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Frederik VIII of Denmark

1843–1912

Born
3 Jun 1843, Yellow Palace
Country of birth
Denmark
Died
14 May 1912, Hamburg
facts
9
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Yellow Palace

    Birth, Yellow Palace

  2. Child born: Christian X of Denmark

    Birth, Charlottenlund Palace

  3. Child born: Haakon VII of Norway

    Birth, Charlottenlund Palace

  4. Child born: Princess Louise of Denmark

    Birth, Copenhagen

  5. Child born: Prince Harald of Denmark

    Birth, Charlottenlund Palace

  6. Child born: Princess Ingeborg of Denmark

    Birth, Charlottenlund Palace

  7. Child born: Princess Thyra of Denmark

    Birth, Amalienborg

  8. Child born: Prince Gustav of Denmark

    Birth, Charlottenlund Palace

  9. Child born: Princess Dagmar of Denmark

    Birth, Charlottenlund Palace

  10. Event · Monarch of Denmark

    Event

  11. Died · Hamburg

    Death, Hamburg

What was it like?

The world around Yellow Palace, 1843: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Frederik was born the same year as Edvard Grieg, Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, and Arthur Napoleão dos Santos.

Known for

Titles held

  • Monarch of Denmark1906–1912
Born the same year

  • Edvard Grieg

    Norwegian composer and pianist (1843–1907)

  • Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay

    Brazilian writer, musician, professor, military engineer, historian, politician, sociologist and nobleman (1843-1899)

  • Arthur Napoleão dos Santos

    Brazilian musician (1843–1925)

  • William McKinley

    president of the United States from 1897 to 1901 (1843-1901)

  • Robert Koch

    German physician, bacteriologist (1843–1910)

  • Bertha von Suttner

    Austrian novelist, radical (organizational) pacifist, editor

Fashion

Everyday dress was often drab and undyed

Ordinary men wore undyed, homespun clothing for everyday use, which frequently became grey and muddy, while women typically wore black or dark-blue daily attire.

Festive black dresses for women

For festive occasions, women often wore a black dress made of linsey-woolsey, a mixture of wool and flax, which many first acquired for their confirmation or wedding.

Music

The enduring popularity of the minuet

While the minuet lost popularity among the elite, it remained a favored dance among ordinary people, often initiated by the bride's father at weddings.

Typical rural dance band instrumentation

Rural dance bands typically featured a violin for the main music, supplemented by brass instruments for ceremonial functions such as welcoming guests.

Getting around

Steamship travel costs

On steamship routes like Svendborg to Copenhagen, ticket prices varied by class, with third-class passage costing 2 Rigsbankdaler and 2 mark.

Winter travel via ice boats

Passengers crossing the Great Belt in winter used ice boats, where men had to help pull the vessel across the ice while women were exempt.

Daily life

Compulsory Schooling for Children

The 1814 Education Act mandated compulsory school attendance for children from age seven until confirmation at age 14. In rural areas, children often attended school only every other day to accommodate farm work, and classrooms strictly separated boys and girls.

Cooking and Kitchen Life

In the first half of the 19th century, most families cooked over an open fireplace, and homes typically lacked private ovens, requiring residents to rely on bakers for oven-baked goods. Cast iron stoves with built-in ovens only began to replace open fireplaces in the second half of the century.

Food

Coffee preparation and traditions

Coffee was not brewed but boiled in a copper kettle and clarified with a piece of dried flounder skin. Sugar was not added to the drink; instead, a piece of brown rock candy was eaten with it.

Respect for bread at the table

Dropping a piece of bread on the floor was considered a serious mistake; one had to pick it up, kiss it, and pray for forgiveness. Crumbling bread at the table was also forbidden.

Prices and wages

Rising food prices in Copenhagen markets

Between 1839 and 1873, the price of basic food items in Copenhagen increased significantly; for example, the price of a dozen eggs rose from 12 to 36 skillings.

Around 1850–1874

Child labor and the cost of food

To survive on very low wages, families relied on child labor, such as making matchsticks; a mother could earn 25 øre for producing 500 small matches, which could purchase only a quarter of a loaf of rye bread and 2 kg of fat.

Work

Craftsmen's Uniforms and Apprenticeships

Craftsmen began adopting specific uniforms in the 1830s, such as the French-inspired blouse, while some apprentices worked exclusively in exchange for their confirmation clothing to save their families the expense. Apprentices often walked in public wearing slippers on bare feet and distinctive caps with broad leather visors.

Common Jobs in Denmark

The majority of the population worked in agriculture, while common urban jobs included craft workshops, such as stonemasons, carpenters, and painters. Unskilled work was largely dominated by laborers and day laborers who performed tasks like digging ditches, loading timber, or working in stables.

During their lifetime

  1. 1844

    Weaver uprising in 1844

    Handloom weavers in Upper Silesia led a famous protest against their publishers due to harsh competition from mechanized factories.

  2. 1846

    Hunger crisis of 1846-1847

    A severe potato blight caused a major hunger crisis across Europe, leading to unrest in Prussian markets and bakeries.

  3. 1847

    First Railway Line Opens

    Denmark's first railway line opened on June 26, 1847, connecting Copenhagen and Roskilde.

  4. 1849

    1849 Constitution ends absolute monarchy

    The 1849 Constitution abolished absolute monarchy, fundamentally changing the legal and political status of all Danish inhabitants.

  5. 1849

    The Constitution of 1849

    The Constitution of 1849, signed on June 5, ended the absolute monarchy and introduced democracy to Denmark.

  6. 1853

    1853 Cholera epidemic hits Copenhagen

    A devastating cholera epidemic in 1853 killed 5,000 people in Copenhagen, prompting major improvements in urban sanitation and water supplies.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.