Christian X Biography

Christian X was the king of Denmark for nearly 35 years from 1912 to 1947. He had the unique distinction of being the only king of Iceland as well. He was also unique in another way as he was the first monarch to have been born into the Danish royal family ever since Frederick VII. He was part of the House of Glucksburg. He has been described as someone who was a complete authoritarian and had always stressed the importance of royal power and dignity. His non-adherence to democracy led to the infamous Easter Crisis of 1920 in which the elected Social Democrats were overthrown and were replaced by those chosen by Christian X himself. His decision was opposed vehemently and massive demonstrations were undertaken on the streets by the Social Democrats which instilled a fear in him that monarchy would be overthrown eventually. He finally relented and agreed to the fact that a monarch like him could not appoint a government without the agreement of the parliament. He rose to prominence during the German invasion of Denmark when he used to roam around the streets of Copenhagen without any guards protecting him. He became a symbol of resistance as Denmark valiantly opposed the German rule under his reign. He was also part of both the world wars and ultimately became one of the most popular Danish kings to have ever lived.