The Princess's Historical Heritage from the Cavalier House at Glücksburg Castle

The History of the family connections

In the 1500s, it was customary for Danish kings of the Oldenburg dynasty to allocate land as ducal territories in Southern Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein to their younger brothers. In 1564, Duke Hans the Younger was granted the areas of Als, Sundeved, Ærø, and Plön by his elder brother, King Frederik II of Denmark. In 1580, Duke Hans the Younger inherited Ryd Monastery southeast of Flensburg. He had the monastery demolished and, in the 1580s, established his main residence, Glücksburg Castle. Consequently, the Duke had his new title – Duke Hans the Younger of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. He became the ancestor of several ducal lines, including the Glücksburg line and the Beck line. The latter line emigrated to Germany in 1633, but the great-great-great-grandson Prince Wilhelm of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck returned to Denmark in 1804.

Prince Wilhelm and the Landgrave Family

At that time, Denmark was ruled by Crown Prince Frederik (VI) of Denmark, who warmly received his relative, Prince Wilhelm, who pursued a military career in Denmark. The Crown Prince was married to Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, daughter of Landgrave Carl and Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Kassel. The landgrave was Danish general and served as the governor-general of Schleswig-Holstein for 60 years. The highly respected couple had their winter residence at Gottorp Castle and summer residence at Louisenlund estate. The Landgravine was daughter of King Frederik V and Queen Louise of Denmark, making her the sister of Crown Prince Frederik VI’s father, King Christian VII of Denmark.

From the Oldenburg to the Glücksburg Dynasty

The Glücksburg male line became extinct in 1779, and when the dowager duchess died in 1824, King Frederik VI of Denmark appointed his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Prince Wilhelm and Princess Louise, as Duke and Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, with rights to the castle and associated lands. The Prince was descended from Duke Hans the Younger, and King Frederik VI deemed it fitting to establish the younger Glücksburg line through this couple. This happened 200 years ago, in 1825. Duke Wilhelm’s son, Christian, was in 1863 granted the Danish throne as King Christian IX after the childless King Frederik VII, thus becoming the last Oldenburg monarch.

This marked the founding of the Glücksburg Royal house in Denmark. In 1831, Carl became Duke of Glücksburg but died childless, so the title passed to his younger brother, Duke Friedrich of Glücksburg. He had several children, including Duke Friedrich Ferdinand of Glücksburg and Prince Albert of Glücksburg. The former is an ancestor of the main Glücksburg line, while the latter is the grandfather of the four princesses whose collection is being offered. After the First Schleswian War in 1864, Glücksburg became part of Germany and remained so after Southern Jutland’s reunification with Denmark in 1920. Today, the Glücksburg family is the sole remaining branch of the many former ducal families.

The Cavalier House and the heritage

In 1919, Duke Friedrich Ferdinand asked his younger brother, Prince Albert, to move into the Cavaleir House at Glücksburg Castle with his family. His son, the Princess' father, Prince Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, lived there and became manager of the castle until his death in 1989. The same year, Princess Elisabeth moved in and took over as manager, overseeing the family’s heirlooms. Her three sisters – Princess Irene, Margaretha, and Sibylla Ursula – have also maintained their connection to the site over the years and contributed to the preservation of the collection.

Many objects including in the auction has been inherited from, among others, the Landgrave couple, Duke and Duchess Wilhelm and Louise, Duke Friedrich, and Prince Albert. The heritage also includes items from for example the houses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Anhalt-Bernburg and Schaumburg-Lippe. Read much more about the antiques and artworks being offered by clicking on the items at our website.