Louise of Hesse-Kassel
1817–1898 (age 81)
Biography
Louise of Hesse-Kassel (German: Luise Wilhelmine Friederike Caroline Auguste Julie, Danish: Louise Vilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie; 7 September 1817 – 29 September 1898) was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Christian IX, from 15 November 1863 until her death in 1898. From 1863 to 1864, she was concurrently Duchess of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. Born in Kassel, she was the daughter of Prince William of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Charlotte of Denmark, and a niece of King Christian VIII. Through her descent from King Frederick III, she supported her husband's claim to the Danish throne.
Louise played a pivotal dynastic role as the mother of six children who married into several European royal houses, earning Christian IX the epithet "Father-in-law of Europe." Her children included King Frederick VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover, and Prince Valdemar of Denmark. She died at Bernstorff Palace in Gentofte and was buried at Roskilde Cathedral.