890–1947 Paul 1901–1964 1947–1964 Constantine II 1940–2023 1964–1973
The Hellenic constitutional monarchy was usurped in a coup d'état by a military junta in 1967 and the royal family fled into exile. The monarchy was abolished in 1973. After the collapse of the military dictatorship in 1974, 69.18% of votes recorded in a republic referendum were against the restoration of the monarchy.
As of 2024, the family has assumed the last name "De Grèce" (; "of Greece"), first used by Greek author and dynast Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark for his pen name as Michel de Grèce, as the only one familiar to them.
Norway
In 1905, Prince Carl of Denmark became Norway's first independent monarch in 518 years, taking the regnal name Haakon VII. His father was King Frederick VIII of Denmark, and one of his uncles was King George I of Greece.