Frederick VII of Denmark

Frederick Carl Christian was born 6 October 1808 into the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg, raised to inherit a throne that answered to no one. He became King of Denmark in 1848, holding the kind of absolute power his ancestors had wielded for generations. Within a year, he signed a constitution that created a Danish parliament and dismantled the very autocracy he'd inherited, remaking Denmark as a constitutional monarchy. He chose as his motto "Folkets Kærlighed, min Styrke" — the People's Love, my Strength. He died 15 November 1863, the last of his royal line and the last Danish…