page_title: Christian IV of Denmark
section_title: Issue and private life
hierarchical_section_title: Christian IV of Denmark / Issue and private life
caption_attribution_description: The little boy on the left is her son Valdemar Christian. Far right among the three girls that are replicas of their mother, between them Leonora Christina, later married to chamberlain Count Corfitz Ulfeldt.
context_page_description: Christian IV was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 to 1648. His 59-year reign is the longest of Danish monarchs, and of Scandinavian monarchies.
  A member of the House of Oldenburg, Christian began his personal rule of Denmark in 1596 at the age of 19. He is remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious, and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects. Christian IV obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. He engaged Denmark in numerous wars, most notably the Thirty Years' War, which devastated much of Germany, undermined the Danish economy, and cost Denmark some of its conquered territories.
  He rebuilt and renamed the Norwegian capital Oslo as Christiania after himself, a name used until 1925.
context_section_description: His first queen was Anne Catherine. They were married 1597–1612. She died after bearing Christian seven children. In 1616 four years after her death the king privately married Kirsten Munk, by whom he had twelve children.
  In the course of 1628 he discovered that his wife, Kirsten Munk, was having a relationship with one of his German officers. Christian had Munk placed under house arrest. She endeavoured to cover up her own disgrace by conniving at an intrigue between Vibeke Kruse, one of her discharged maids, and the king. In January 1630 the rupture became final, and Kirsten retired to her estates in Jutland. Meanwhile, Christian openly acknowledged Vibeke as his mistress, and she bore him several more children.
  With his first wife, Anne Catherine of Brandenburg he fathered the following children:
  Stillborn son (1598).
  Frederik (15 August 1599 – 9 September 1599).
  Christian (10 April 1603 – 2 June 1647).
  Sophie (4 January 1605 – 7 September 1605).
  Elisabeth (16 March 1606 – 24 October 1608).
  Frederick III (18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670).
  Ulrik (2 February 1611 – 12 August 1633); murdered, as Ulrich III Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin (1624–1633).
  With his second wife, Kirsten Munk, he had 12 children, though the youngest, Dorothea Elisabeth, was rumoured to be the daughter of Kirsten's lover, Otto Ludwig:
  Stillborn child (b. & d. 1615).
  Unnamed infant (b. & d. 1617).
  Countess Anna Cathrine of Schleswig-Holstein (10 August 1618 – 20 August 1633).
  Countess Sophie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein (20 September 1619 – 29 April 1657).
  Countess Leonora Christina of Schleswig-Holstein (8 July 1621 – 16 March 1698); married Corfitz Ulfeldt.
  Count Valdemar Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (26 June 1622 – 26 February 1656).
  Countess Elisabeth Auguste of Schleswig-Holstein (28 December 1623 – 9 August 1677).
  Count Friedrich Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (26 April 1625 – 17 July 1627).
  Countess Christiane of Schleswig-Holstein (15 July 1626 – 6 May 1670); married Hannibal Sehested
  Countess Hedwig of Schleswig-Holstein (15 July 1626 – 5 October 1678).
  Countess Maria Katharina of Schleswig-Holstein (29 May 1628 – 1 September 1628).
  Countess Dorothea Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein (1 September 1629 – 18 March 1687).
  With Kirsten Madsdatter:
  Christian Ulrik Gyldenløve (1611–1640).
  With Karen Andersdatter:
  Dorothea Elisabeth Gyldenløve (1613–1615).
  Hans Ulrik Gyldenløve (1615–1645).
  With Vibeke Kruse:
  Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve (1630–1658).
  Elisabeth Sophia Gyldenløve (1633–1654); married Major-General Klaus Ahlefeld.
caption: Kirsten Munk and children portrayed by Jacob van Doordt, 1623.
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